China After four years away, Brendan Shaw recently returned to China to attend the ChinaBio Innovation and Investment Conference in Suzhou. Although geopolitical tensions, the fallout from COVID-19, and local market challenges have dampened stakeholder optimism around China somewhat in the last few years, Shaw feels that the country still has…

China A roundup of some of the latest pharma news from China including Pfizer’s first Asia launch of Rimegepant migraine treatment in Hong Kong; Zhifei and GSK’s shingles vaccine deal, and the collaboration between the Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Olympus Corporation.   Chinese University of Hong Kong and…

Australia Richard Day of the University of New South Wales, writing in the October 2023 edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, looks at updates to the health technology assessment (HTA) processes in Australia and New Zealand   In April 2023, the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care launched an independent Health…

Japan Real-world data (RWD) offers the possibility of providing important information to help inform regulatory decision-making. But turning this possibility into reality still depends on the quality and reliability of the data, say J&J’s Yumi Wakabayashi and Vicky Han in October 2023’s DIA Global Forum magazine. With appropriate efforts to ensure…

Hong Kong Hong Kong provides some of the best and most efficient healthcare in Asia, with Hong Kongers living to over 85 on average (compared to 83 in Singapore and 78 in mainland China), and the World Health Organisation ranks the city among the top 20 healthcare systems globally. However, unlike many…

Global Shawview Consulting’s Brendan Shaw looks back on a sombre United Nations High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage in New York last month, as stakeholders reflected on the long road still to travel if the goal of securing UHC for the world’s population by 2030 is to be met. Shaw…

Taiwan As a part of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), the Medicines Patent Pool has signed a worldwide license with Medigen Vaccine Biologics (MVC) for its COVID-19 vaccine, representing a debut on two fronts. Not only is this the first time a COVID-19 vaccine developed by…

China A decade on from its launch, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) initiative has made some significant wins but remains some way from fulfilling the vision of a fully integrated internationally competitive bay area to rival that of its US west coast namesake.   Staggering Fundamentals Home to 87…

Hong Kong 2018 marked a significant milestone in Hong Kong’s journey towards creating a vibrant biotech market for investors which allows Asian innovation to receive the funding it needs to progress. It was in that year that the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) launched the bold and visionary move of allowing clinical-stage…

Vietnam As geopolitical tensions between China and the US increase and pharma industry stakeholders are increasingly looking elsewhere in Asia to diversify their supply chains, Vietnam has emerged as a highly promising investment destination with a great deal of potential still to unlock. While government healthcare approaches have led the country…

Hong Kong Insighta, formed this year as a 50/50 joint venture between genomics-focused outfit Prenetics and one of the city’s most feted scientific sons, Professor Dennis Lo, is aiming to change the face of cancer care via widespread early detection.   While early detection is widely recognised as crucial to enhancing cancer…

China Writing in the September 2023 edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Shuting Li of Anhui Jimin Cancer Hospital and Xinfang Fan of Bayer Health Care Ltd. examine how Chinese clinical trials are increasingly focusing on patient engagement and patient centricity.   In recent years, with the Chinese government’s vigorous support…