Switzerland This piece forms part of InFocus Biotechs to Watch Switzerland 2021, a deep dive into the Swiss biotech ecosystem and fundamentals, featuring data sets, feature articles, and profiles of some of its most exciting companies. Download here.   2020 stands out as having been the best year yet for Swiss…

Denmark Since joining Danish neuroscience specialist Lundbeck as its global CEO in 2018, South African Deborah Dunsire has focused on “revitalising and refreshing” the firm’s pipeline, which had seen several failures in the preceding years. In an exclusive recent conversation with PharmaBoardroom, Dunsire explains the strategy she has put in place…

Global Paula Barbosa, head of influenza policy and advocacy at the IFPMA and board member of the #TogetherAgainstFlu campaign, looks ahead to what could be a devastating 2021/22 flu season, with natural immunity among vulnerable populations down following the pandemic induced lockdowns and preventive measures of last year. Barbosa lays out…

Norway Norway has been a global frontrunner in collecting health data and building unique registries for decades but has struggled to utilise and benefit from them. Karita Bekkemellem, CEO of the Association of the Pharmaceutical Industry in Norway (LMI), examines how a new health data sharing platform can change that— to…

Europe The Top Five countries in Europe for pharma production. All located in Western Europe, Switzerland punches well above its weight to take top spot. This data is taken from the 2021 edition of the EFPIA’s comprehensive annual data review of the European pharma industry.   Switzerland Despite boasting a population just one…

Russia The latest news from Russian healthcare and life sciences, including the WHO’s decision to suspend the approval process for the country’s Sputnik V COVID vaccine, hesitant uptake of Sputnik V both at home and abroad, and an in-depth feature on Russia’s untreated pain epidemic.     Sputnik V: WHO suspends…

Denmark Long established as a premier early launch country for innovative medicines within Europe, the Danish market access system has become more complicated of late as the Danish Medicines Council – the body charged with providing guidance about new medicines for use in the Danish hospital sector – adjusts to the…

China The latest news from Chinese pharma and biotech, including news that state-owned Sinopharm is now developing its own mRNA vaccine; an update on Hong Kong’s biotech investment ecosystem three year on from allowing pre-revenue biotechs to list on HKEX; and another big global investment from Swiss CDMO Lonza, this time…

APAC Writing in the September edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Rosilawati Ahmad of Malaysia’s National Pharmaceutical Regulatory Agency; Tharnkamol Chanprapaph of the Thai FDA; and Samvel Azatyan, Valerio Reggi, and Prapassorn Thanaphollert of the World Health Organization highlight the progress towards regulatory harmonization in ASEAN and work between country-level regulatory…

Canada Writing in the September edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Dr Judith Glennie examines the specific steps that have been taken in the journey towards a National Pharmacare program in Canada, including the creation of a Canadian Drug Agency, a National Strategy for High-Cost Drugs for Rare Diseases, and an…

Global The global push to vaccinate populations against COVID-19 has played out differently in different geographies, with a yawning gap still existing between vaccination rates in developed and developing economies and vaccine hesitancy and scepticism rife in certain countries. Here, three country managers from Pfizer – which is aiming to manufacture…

CEE The latest pharma news from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), including a new report on the disparities between the region’s healthcare systems and those of Western Europe; why US companies are looking to invest in CEE; how Polish vaccine scepticism has benefited Australia; and Hungary’s manufacturing tie-up with Chinese Sinopharm.…