Slow economies and uncertain political situations may often slow the pace of scientific evolution and technical innovation. Pharmaceutical manufacturers that embrace innovation and lead the inevitable evolution will maintain a competitive advantage in such challenging situations. The editorial advisory board of JPI continues its effort to provide high-quality papers calling attention to innovative research that will facilitate rapid development of pharmaceutical products from R&D to market. This issue of JPI provides examples of scientific evolution and technical innovation in the use of experimental design principles in dissolution method development and in predictive modeling for pharmaceutical processes. Formulation novelty is demonstrated in a paper on mucoadhesive tablets. A perspective article defines Japanese GMP/GQP regulations and their challenges, providing insight to international pharmaceutical manufacturers wishing to access the Japanese marketplace. Finally, an article on near infrared spectroscopy demonstrates a new approach to predicting powder flow interruptions, an analytical advance. I thank all of the authors, referees, editorial advisory board members, and others who have supported JPI during 2009, and with your continued support, we look forward to another successful year in 2010.