Biosimilar development – an overview - Volume 28, Issue

Biosimilars are biological drugs that are similar to, and cheaper than other biological drugs (called “reference originator biologics”) that are already in use. They share an identical amino-acid sequence but, given the inherent variability of…

President's Message - Volume 24, Issue

I can't believe that my two years on the Executive Committee are now complete – what a journey from Manchester and Barcelona in 2013, Budapest and Florence in 2014, and finally Dublin in 2015. Apart from travelling many miles, I have had a great…

President's Message - Volume 24, Issue

Welcome to the first issue of medical writing in 2015 on plain language, which means that this message had better be simple and easy to read. I am a huge advocate of plain writing and, as a Publication Manager, spend much of my time working with…

Medical Communications - Volume 22, Issue

Having left the office for 5 days to go to the EMWA Spring Conference, I returned to the obligatory email avalanche. While it was mostly junk (and unfortunately still no ‘congratulations on winning the lottery’ message…), there were some messages…

About the Medical Writing Journal - Volume 21, Issue

The official journal of the European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) has changed its name from The Write Stuff to Medical Writing, which is being published by Maney Publishing. This marks a leap forward for the journal, which is now in its 19th…

In the Bookstores - Volume 22, Issue

The Spirit Level

Ever had a ‘ping’ moment? This book might have been mine. I'm not a natural pessimist, but Western society today seems less cohesive and people more materialistic, stressed, unhealthy, and unhappy than in times gone by. Wealth and s…

The Light Stuff - Volume 22, Issue

Decoding the Japanese Code 1: Yes means yes, and no does not exist At a recent dinner, my husband and I were chatting with a university professor, a Japanese fellow who has lived and worked in Europe and the US. We talked about cross-cultural…

The horror and the pity: Obesity and diabetes - Volume 21, Issue

Something less beguiling for a horror-story addict than the emergence of obesity would be hard to imagine. Start by reading the 27 August 2011 issue of the Lancet. One article predicts that the obesity rate in the UK will make the tremendous leap fro…

The Webscout - Volume 21, Issue

Diabetes and Psychology   You all may know that diabetes is a metabolic disease leading to secondary micro- and macrovascular complications, like nephropathy, neuropathy, and cardiovascular diseases. You may also know that these microvascular…

Regulatory Writing - Volume 22, Issue

This article introduces aspects of the regulatory writing profession in China and Japan. Although regulatory medical writing is at an early stage of development in China, the ever-growing research and development activities in this country have led…