Canada As the only country in the world to boast a universal healthcare system that does not cover prescription drugs, Canada has been struggling with the concept of ‘national pharmacare’ for a number of years now, with fierce advocates on both sides of the debate.   Canada [has] some of the…

Switzerland Switzerland, rightly regarded as one of the world’s most innovative nations, risks damaging its reputation if innovative new medicines continue to face significant delays and roadblocks in their introduction to the domestic Swiss market. Key stakeholders from pharma industry associations Interpharma and scienceindustries and local affiliate heads for multinationals Bayer…

USA In the aftermath of the fiery first presidential debate between incumbent Donald Trump and Democratic Party rival Joe Biden, we round up the latest on how the latest developments in US politics stand to affect pharma and healthcare. Featured are the two candidates’ proposals for drug pricing reform and Trump’s…

Roundup The latest news from Asia-Pacific pharma, including Alovtech and DKSH’s biosimilar commercialisation partnership, Samsung Biologics and AstraZeneca’s joint move to strengthen their manufacturing collaborations, and whether President Duterte’s vaccine diplomacy can kickstart the domestic Filipino pharma industry.   Alvotech and DKSH have expanded their partnership to commercialize six new biosimilar…

USA Regular PharmaBoardroom contributor Brendan Shaw weighs in on the potential implications for US pharma of President Donald Trump’s latest executive order on medicine pricing, its wider impact on other high income economies, and why a Democratic victory in the upcoming presidential election will not see this issue go away.  …

Japan Toshio Fujimoto, MBA, MD of Japan’s Shonan Health Innovation Park, gives an insider’s take on the opportunities and challenges for pharma companies in the large, innovation-friendly, but often misunderstood, Japanese market.   Japan is the world’s third-largest economy and second-largest pharmaceutical and medtech market, and yet it still holds a…

Opinion Robert Hall of Ardent Search, an executive search boutique specialised in the life sciences and healthcare sectors, highlights the five key points for recruiters and pharma companies to consider when hiring market access professionals to work in Asia.   Whether it is an established or a developing market, access is…

USA As part of our upcoming US Healthcare and Life Sciences Review, we spoke to key stakeholders – former Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) president & CEO Chip Davis; Carol Lynch, president of Sandoz US, head of Sandoz North America and member of the Sandoz Executive Committee; and Amgen’s biosimilars business…

Roundup Recent news from the cross-border deals and partnerships being struck by Chinese pharmacos, including I-Mab’s USD 2 billion immuno-oncology collaboration with AbbVie, Jiangsu Hengrui’s latest deal with US biotech Dyadic, and Fosun Pharma’s role in the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.   AbbVie and Chinese biotech I-Mab Enter Into Global Strategic Partnership…

Gilead With remdesivir practically a household name today as the first therapeutic to be approved for the treatment of COVID-19 patients, Gilead chairman and CEO Daniel O’Day and Gilead vice-president and general manager of the Asia 5 region (Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia) Andrew Hexter are determined to stress…

Norway Norway, more well-known internationally as an innovation hub for oil & gas and marine biology, is attempting to reverse the trend of reducing numbers of clinical trials and cultivate a domestic healthcare research industry. Drawing on the country’s comprehensive health registries, universal healthcare system, links with its Nordic neighbours, and…

India The USD 41 billion Indian pharma industry, the world’s third largest by volume and 13th largest by value, stands to grow by between 12 and 14 percent in the next three years, with exports predicted to grow by eight to 14 percent, according to a recent KPMG report.   The…