Taiwan Researchers from Taiwan and the USA may have found a vaccine for the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – a deadly emerging disease with a mortality rate of over 34 percent.   The vaccine mimics the characteristics of the virus Hu Che-Ming, Academica Sinica Focus Taiwan reports that scientists…

Opinion Pierre Meulien of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) discusses the potential impact that new technological innovations will have on the drug development process.   A more technologically integrated approach is required that looks more holistically at the patient as an individual Whether we call it “Personalised”, “Precision”, “Stratified”, or “Tailored”, the age…

Korea One of the indisputable economic success stories of the last half-century, South Korea now stands as the world’s 11th largest economy, with a reputation for industrial excellence and innovation. As the Korean state shifts its focus towards healthcare and the life sciences and Korean firms begin to internationalize with greater…

Europe From her vantage point as associate vice president for MSD’s Central & Eastern Europe (CEE) cluster, Gabriele Grom outlines the disparity that still exists in terms of access to cancer treatments across Europe and what must be done to bridge this gap.   Despite the existence of innovative treatments, cancer…

Korea The Korean cosmetics market is now the 8th largest in the world, with 2.9 percent of the global market share, capitalising on the global rise in interest for Korean culture, a phenomenon known as ‘Hallyu’ – ‘the Korean wave’. “In the past, Korean cosmetics had lower product quality and brand…

Egypt The 100 Million Seha (100 Million healthy lives) campaign, which kicked off on a national scale in October 2018 under the auspices of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, aims to detect and eliminate Hepatitis C in Egypt by 2023. The ground-breaking initiative, organized by the Ministry of Health and Population, has…

AI Axel Schumacher highlights the vital importance of AI and blockchain for the future success of pharmaceutical companies, the significant knowledge gap that currently exists within Big Pharma, and why, therefore, now is the time for these firms to invest in AI and blockchain start-ups.   While almost everyone is talking…

USA Monica Weldon looks at the history of medicinal CBD, its current usages in the USA, and why robust scientific research on its efficacy need to be conducted in order to ensure the safety of rare disease patients – many of them children – who are using CBD products for their…

AI Digital marketing expert Buck Dossey expounds the importance of soliciting user data to improve patient experiences and the ways in which AI can be utilised within this process.   Companies should start by thinking of ways to leverage unified data sets and digital access points to create and deliver connected,…

Opinion Aditya Bhattacharji examines whether current healthcare models are truly fit for purpose and how healthcare is becoming a more politicised issue globally.   Globally, the healthcare sector is entering a lengthy period of heightened introspection. That process has been turbocharged by the resurgence of healthcare as a dominant social and…

Europe Bringing together insights from the heads of some of Europe’s most prominent mid-cap pharma firms. The leaders of Ipsen, Genmab, Pierre Fabre, Esteve and Servier outline the strategic directions in which their companies are turning and how they are planning to ensure a successful future.   David Meek, Ipsen David…

Canada Canada is the only developed country with a universal healthcare system that does not provide universal coverage of prescription drugs. With a new national ‘pharmacare’ program being proposed to remedy this situation, Pamela Fralick of Innovative Medicines Canada outlines the strengths and weaknesses of the proposal on the table and…