Portugal Portugal boasts a well-developed universal healthcare system and saw healthcare spending increase by 6.2 percent annually between 2016 and 2021, according to the OECD. However, the representatives of innovative medicines manufacturers embedded in the country are keen to point out that access to the latest drugs remains a big issue…

Europe A new piece in the January 2023 edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine lays out how a new coalition aims to transform the landscape for rare disease treatments in Europe and beyond.   The knowledge and infrastructure required to unlock rare disease “white spots,” diseases where there is currently no…

Japan Toshi Tominaga of Keio University Hospital, writing in the January 2023 edition of the DIA Global Forum magazine, outlines some recent updates to Japanese drug registration legislation, including how domestically generated academic clinical data can be utilised.   Japan’s current regulatory framework for investigator-initiated trials (IITs) of drug candidates seems…

APAC The latest pharma and healthcare news from APAC, including Celltrion’s plans to sell its Takeda portfolio to CBC; reforms to the South Korean national insurance system that may lead to shorter reimbursement timelines; Novartis’ early-stage HDAC6 Inhibitor deal with Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical; Astellas Pharma’s gastric cancer FDA fail; Daiichi…

United Kingdom The recent FDA decision to investigate the serious risk of patients developing new cancers after treatment with CAR-T therapies may have created some bad press around cell and gene therapies, but AstraZeneca has continued to consolidate its ambitions in the area with the acquisition of China-based cell therapy biotech, Gracell…

Denmark After transitioning from a fledgling biotech to a mature commercial-stage company on the back of its first approval, Zealand Pharma was hit with the challenges of commercialisation and the disappointing sales of its severe hypoglycemia treatment, Zegalogue. As a result, in 2022, the Danish firm did an about face, sacked…

China The latest pharma industry and healthcare news coming out of China including AstraZeneca’s acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies; the alarming drop in enrolment in China’s state health insurance system; Huadong Medicine/Impact Therapeutics cancer drug deal; new Changchun GeneScience Pharmaceutical R&D centre in Shanghai, and MGI Tech’s bet on Australia.   AstraZeneca,…

USA Drawing on her experience as rare disease patient advocacy group SYNGAP1 Foundation’s founder and former president, Monica Weldon argues for the need to standardize genomic testing practices, warns against the possible ethical implications of individualized medicine, and makes a cause for a more holistic approach within rare disease communities.  …

France Just five months after taking office, Aurélien Rousseau resigned from his role as health minister in protest against France’s recently adopted immigration law. Interim replacement Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, the sixth health minister since 2017, is not expected to stay long after accusations relating to gifts she obtained from pharma…

USA As part of our Transformative 2023: Regional Pharma Trends report, PharmaBoardroom’s Louis Haynes takes a look at a watershed year for drug pricing in the planet’s most lucrative pharma market.   Drug development is inherently a risky business, but this will compound that risk further… to the point where now,…

Global Last year’s COP28 summit saw a host of pharma players touting their green credentials, as PharmaBoardroom’s Louis Haynes explores here. This is an extract from our Transformative 2023: Regional Pharma Trends report, available for free download now.   At the recent COP28 climate change conference in the UAE, industry bodies…

Brazil Brazil’s ANVISA is commonly recognised as LatAm’s leading national medicines regulator and is defined by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as a National Regulatory Authority of Regional Reference (NRAr) for medicines and vaccines. As part of our Transformative 2023: Regional Pharma Trends report, PharmaBoardroom’s Patrick Burton explores some of the key recent…