USA In 2019 big pharma companies prioritised shareholder payouts and dividends, with the eight biggest US pharma companies topping $31 billion in stock buybacks and the same amount in dividends. Revenues were not necessarily consistent with dividend and buyback amounts, and some critics argue that payouts should be lessened in favour…

China 2019 was a bumper year for biotech companies listing on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx), with nine pre-revenue biotechs and eight revenue-generating biotech and biotech-related firms, mostly originating from mainland China, listing last year. The average amount of funds raised by these was a whopping four to five times higher…

Opinion Health Catalyst’s Elia Stupka explains why and how patients must be kept at the centre of the healthcare systems of the future, even as they become increasingly data-driven.   Healthcare data is seen by many as the ‘new goldmine,’ with many businesses in this field evaluated and sold at a significant…

Webinar With the recent publication of Ten years on: Measuring the Return from Pharmaceutical Innovation 2019, PharmaBoardroom has teamed up with Deloitte to offer its readers an exclusive webinar on The Future of Biopharma.   On 25th February 2020, join us to discuss the major trends that have impacted the biopharma industry over the past ten years, the…

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico had to rebuild itself – in many cases quite literally – after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Maria in 2017. However, despite the havoc that Maria brought to the island’s telecommunications, energy and water supply, the jewel in Puerto Rico’s crown – its pharmaceutical industry – remained largely…

Czech Republic Medicine shortages are a European-wide issue. In 2016, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the Heads of Medicines Agencies (HMA) formed a task force to investigate availability issues, including medicines that are authorized but not marketed, and supply chain disruptions in order to improve the continuity of medicine supply across Europe.  …

France France is home to the highest rates of vaccine mistrust in Europe, with a third of French people disagreeing that vaccines are safe, according to the Wellcome Global Monitor survey. However, the country is aiming to shed its reputation for vaccine hesitancy and roll out increased mandatory vaccinations for a…

USA David Crean summarises the mood at the recent J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference 2020 in San Francisco, noting a more subdued atmosphere than previous years, with reduced attendances and no big M&A announcements. Crean does, however, underline the importance of the Conference for industry networking and highlights some of the biopharma…

Canada John L. Wallace of Antibe Therapeutics highlights how Canadian innovation stands to put the country at the forefront of the next wave of global biopharmaceutical R&D. BlueRock Therapeutics, a promising North American start-up with a new Parkinson’s disease drug, was recently sold to Germany’s Bayer at a $1 billion valuation.…

Europe Isabell Remus, chair of the Biosimilar Medicines Group at Medicines for Europe outlines the issues that need to be addressed to keep driving biosimilar uptake in Europe.   Since the first treatment was approved in 2006, Europe has been at the vanguard of the biosimilar medicines sector, approving more treatments…

UAE The United Arab Emirates’ Cabinet, the de facto executive branch of the federation, recently announced a set of decisions and legislation to support health research as a pillar of the country’s 50-year plan. The measures intend to support the healthcare sector, improve its quality and performance.   They include a…

Romania As anti-vaccination sentiments resurface globally, so have once-eradicated diseases. This situation is especially prevalent in Romania and has become a severe economic, social, and health threat.   Romania’s Struggle with Anti-Vax Sentiments The newly appointed minster of health of Romania—Dr Victor Costache—has announced that mandatory vaccination is a priority for…