It is an honor to write this foreword as acting Vice President of NSF Health Sciences, and welcome to the 49th edition of the NSF Health Sciences Journal.

This edition looks at the issues impacting the pharmaceutical, device, and dietary supplement sectors in 2022.

Reflecting on my six years with NSF and my FDA career, there has never been a more exciting time in Health Sciences. As we emerge from this pandemic, our industry is at a crossroads of patient demand and patient safety, and much has changed since the last edition of this journal.

The criticality of scientific research, clinical studies, and post-market surveillance has been at the forefront of the news with the development of lifesaving Covid-19 products. Global supply chain concerns have weighed heavily on manufacturers' minds as essential materials have been hard to source, and costs have hit an all-time high. This issue was keenly discussed in our recent Symposium, and you can read more about it in this edition. Nonetheless, the life-sciences sector continues to protect global health and introduce new medicinal products and devices into the market.

Our pharmaceutical and medical device teams have been busy supporting clients around the globe as we begin to feel the impact of the U.S. FDA resuming onsite inspections. The steps manufacturers can take to help ensure inspection readiness as regulators around the world resume these activities is a recurring theme in this issue.

I hope you find the articles in issue 49 helpful, and I encourage you to share them with your industry colleagues. Our fiftieth issue, published later this year, will take an in-depth look at the NSF Health Sciences Symposium and, again, focus on the issues that continue to reshape our industry.

Heather Howell