Tagged with Disease

Austria Joy Ladurner, co-director of the NKSE (National Coordination Center for Rare Diseases) in Austria, discusses the rationale behind Austria’s prioritization of rare diseases and its leading role in the field. Austria launched a national action plan for rare diseases, the NAP.se in 2015. NKSE has played an instrumental role in…

Canada Greig Estabrooks, general manager of Valneva, talks partnership opportunities for the French-Austrian pure-play vaccine company in Canada, its exciting pipeline, and how he encourages his global R&D colleagues to consider conducting clinical trials for their pipeline products in Canada in order to leverage the country’s great infrastructure and significant human…

Canada Eric Tse, general manager of Shire Canada, highlights the affiliate’s exciting journey over the past four years, including new office location in downtown Toronto, and the launch of six new products in 2017 alone; Shire’s portfolio of innovative solutions across rare diseases and other areas like attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and…

Poland Mirosław Zieliński, president of the Polish National Forum for the Therapy of rare diseases (ORPHAN), the representative voice for 35 Polish rare disease associations, discusses the implications of the introduction of a national rare disease plan and the need to improve rare disease diagnostics. Furthermore, he highlights the importance of…

Canada Clarissa Desjardins is the founder and CEO since 2011 of Canadian biotech success story, Clementia Pharmaceuticals. She explains the different milestones of her company and her priorities moving forward. She also gives her insights on the entrepreneurship environment in Canada and advice on how to make it even more compelling…

Japan Makoto Suematsu, president of the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED), discusses AMED’s successful unification of Japan’s previously disparate systems for medical research funding; the strategic significance of the country’s strong footprint in regenerative medicine and rare diseases; and the organization’s internationalization strategy, propelled by the push to…

Austria Rudolf Widmann, CEO and founder of AOP Orphan, the first rare disease-specific European company, discusses the overriding goal to ensure rare disease patients are matched with the correct treatments and the importance of open dialogue with specialists and patient groups. Furthermore, he highlights the need to differentiate health technology assessments…

Tunisia Diabetes is an important problem in Tunisia, with prevalence is expected to increase over the coming years. Jean-Francois Courtet, general manager of Novo Nordisk in Tunisia, points out rgar “diabetes is the second largest cause of death in Tunisia”. Moez Lindhallah Mokadem, director of Pharmacie Centrale de Tunisie (PCT), adds…

Austria Dr. Wolfgang Harrer, regional manager of Chiesi Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), discusses the challenges of managing the region’s diverse cultural differences and the importance of CEE within global operations. Furthermore, he points out the factors influencing the influx of innovative drugs into Austria, especially in rare diseases, and highlights…

Austria David Kasper, CEO of ARCHIMEDlife, an innovative Austrian company focused on novel laboratory diagnostics, discusses the innovative solution of a dried blood sample in daily routine diagnostics and novel assays as well as the intricacies of working in rare diseases. Furthermore, he provides an insight into the company’s legacy project…

Austria Dr. Wolfgang Schnitzel, general manager of Shire Austria, and Karl-Heinz Hofbauer, site lead Vienna and managing director for the Technical Operations business, discuss the huge impact of Shire’s 32 billion USD acquisition of Baxalta that has grown the workforce from a few Shire employees in Austria to 3,500. Furthermore, they…

Switzerland Saad Harti, president of Legacy Healthcare, discusses the company’s origins, their unique focus on side-effect free botanical drugs for chronic conditions, and the importance of stakeholder education in this exciting but still immature field.   Most of our current emphasis is on alleviating side effects of cancer treatments, also called…