In the February issue of PME we look to balance the changes that are already the theme of 2017 with some much needed stability.

Primarily this comes in the form of a look at family-owned or foundation-run pharmaceutical companies, and we speak with Gitte Aabo, president and CEO of LEO Pharma, about playing the long game rather than being beholden to shareholders and the stock market.

We also hear from Josep Figueras, director of the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies, on access and value in oncology and how the war against cancer is a fight that can eventually be won.

Service redesign and new models of care feature too in this issue, as we look at efforts to improve patient pathways from some of the companies recognised in last year’s PMEA programme. As one interviewee notes: “Innovation in this sector doesn’t necessarily require huge investment or invention. It can simply be a redesign of a system or process.”

Finally, with ‘customer experience’ slowly becoming a priority for many pharma companies, we look at how to develop the CX factor and why executive sponsorship is needed.