Chagas disease, caused by the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi, is a potentially life-threatening illness currently afflicting eight to ten million people worldwide. Latin America is home to the vast majority of Chagas patients, as the disease is most commonly transmitted through contact with the faeces of triatomine insects, also known…

CPhI Worldwide 2014, held this year in Paris, was the largest ever event held by the organizers, with more than 36,000 attendees and 2,500 exhibitors. PharmaBoardroom was a media partner of this year’s event, and Frederic Boucheseiche, the founding partner and COO of Focus Reports and PharmaBoardroom, was invited to…

biotech Over the course of a day of unprecedented collaboration, Argentina’s biotech industry came together to discuss the challenges facing their industry in Argentina and the region at BioArgentina 2014, an event organized by the Argentinian Chamber of Biotechnology (CAB). Bringing together over 900 professionals across the industry, with perspectives from the…

partnerships “We are glad to host, together with ETIF, an event bringing forward pharma technologies to Argentinian patients. We hope this collaboration with ETIF will be the first of many” – Ines Nandin, Publisher, PharmaBoardroom The eighth biennial Pharmaceutical Industry Technology Event (ETIF) took recently took place in Buenos Aires, running from…

R&D As a result of contractions in the domestic market following the European financial crisis, pharma companies based in Spain have been forced to look elsewhere for business, beyond the borders of Spain and Europe to more far-reaching areas of the globe. Thankfully, the authorities helped out to make this process…

investment Newcomers to Algeria’s fledgling, but increasingly vibrant pharmaceuticals sector are immediately struck by the sense of liveliness pervading the industry. Indeed, as growth patterns in developed markets continue to flatten, and the protagonists of ‘big pharma’ pivot towards securing new revenue sources in emergent economies, Algeria must surely constitute one…

distribution Although Chile is a relatively small market, with only 17 million inhabitants, its geography makes it a challenging environment for logistics and distribution services. Chile stretches over 4,300 km along the southwest coast of South America, a distance roughly the same as that from San Francisco to New York. At…

UAE How quickly can a country truly transform its healthcare system, while making it sustainable for the future? The mindset of Emiratis is that anything that is feasible and beneficial for the country should and will be done, regardless of the cost. This is why health authorities have been moving at…

generics Chile is aiming to achieve complete bioequivalence of generics by the end of 2014. Chile’s Public Health Institute is leading the bioequivalence testing, aimed at regulating differences between generic and bioequivalent drugs. The recently appointed director of the Public Health Institute, Ricardo Fabrega, echoes the need for drastic change and…

cost containment “Cost containment measures are not just a Polish story, but a European reality,” says Marcin Hanczaruk, general manager at Amgen. “The Reimbursement Act is a real revolution, but it has brought both benefits and shortcomings. One consequence is that Poland has the lowest average price of medicine in the European…

mergers The global pharmaceutical sector continues to witness significant mergers and acquisitions activity, with 122 M&A deals completed in 2013. This trend has continued due to several multi-billion dollar deals around the world in 2014, which is already recorded the busiest year for healthcare acquisitions. In Chile, the dealmaking sweeping started in December 2013…

Spain’s pharmaceutical industry has been under a lot of pressure in the past few years: public expenditure on pharmaceuticals contracted nearly 29 percent between May 2010 and December 2013. Numerous cost-containment measures, such as increases in co-payments, de-listing hundreds of minor medications and price cuts have all contributed to the…