Genomics Aditya Bhattacharji manages Eurasia Group‘s healthcare analysis and Kevin Allison is the director of geo-technology. Together they look at last week’s shock revelation of two CRISPR* babies who were born in China and the added tensions this might cause with the USA.    Aside from the immediate implications for US-China strategic competition, the…

Spain According to a survey carried out by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) over half of the Spanish population believe Pseudo-therapies to be of real value.   “Public and private establishments that include pseudo-therapies will not be able to call themselves health centres,” Health Minister Maria Luisa Carcedo…

Opinion Christoph Bieri, PhD is Managing Partner of Kurmann Partners, an M&A firm advising Pharma and MedTech companies on strategic mid-market deals in Europe and the Americas. Here he looks at Novartis’ bold M&A moves and what they could mean for their generics arm, Sandoz.   Besides the large business platform…

Opinion Martin Dewhurst, co-leader for McKinsey’s global Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products Practice, discusses the enormous potential value of digital and analytical advancements for R&D.     One of the areas with the most transformational impact is the potential to double R&D productivity over the next five to ten years.   After years of…

USA With an increasing number of NFL players relying on potentially dangerous prescription painkillers, does the league need to relax its attitude to medical cannabis?   The US National Football League (NFL) is a juggernaut. Even with decreased television ratings in 2017, the league’s revenue was up. Each of the NFL’s…

South Korea Southeast Asia’s notoriously strict anti-cannabis laws could be set to relax dramatically as South Korea becomes the first country in the region to legalise cannabis for medicinal use.   This surprising move towards legalisation is intended to expand treatment options for patients suffering from rare diseases such as epilepsy.  …

USA Chester “Chip” Davis, Jr, the President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) discusses the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act (CREATES) and how it will improve access to medicines and restore healthy competition to the market.    American taxpayers, along with millions of patients, will benefit…

Spain After a recent course of political shifts, Spain now finds itself with a new minister of health; the third since this past June.  Maria Luisa Carcedo, who was named as the Spanish minister of health by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on September 11, has replaced Carmen Monton, who resigned after…

Malaysia Halal pharmaceuticals – medicines that do not contain any alcohol, parts of animals such as dogs, pigs, bees, or any other substances prohibited as ‘haram’ under Shariah law – are becoming increasingly widespread globally. This trend is especially prevalent in the Asia Pacific region, where the significant Muslim populations of…

Portugal Lawyer Joana Silveira Botelho provides regular legal assistance to pharmaceutical companies and other entities of the health sector. Here she examines Portugal’s new regulatory framework on cannabis for medicinal purposes.    What will actually change considering that in Portugal (and in the European Union) it is already possible to obtain a marketing…

China Following China’s vaccine scandal earlier this year, the country’s drug administration has considerably tightened up inspection processes of vaccine manufacturers which is causing shortages and raising the risk of widespread flu infection.   In July this year, Chinese vaccine producer Changsheng Biotechnology (who account for 15 percent of China’s flu…

Turkey Despite the sharp decline in the Turkish lira’s value, the general mood among pharmaceutical executives in Turkey is positive. Rather than being discouraged, they are calling upon their resiliency and experience from former periods of economic fluctuation to push the Turkish healthcare and life sciences sector forward.   Turkey made…