The Pharmafile Brief

August 2026 – The Pharmafile Brief

Welcome to the August issue of The Pharmafile Brief, where we bring you the latest developments and conversations shaping healthcare, life sciences and pharma.

Our special focus this month is cardiovascular disease (CVD), an umbrella term encompassing a range of conditions that together remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide.


We begin with an article by Sabina Syed, Managing Director of Visions4Health, and Ewan Maule, Clinical Director, Chief Pharmacist at North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board, and Honorary Professor at Teesside University. They examine how the Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework (CVD MSF) is influencing partnerships between the NHS and the pharmaceutical industry.

Professor Brian J Ford then examines the scientific, regulatory and translational journey of artificial heart technology, exploring how close next-generation devices are to routine clinical use. He charts the century of innovation from pioneering collaborations between scientists, engineers and healthcare leaders in the UK, USA and the former Soviet Union up to the modern-day progress being made by technologies that have advanced survival rates.

Alongside this, our Five Facts feature highlights some of the key issues surrounding cardiovascular disease, explaining the broad umbrella term, the impact of CVD on global mortality rates and within the UK, developments in treatment and therapies and the increasing role of mechanical circulatory support.

From hearts to lungs, advances in computed tomography (CT) technology are improving pulmonary imaging, offering increasingly detailed assessment through less invasive approaches. We also examine how Australia is emerging as a significant centre for innovation in functional lung imaging.

Artificial intelligence has attracted unwanted headlines recently, with reports surrounding both Anthropic and OpenAI models prompting concern. Yet AI is also becoming an increasingly valuable tool in the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. As Gurdip Singh, CEO of software provider Kallik, argues, long-term success will depend less on increasingly sophisticated algorithms than on the quality of the data underpinning them.

In this month’s news round-up, The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) granted Innovation Passport designation through the UK’s Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP) to two investigational medicines targeting liver cancer and dementia with Lewy bodies.

Also, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the world’s first pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) to use a next-generation lower-carbon propellant for the maintenance treatment of asthma.

And Roche has received CE Mark approval for its Elecsys IGRA TB automated blood test designed to improve the detection of tuberculosis infection (TBI), also known as latent tuberculosis. The interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) is said by the company to take approximately half the processing time of conventional IGRA methods.

This time of year is often regarded as a quieter period for executive moves, but our appointments section suggests otherwise. Director General for Food, Farming and Biosecurity at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affair, Emily Miles becomes the new Care Quality Commission (CQC) Chief Executive, as interim Chief Executive Dr Arun Chopra returns to his role as Chief Inspector of Mental Health. Meanwhile, integrated drug discovery contract research organisation (CRO) Sygnature Discovery has announced it has appointed Susanne Back as Head of In Vivo Pharmacology; and Mark Pearson is the new Head and Executive Vice-President (EVP), Global Consumer Healthcare at STADA.

We hope you enjoy the return of The Pharmafile Brief, and look out for the next issue in early September.

Product value to pathway impact: What the CVD Modern Service Framework means for pharma

Published on August 9th, 2026

By Sabina Syed and Ewan Maule The Cardiovascular Disease Modern Service Framework1(CVD MSF) begins with a familiar problem at a much greater level of urgency. The NHS already has many of the interventions needed to prevent heart attacks, strokes and premature deaths, but too many people still remain unidentified – treatment is started late, evidence-based targets...

Functional lung imaging offers new possibilities for respiratory care

Published on August 9th, 2026

Advances in computed tomography (CT) technology are helping to reshape the diagnosis and management of chronic respiratory disease, with new approaches offering clinicians a more detailed picture of lung function while reducing the need for more invasive imaging techniques. As healthcare systems continue to modernise their imaging capabilities, attention is increasingly turning to technologies that...

Five Facts about cardiovascular disease

Published on August 9th, 2026

1 Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is an umbrella term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels, including coronary heart disease, stroke, heart failure and peripheral arterial disease. It remains the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for almost one in three deaths globally.1 2 Although cardiovascular disease is often associated with older age, many cases...

Data integrity: the keystone for AI adoption, patient safety and organisational reputation

Published on August 9th, 2026

By Gurdip Singh Artificial intelligence is rapidly moving from future aspiration to operational reality across the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors. From accelerating regulatory workflows to managing increasingly complex labelling and multilingual content, AI promises to help organisations cope with growing operational pressures while improving efficiency and reducing costs. Yet amid the excitement surrounding the...

Artificial hearts: a century of innovation

Published on August 9th, 2026

By Professor Brian J Ford Artificial heart technology has advanced through decades of scientific persistence, engineering innovation and clinical collaboration. As next-generation devices move closer to routine practice, their evolution highlights the long scientific, regulatory and translational pathway from laboratory concept to life-saving medical technology. Cardiac surgery is being transformed by the introduction of the...

MHRA awards Innovation Passports to liver cancer and dementia medicines

Published on August 7th, 2026

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has announced that two investigational medicines targeting liver cancer and dementia with Lewy bodies have been granted Innovation Passport designation through the UK's Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway (ILAP). The designations have been awarded to a biological medicine for hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver...

MHRA approves first lower-carbon beclometasone inhalers for asthma

Published on July 24th, 2026

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved the world's first pressurised metered dose inhalers (pMDIs) to use a next-generation lower-carbon propellant for the maintenance treatment of asthma. The new versions of Clenil Modulite 100 micrograms and 200 micrograms inhalers will become available in the UK later this year. Manufactured by Chiesi, the...

STADA appoints Mark Pearson as Head and EVP, Global Consumer Healthcare

Published on July 20th, 2026

STADA has appointed former Reckitt executive Mark Pearson as Head and Executive Vice-President (EVP), Global Consumer Healthcare. Pearson, who also joins the STADA Executive Committee, will be based in Bad Vilbel, Germany, and will report directly to CEO Peter Goldschmidt. Pearson brings 25 years of international consumer healthcare experience, having held senior operational and global...

Care Quality Commission appoints Emily Miles as Chief Executive

Published on July 17th, 2026

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has appointed Emily Miles as Chief Executive. Miles joins CQC from her current role as Director General for Food, Farming and Biosecurity at the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. She will take over the role in October from interim Chief Executive Dr Arun Chopra, who will be returning...

Roche secures CE Mark for automated latent tuberculosis blood test

Published on July 14th, 2026

Roche has received CE Mark approval for its Elecsys IGRA TB test, an automated blood test designed to improve the detection of tuberculosis infection (TBI), also known as latent tuberculosis. The test provides results in under 24 hours, with the interferon gamma release assay (IGRA) itself taking around 19 minutes per patient, approximately half the...

Sygnature Discovery appoints Susanne Back as Head of In Vivo Pharmacology

Published on May 21st, 2026

Sygnature Discovery, an integrated drug discovery contract research organisation (CRO), has announced the appointment of Susanne Back as Head of In Vivo Pharmacology. Susanne brings 20 years of in vivo pharmacology experience across academia and industry, including senior scientific and leadership roles at Orion Pharma and Charles River. Based in Nottingham. She will lead one...