The familiar rituals of festive celebration can be a comfort to many, and prudent hosts remember that such occasions are not a time for innovation. Family, friends and guests are more likely to enjoy the shared pleasures of participating in a ritual’s traditions than they are to be craving diversion from its norms.

However, beyond a certain point the appeal of the familiar can quickly wane. Not only can we have a surfeit of convention; we can also become thoroughly nauseated by it.

Reviewing some of the customary ‘New Year’s predictions for pharma’ posts on returning to my desk this week, I felt more than a little queasy (this post by Digitally Sick colleague Alex Butler being a notable exception).

Unlike the celebrations that precede it, the New Year is a time to take a fresh look at the problems that confront us, not merely to resume…