Michael Christel

Emerging Pharma Leaders nominations are now open! Do you know someone who can make tough decisions that continue to face manufacturers? Are they destined to change the future of pharma? Nominate a colleague with impressive leadership and career intentions – even yourself! – for the Pharmaceutical Executive 2026 Emerging Pharma Leaders Awards.

The controversy surrounding embattled gene therapy company Sarepta Therapeutics, including its drug, Elevidys, for Duchenne muscular dystrophy, continues to captivate industry observers—with the latest twist being Sarepta’s decision late Monday to voluntarily pause Elevidys shipments in the US. Monday's action marked an about-face by the company from just a few days earlier, when it rejected the FDA’s request to voluntarily halt shipments following the reported deaths of three patients.

Pharmacies, most agree, are no longer simply just a place to pick up a filled prescription. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy services had begun to expand. The public health crisis, however, would thrust community pharmacies in the US into the spotlight, and they responded. Their offerings—and the reliance on them—exploded. Seemingly overnight, retail and community/independent pharmacies introduced virus testing clinics for COVID, then vaccination distributions at a large scale.