Tagged with Investment

UK With Brexit now confirmed, the UK government has been playing up the country’s scientific credentials. The aim is to cement the UK’s position as one of the world’s top life science investment destinations and multinational pharma firms including Novartis are already taking note.   “Tangible Opportunity” In February 2020, the…

Romania Iulia Arif-Percă executive director of the Local American Working Group (LAWG), shares her insights on the launched initiatives to finding new funding alternatives that will increase Romanian patients’ access to innovative medicines. She highlights the constraining environment in which innovative companies operate in, and how LAWG’s work contributes to the…

Switzerland German biopharma giant Merck is investing EUR 250 million in a new Swiss biotech development facility; underscoring the company’s reliance on Switzerland for the manufacturing of advanced biologicals.   The Merck Biotech Development Center is to be located in Corsier-sur-Vevey, south-western Switzerland, close to the firm’s existing biotech commercial manufacturing…

Czech Republic Patrik Reichl, CEO of CzechInvest, the Investment and Business Development Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, breaks down the role of the agency in implementing the Innovation Strategy 2019–2030 and transforming the Czech Republic as the “Country for the Future” by fostering a local…

Belgium After reaching revenues of EUR 2.323 billion in the first six months of 2019, UCB announced on December 18 that it will build an innovative multi-product biological manufacturing facility on their site in Braine l’Alleud, Wallonia, Belgium.   Headquartered in Brussels, UCB is a global biopharmaceutical company developing innovative medicines…

UK Although biotech financing in the UK took a hit last year in large part thanks to uncertainty around Brexit, 2019 was still the British industry’s third-best year on record.   The UK’s exit from the European Union looms large over all British industries, including pharmaceuticals and biotech. Unsurprisingly, therefore, UK…

USA In 2019 big pharma companies prioritised shareholder payouts and dividends, with the eight biggest US pharma companies topping $31 billion in stock buybacks and the same amount in dividends. Revenues were not necessarily consistent with dividend and buyback amounts, and some critics argue that payouts should be lessened in favour…

China 2019 was a bumper year for biotech companies listing on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx), with nine pre-revenue biotechs and eight revenue-generating biotech and biotech-related firms, mostly originating from mainland China, listing last year. The average amount of funds raised by these was a whopping four to five times higher…

UAE Cara Nazari of AmCham Dubai discusses her role in helping shape the chamber into a more business-minded institution, why Dubai is an attractive destination for investment, improving healthcare stakeholder relations, and fostering ‘Open Innovation’.   Healthcare is a top priority for the UAE. Ensuring quality care for its population is…

UAE Samir Khalil, executive director for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Middle East and Africa (MEA), reveals why the US industry is investing in MEA, the challenges presented by the lack of intellectual property enforcement in the region, and the shifting of focus from manufacturing to broader research…

Czech Republic Jakub Dvořáček, CEO of the Czech Association of Innovative Pharmaceutical Industry (AIFP), describes the thorough review of the reimbursement scheme the association has worked on alongside other key stakeholders in Czech healthcare and evaluates the major change this will bring in terms of access to innovative medicines for patients. Furthermore,…

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is aiming to become a more attractive investment destination for multinational pharma companies through economic development projects that facilitate ease of doing business. Not stopping there, the Kingdom has a bold ambition to become a pharma hub for the entire Middle East region.    Saudi Arabia has the…