USA With a total R&D spend of USD 2.66 billion in 2022 and a pipeline that features cutting-edge technologies such as mRNA, cell therapy and gene editing, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is looking to deliver “serial innovation” by investing most of its resources in research. And while some other biopharma companies depend on…

China The latest news from the Chinese healthcare and life sciences industry, including the first public comments from Astellas CEO Naoki Okamura following an employee’s arrest on espionage charges in China, how the country’s drug pricing policy is impinging biotech profits, and the ways in which COVID-19 exposed the weaknesses in…

LatAm Latin America’s patient organisations are today playing a more important role than ever before in developing solutions to the continent’s most pressing healthcare challenges. Given the healthcare gaps that persist, LatAm’s rich tradition of democratic participation, and industry stakeholders’ continuously stated commitments to including the patient voice in their decision-making…

Opinion Airfinity’s Dr Patricia Gallego highlights the persistent threat that COVID-19 continues to present to patients and healthcare systems around the world and outlines the urgent need for more vaccine breakthroughs in 2023 to combat the “tripledemic” burden of COVID-19, flu and RSV.   2023 will be a pivotal year for…

MENA Amira Younes of AbbVie UAE examines how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for new ways of thinking about delivering regulatory effectiveness and efficiency in the region, and for flexibility from all stakeholders to ensure that therapies continue to reach patients in a timely manner.   Most countries in the…

Ukraine Igor Bondarenko of Ukraine’s Dnipro State Medical University, Evgeny Levenko from clinical trials company, ARENSIA, and Olena Popova from IQVIA offer their perspectives on maintaining quality and ensuring participant protection in clinical trials in Ukraine during wartime.   The ongoing war places unprecedented pressure on the healthcare system and clinical…

Argentina Argentinian generics manufacturer Grupo Roemmers – which celebrated its 100-year anniversary in 2021 – has expanded steadily across the Latin America and Caribbean region since the mid-1970s with a successful strategy predicated on customising its offering to each country and balancing local management autonomy with a strong company culture.  …

China John Oyler, co-founded the Beijing-based biotech BeiGene in 2010 with the idea of building a global biopharmaceutical company in China and running clinical trials of an international standard there. With his entrepreneurial background and knowledge of China and its life sciences ecosystem, Oyler has led the company through its consolidation…

Belgium Belgium’s drug reimbursement system has become increasingly lengthy and complex, compromising patient access to innovative medicines. The roadmap recently presented by the Minister of Health and the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI) proposes a series of measures to speed up access, limit the duration of reimbursement…

Spain A roundup of the latest news from Spanish pharma, including Almirall’s earnings forecast for 2023; stock price rise and layoffs at Grifols; PharmaMar’s first European approval for its lurbinectedin treatment of metastatic Small Cell Lung Cancer and Esteve’s launch of the first inhaled rescue treatment for Parkinson’s patients.   Spain’s…

Saudi Arabia Under Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 plan, the country has been activating the private sector’s participation in its healthcare transformation, advancing the public-private partnership (PPP) model to step up the rollout of new and more efficient healthcare infrastructures. After issuing a string of EOIs, the Kingdom’s first hospital PPP project has…

South Korea As big pharma continues to sharpen its focus on R&D by outsourcing other elements of the supply chain, including manufacturing, CDMOs have thrived. Samsung Biologics, one of the world’s top CDMO organizations, with revenues of USD 1.21 billion in 2021, is no exception. In response to increased demand, the firm…