China While the vast majority of the global pharma market still comprises small molecule drugs, the biologics sector has grown rapidly since its inception in the 1980s, and presently, biologics represent a stunning eight out of the top ten best-selling drugs in 2019. In China, this sector has lagged behind developed…

Opinion Drs David Higgins and Marco F Schmidt highlight the gap that exists between the abundant discussions around technological innovation in healthcare and implementation and why pharma needs to develop its own proprietary approaches to crunching ‘wide data’.   Data is the new oil, but biomedical data – despite its abundance…

Opinion In the third of a series of articles chronicling Biogen/Eisai’s Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) treatment aducanumab’s torturous journey to market, Dr Neil Cashman highlights what the next steps in the process will be, why US FDA approval for the drug will pave the way for researchers working on second-generation AD medicines,…

China Since the Chinese biopharma boom started in the late-2000s, Chinese biotechs have seen in-licensing as a shortcut to establishing their own portfolios and developing clinical development capabilities, kickstarting their growth. With most of the founding teams having returned from extensive careers in the US and the unparalleled innovation potential of…

Roundup A roundup of the latest news from Spanish pharma, including J&J’s COVID-19 vaccine trial, the latest developments at Spanish firm PharmaMar which hopes its Aplidin can be used as a treatment for COVID-19, and a new biologics plant for contract manufacturer LSNE in the city of León.   Johnson &…

USA With US still the reigning global champion in biotech innovation, the dynamic and vibrant biopharma ecosystem in the world’s largest healthcare market continues to churn out ground-breaking innovations with companies aspiring to follow in the footsteps of success stories like Regeneron, Celgene, and Amgen. Once US biotechs achieve the significant…

Japan In 2020, Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. became Japan’s biggest drug company, driven by strong performance in recent years both from the company’s own drugs as well as those of parent company Roche. With Chugai now preparing for Phase III clinical trials for Roche’s Actemra for COVID-19, the company’s share price has…

Saudi Arabia The top 10 pharma companies in Saudi Arabia ranked by sales value in USD millions MAT Q1 2019. These top 10 corporations account for 50 percent of total sales in the USD 8.2 billion Saudi pharma market. Global giants Pfizer, Sanofi, and Novartis make up the top three spots, but…

News Roundup The latest from the fight against COVID-19 in Latin America, including J&J’s vaccine trials, issues surrounding Chinese-made diagnostic tests, Colombia’s vaccine manufacturing capacity, and potential compulsory licensing in Brazil.   COVID-19 vaccine: J&J seeks 20,000 trial volunteers in Latin America, one-third of planned global total https://www.businesstoday.in/sectors/pharma/COVID-19-vaccine-jj-seeks-20000-trial-volunteers-in-latin-america/story/415224.html Josue Bacaltchuk, vice president…

Italy In July 2020, Italy became the first country in the world to mandate pharma companies to disclose data surrounding public subsidies received for the development of new drugs. The decree came almost a year after an Italy-led World Health Assembly (WHA) resolution on transparency of markets for health products, comes…

Roundup A roundup of the latest news from pharma in the Middle East and Africa including China’s announcement that it will be prioritising Africa for access to its COVID-19 vaccine, UAE firm Mubadala’s latest US investment, Saudi Arabia’s continuing digitalisation push, and Algeria’s plan to export USD five billion in domestically…

Norway Norway, known more for its expertise in oil and gas and marine biology than in health innovation, is home to increasing numbers of innovative medical technology start-ups. Here are five of the most exciting such companies, as selected by Kathrine Myhre, founder and CEO of Oslo-based innovation cluster Norway Health…