Japan Writing in the June edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, representatives of Japanese pharmaceutical companies with US operations outline how the COVID-19 pandemic affected their ongoing clinical studies.   The spread of COVID-19 and the resulting social activity restrictions have severely impacted drug development and threatened the continuity of clinical…

China Writing in the June edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Harbour BioMed’s Fang Zhou, in conversation with Sanofi China’s Irene Deng, looks at how Chinese pharmaceutical regulations have evolved and what impact this has had on regulatory professionals in the country.   The Chinese pharmaceutical industry, through the first five…

Mexico The latest news from Mexican pharma, including Bayer’s big bet on oncology and Novartis’ aggressive expansion strategy as well as updates on the country’s vaccination drive, including the upcoming rollout of the J&J jab, why the country’s doctors are being denied vaccines, and the progression of trials for the Sanofi…

USA Dan Leonard of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) highlights five key takeaways from the organisation’s remote but dynamic annual conference, and how the US generics and biosimilars industry might evolve post-COVID.   AAM and our member companies have experienced a year like no other, and the lessons of the…

Saudi Arabia 33-year pharma industry veteran Georg Schroeckenfuchs currently heads up the vast Middle East & Africa (MEA) region for Swiss behemoth Novartis, overseeing 19 countries, over 1800 employees, and more than USD 900 million in revenues. In a recent conversation within the frame of PharmaBoardroom’s current focus on Saudi Arabia, the…

Hong Kong With three years having passed since the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX)’s decision to allow pre-revenue biotechs to IPO, we look back at a stellar 2020 for the Exchange and what the recent appointment of a new CEO – the first foreign appointment in its history – means for the…

USA With the US FDA’s controversial recent decision to approve Biogen and Eisai’s aducanumab – the first approval for a new Alzheimer’s disease (AD) drug since 2003 – PharmaBoardroom has raided its archives to bring key industry stakeholders’ takes on the significance of this decision and what it might mean for…

Singapore Since 2000, when Singapore first positioned biomedical research as the fourth pillar of the country’s economy, government funding towards innovative life sciences start-ups and spin-offs has dramatically increased. These companies have greater access to funds, both from state actors as well as via private equity and public listings, but barriers…

Switzerland While once considered the land of milk and honey within Europe in terms of market access and reimbursement for innovative pharmaceuticals, Switzerland is increasingly tightening its belt on this front in line with its European neighbours. Indeed, this year two cost containment packages are under discussion in the Swiss parliament…

Asia-Pacific The latest from the pharma industry in Southeast Asia, including underwhelming results from Kalbe Pharma, Indonesia’s largest pharma company; Novavax’s vaccine manufacturing plans in the Philippines; the promising future of cannabis in Thailand; and the first Vietnamese coronavirus vaccine candidate’s Phase III trials.   Indonesia’s Kalbe Farma sales underwhelm investors…

France The latest news from French pharma, including why President Emmanuel Macron’s initiative to bring medical production back to Europe has hit a wall, Sanofi’s slow progress towards finally bringing its COVID-19 vaccine candidate to market, and why investors are still betting on Valneva.   Macron’s Push for German Pharma Alliance…

China In May 2021 Swiss giant Roche launched the ‘Roche Accelerator’ in Shanghai, a USD 31.1 million investment aiming to foster and capitalise on China’s burgeoning life sciences start-up ecosystem.   The 5000 square metre project, Roche’s first such in-house accelerator globally, builds on the company’s sizeable existing R&D presence in…