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Business writing today is much less formal than it was twenty years ago, mainly due to the influence of email. M

According to USFDA, a combination product is one composed of any combination of a drug and device; biological product and device; drug and biological product

ost people use email as an alternative to face-to-face conversation where informality is key.

Since we frequent

; or drug, device, and biological product and fixed dose combination would include two or more combinations of drug.

Examples of combination products may in

ly use contractions when speaking, it's certainly acceptable to use contractions in most of our daily business w

lude drug-coated devices, drugs packaged with delivery devices in medical kits, and drugs and devices packaged separately but intended to be used together.

riting. However, confusion over the correct form can complicate the issue.

When we contract words, we make one

here is enormous increase in the number of combination products entering the market in the recent years. Combination products have proven advantages but fixe

word out of two. To show that letters are missing, we use an apostrophe in place of the missing letters. The apo

d dose combinations are still in the process of convincing regulatory authority on their advantages over the single ingredient formulations.

Combination pro

strophe must go where the letters are missing! Do not becomes don't; I am becomes I’m
ucts have become life saving products for the pharmaceutical companies who doesn’t have many innovative molecules in their product pipeline and have been inc
>; cannot becomes can't. (Note that cannot is actually already one word--an exception to th
easingly used in the product life cycle management. Even the companies having product patents are trying to extend their product life cycle through the combi
e two-word rule. It is incorrect to write “I can not attend the meeting.” It should be written, “I can
nation products and maximize the revenues. But the companies involved in this practice are overlooking that they are burdening the patients both economically
not attend the meeting” or “I can’t attend the meeting.”)

Apostrophes can be confusing because they’
and physically. They need to rightly judge the benefits of the combination products and they have to even look at the risks involved when combining the produ
re also used to show possession: man's office; woman's briefcase; executive's decision. Don
ts. Some of the combination products were well accepted by physicians while others suffered. Companies involved in development of combination products are fi
’t be misled into thinking theirs or hers which also show possession, should have apostrophes: The
ding difficulty in defining their combination products and facing various challenges from selecting a combination to marketing it.

Following aspects would a
y are personal possessive pronouns (like mine, his, its), which never have apostrophes. An
dd to the challenges in developing combination products:

Which markets to tap where the combination products can do fairly well?
Which combination prod
easy way to remember is this rhyme: “Possessive its never splits.”

When determining whether to use it's
cts are meaningful and rational?
Which therapeutic categories to select?
Which Combinations can address unmet needs of the patients?
Do combin
or its, ask yourself if you're contracting two words or if you want to show possession. In other words, "
tions increase the patient compliance?
What would be the developing cost?
How to tackle the risks encountered during combination product developmen
Do I mean it is (or it has--as in 'It's got the biggest window') or am I referring to owner
t?

As combination products don't fit into the traditional categories of drugs, medical devices, or biological products, the USFDA is in the process of devel
ship?" The following sentence shows examples of contractions (missing letters) and a personal possessive prono
ping new procedures for reviewing their safety, efficacy and quality.

Professional from academic institutions, pharmaceutical industries, health care indust
un: "It's too bad the dog doesn't have its own house."

Remember that although it's okay to
y and representatives from various regulatory agencies are working out to design the regulatory requirements for manufacture and sale of combination products
use contractions in business writing, it's not always preferable. When you want to emphasize a point, using two
.

As there is an increasing trend of the combination products companies manufacturing such products should be able to tackle the problems involved in the de
words might be a better choice: "Despite the economic downturn, we are not planning to downsize our work
elopment. They need to be wiser in analyzing the market trends and the regulatory requirements.

Companies that provide selfless information through particip
force in the near future."

©Mary Ward Menke You may reprint this article as long as the source is kept intact.

tion in industry events and feedback to regulatory authorities would be able to face the challenges and will be successful in developing combination products

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Just Other Articles - Business Writing - Using Contractions Isn't a Bad Thing

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