From the Editor for January

Happy New Year from all of us at BPI. As you can see on the cover, 2017 is the start of our 15th year of publication. Launching a magazine is an uncertain prospect in any era, especially within the trade press format, and our addition of peer-review gives us a split personality. But we are not immune to the print-versus-digital conundrums facing publishers these days, and an anniversary year provides a logical platform on which to update editorial approaches. I have said before that we always default to the needs of our audience, but even among younger, digitally savvy readers, we still meet those who prefer a print product. Is it possible to please everyone — and if so, how? BPI’s editorial calendar for 2017 reveals our plans to approach that ever-elusive goal. They include new editorial products and enhanced connections between print and digital expansions on our product themes.

First, goodbye to our full (issue)-length editorial supplements. We are downsizing them into Featured Reports that will delve into specific issues every month. Many topics suffer from continual introduction. By now we all know the overall promise of single-use systems, for example; anyone new to the idea can find introductory materials online (especially in our BPI archives). As a mature publication in a maturing industry, we want to drive innovation rather than continue to celebrate history and preach to our choir. Overseen by one editor, each report will include a focusing introduction followed by a few commissioned articles on designated topics. This month, senior technical editor Cheryl Scott launches the series with her report on downstream developments in single-use technologies. Invited authors discuss key technologies and progress toward application of disposable components and technologies to chromatography, harvest/clarification, and fill–finish.

Under the leadership of managing editor Maribel Rios, February’s report will look at advancing technologies in regenerative medicine. Her invited papers encapsulate key issues in cell, tissue, and gene therapies. With fewer pages (and relying less on the “shotgun” acquisition approach needed for issue-length supplements), we can give you a featured report in every issue this year — offering information on more topics than in past years. Take a look at our new editorial calendar, and let us know how you would like to participate!

Four featured reports will be tied to follow-on webcasts. And a new series of e-books (beginning with a look at fill–finish advances by freelancer Angelo DePalma this month) also expands our portfolio.

Finally, it is sort of expected that a publication reaching a milestone year will publish an anniversary issue. Frankly, I have assembled five or six such retrospective issues in my editorial career, and I am always eager to find some new and different way to approach it. So this coming June, in light of advances toward continuous processing and a more integrated approach to product development and manufacturing, we plan to celebrate advances and make predictions based on functional areas rather than specific process phases. Our goal is to emphasize how different groups work together in current development and manufacturing projects. We will be soliciting viewpoints (both written and interview-based) from scientists working in early product development (modalities), production and process engineers, formulators, contract manufacturers, QA/QC teams, and regulatory affairs groups. If you would like to participate, please let us know to include you in our invitations.