Tagged with medicine

Africa David Mukanga of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gives an overview of the latest developments on the long road towards the creation of an African Medicines Agency and the push to establish vaccine manufacturing facilities on the continent.   Since the minimum number of 15 ratifications by African Union…

Korea Founder and CEO of GeneMedicine, Dr Chae-Ok Yun, explains how the company, specialised in oncolytic virus development, has progressed since we last interviewed her two years ago, with one of its candidates getting close to phase II clinical trials and the construction of a new manufacturing facility that will enable…

Italy Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ Federico Gomes de Freitas, General Manager Italy, gives us an overview of how the Italian affiliate fits into the company’s global strategy, especially with respect to reproductive health, and his efforts to foster corporate culture there. Within reproductive medicine we are the leaders in the Italian market and…

Europe The new president of Medicines for Europe, Elisabeth Stampa, outlines one of the priorities of her mandate: working to adjust the EU pharma policy framework to improve access for patients across Europe.    Regulatory flexibilities implemented during COVID-19 showed that the EU system can require one of highest safety, quality…

North America In April, the Canadian Ministry of Health announced the government would not be proceeding with certain proposed amendments to the Patented Medicines Regulations which govern the Patented Medicine Prices Review Board (PMPRB)—amendments related to new excessive price factors. The decision, well-received by Innovative Medicines Canada, came after these controversial economic…

Spain Weeks after a mosquito forced the recall of 765,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine manufactured in Spain, the country’s top medicines regulator called for new inspection procedures, praised the loyalty of the Spanish pharma industry and asked if the industry is going “too lean?” Speaking at a conference in Madrid on…

USA When the FDA gave Novartis the historic green light for Kymriah – the first gene therapy approved in the United States – in 2017, the agency declared that it was “ushering in a new approach” to the treatment of cancer and other serious and life-threatening diseases. Today, more than 20…

Australia Writing in April edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, the University of New South Wales’s Richard Day looks at Australia’s National Medicines Policy (NMP) and how it is being reshaped by community and stakeholder feedback.   Australia’s National Medicines Policy (NMP), gazetted in 2000, is being revised and the draft policy was…

South Korea Chair & Founder, Regenerative Medicine Acceleration Foundation (RMAF), So Ra Park MD, PhD*, comments on the regenerative medicine ecosystem in Korea, the country’s new legislative approach to the field, and the Korean market’s strong potential for growth in Asia.   The first approval of a regenerative medicine product in Korea…

Spain The Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) is a Barcelona-based institute dedicated to delivering on the promise of precision medicine in oncology – turning cancer discovery into more effective treatments and better practice for the care of patients. Its director, Dr Josep Tabernero, talks about VHIO’s four main lines of…

Spain EATRIS, the European Infrastructure for Translational Medicine, is an EU-funded program that facilitates scientific collaboration amongst public institutions from 14 member states. Its scientific director, Dr Toni Andreu, explains how the organisation coordinates a network that helps European researchers access public facilities in other countries. A former general director of…

Global Shawview Consulting’s Brendan Shaw examines the WHO’s recently released updated Essential Medicines List. Shaw highlights some of the key trends and new inclusions in the List, why pricing and transparency are hotter topics than ever, and how pharma can incorporate this important document and its implications into their strategies for…