Lay summaries for Phase 1 trials in healthy volunteers - Volume 29, Issue

Lay summaries of Phase I trials in healthy volunteers pose a challenge because their endpoints are complex, the targeted indication may not be known when they are conducted, their results are often reported years after the trial ended, and the…

Presenting secondary endpoints in plain language clinical trial result summaries: Considerations for emerging practice - Volume 30, Issue

Background: The European Union Clinical Trials Regulation 536/2014 (EU CTR) requires sponsors to submit summaries of clinical trial results in plain/lay language (Plain Language Trial Summaries [PLTS]). A multidisciplinary working group developed…

News from the EMA - Volume 30, Issue

Zynteglo is a one-time treatment for a blood disorder known as beta thalassaemia in patients 12 years and older who require regular blood transfusions. It is a gene therapy that uses a viral vector (or modified virus) to deliver a working gene into…

Biotechnology - Volume 31, Issue

This is the first Medical Writing Biotechnology regular section. Biotechnology is a broad subject. It can be defined by the use of biological systems and living organisms in production processes. Biotechnology has been around for thousands of years.…

Veterinary Medical Writing - Volume 30, Issue

The placebo-by-proxy effect – another argument against homeopathy

Chances are you know about the placebo effect. There are many variables to study,1 but in general, the placebo effect means that if you believe in a positive outcome of a drug, you wi…

Good Writing Practice - Volume 30, Issue

Introduction In this regular feature, the misagreement in tense is extended from present and present perfect tense (discussed in the previous edition of MEW) to an analysis of the frequently used present participle (of the participial phrase) and…

Medical Communications and Writing for Patients - Volume 31, Issue

In this issue, the Medical Communications and Writing for Patients section features two articles. The first piece, by Simon Linacre,  is a summary of the excellent work just completed by the Med Comms SIG. They have devised, run, and collated the res…

Good Writing Practice - Volume 30, Issue

Grammatical misagreement in tense

I – Present, present perfect

Introduction

Each of the sections of a journal article contains anticipated conceptual components, which can be expressed by a specific verb tense for the perspective of time and the d…

President’s Message - Volume 30, Issue

It fills me with sadness that we had to cancel our spring face-to-face (F2F) conference in Riga. It’s been 1 ½ years since our last in-person meeting! Yet we hope that we at least will have the chance to meet in Cascais this autumn. But I also have…

Message from the President - Volume 21, Issue

Dear Medical Writers Top of Form Bottom of Form The last time I wrote to you I briefly introduced myself and outlined some of the plans that I hope to realise during my year as president. However, as president I am only one of the members of the…