Europe Physician and pharma industry veteran Iris Zemzoum is returning to Europe after leading Novartis Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa through the COVID-19 pandemic. As Novartis looks to further hone in on innovation after spinning-off generics and biosimilars division Sandoz, Zemzoum will face a unique set of challenges in her…

Europe Writing in DIA’s Global Forum magazine for June 2024, the organization’s Vedran Raguz reviews some of the key takeaways from DIA Europe 2024, namely the need for increased collaboration, alignment and harmonization among international regulatory bodies and stakeholders.   One of the overarching themes of DIA Europe 2024 was the imperative of…

Germany A roundup of some of the biggest stories coming out of German pharma, including Merck’s better-than-expected Q1 earnings; Stada’s possible return to the stock market; CDMO Vetter’s expanded capacity in the US and Germany; Bayer’s elimination of some 1,500 jobs, and BioNTech’s bid for MediLink’s solid tumour platform.   Merck…

Global One of the doyens of European biotech is stepping back from general management. Jean-Paul Clozel founded rare disease focused Actelion along with his wife Martine Clozel in 1997, a company that went on to become publicly traded and launch three blockbuster drugs. The Clozels then sold up to J&J for…

Switzerland The latest news from Swiss pharma and biotech including a new CEO appointment for leading CDMO Lonza, promising Phase III readouts from Novartis’ latest leukaemia drug at ASCO, Roche’s pivot to obesity, and why the Swiss industry is betting big on artificial intelligence.   Lonza appoints Wolfgang Wienand as new…

Spain A roundup of the biggest stories emerging from Spain’s pharma industry: Grifols pushes to improve governance after accusations of overstated earnings; Rovi and Insud join forces to create Spain’s first semi-public pharmaceutical company; Almirall and Eloxx Pharmaceuticals sign a licensing agreement for a rare dermatological disease asset, and Esteve acquires…

Global Marijn Verhoef, Director of Operations and Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation examines the interconnected challenges of drug shortages and antimicrobial resistance. Verhoef urges decisive and urgent action from the pharma companies that manufacture lifesaving antibiotics and antifungals to ensure that patients can get the right medicine when they…

UK Throughout his long career, John-Arne Rottingen has gathered experience across multiple domains from discovery research to public health and diplomacy that led him to become the founding CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovation (CEPI). In January he took on the leadership of the UK-based foundation Wellcome, coinciding with…

France The biggest stories from French healthcare and pharma, including AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Amolyt Pharma; protests over Sanofi layoffs; Pierre Fabre’s purchase of Kinnate Biopharma’s  experimental pan-RAF inhibitor, and French biotech SeaBeLife’s EUR 1.5 million funding round.   Withdrawal of a flu vaccine due to a price dispute between Sanofi and…

Portugal Women account for half of the Portuguese labour force, but Portugal lags behind the European average for women in top positions, as a 2023 McKinsey study shows. However, Portuguese pharma appears to buck this trend, with several women assuming leadership positions within the country. Indeed, over half of the 13…

Spain Brazilian national Maria Fernanda Prado, who began her career in pharma more than 20 years ago, has been at Janssen/Johnson & Johnson for more than half of that time. She has taken on the leadership of a diverse set of geographies —­ from Turkey to Central Europe and Benelux —…

Switzerland While the Swiss biotech sector is inevitably facing many of the same funding challenges as the global industry and is still struggling to make a meaningful comeback from its 2022 slump, the latest report from the Swiss Biotech Association and EY shows the sector’s resilience with the record revenues of…