biotech Local flagship company Boryung has found success with its newly developed angiotension receptor blocker (ARB) Kanarb. Nine molecules currently exist worldwide in this category of antihypertensives, and Kanarb is currently ranked eighth. “Boryung is the only domestic company that has developed a drug from start to finish, including outlicensing. Of…

clinical trials The growth of clinical trials in Korea has been remarkable in recent years. The number of clinical trials performed by multinationals has shot up from five in 2000 to 303 in 2012, with 367 clinical trials performed by local companies. In the same year, Seoul was ranked the number one…

Samsung Korea’s economy has been dominated for decades by chaebols, large family-owned business conglomerates like Samsung, Hyundai, and LG, known for their hierarchical structures and success in Korea’s traditional sectors. However, a number of these big businesses are today making investments in the life sciences area – and those that started…

oncology Despite Peru’s sometimes-sluggish development when it comes to healthcare, the progression of cancer prevention and control in recent decades is tremendous. This is particularly important as the number of cancer cases increases by 50,000 annually in Peru. Communicable diseases like infectious diseases, which used to be a predominant cause of death…

R&D “When I left Janssen, I never imagined joining a Korean company,” recalls Choi Tae-Hung, sipping a freshly brewed yujacha tea in his office on a crisp autumn morning as he gazes down at the busy, sundrenched streets of Seoul below. “I thought that the global business of Korean pharmaceutical companies…

event In order to mark its 65th anniversary, the Mexican Association of Pharmaceutical Research Industries (AMIIF) organized on March 25-26, 2015 in Mexico City the Semana de la Innovación, a week of events dedicated to promote innovation in health. Established on March 23, 1950, AMIIF brings together the 42 leading national…

universal healthcare Healthcare is one of the next items on President Peña Nieto’s busy agenda. The objective: moving Mexico towards universal healthcare coverage. The initiative was started at the beginning of 2000 by the previous government with the objective of ensuring in the long term that “any Mexican – employed or unemployed…

biotech On February second, the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the start of a second round of financing to the biopharmaceutical industry, as part of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry Development Fund (GPIDF). A total of USD 123 million will be invested in Korean pharmaceutical and biotech companies for the…

healthcare “Argentina’s health system is in agony” In March 2002, amidst an economic crisis and national healthcare emergency the then Minister of Health Gines Gonzales Garcia declared “Argentina’s health system is in agony… What is lacking is money, not drugs. Our country has the best pharmaceutical industry in Latin America. The…

One of the more eye-catching elements of the Algerian government’s public health program has been its radical agenda for the country’s hospitals. Ten brand new University Hospital Centers (CHUs) are to be constructed by 2019, raising the national total to 24, while the existing 14 are set to undergo complete…

doing business Insights from existing players on what to expect and how to succeed in Algeria today. “The key to being successful is to be direct and forthright with the Algerians themselves. Trust in them and they will certainly trust in you.” – Essam Farouk, CEO, El Kendi. “The pace of doing…

Since he took office in December 2012, President Enrique Peña Nieto has achieved much in terms of the number of major reforms passed in Mexico. Besides the most expected change opening the long-time state-run energy sector to foreign investment, Peña Nieto’s government undertook an ambitious program of reforms aimed at…