India Dilip Shah, the Secretary-General of the Indian Pharmaceutical Alliance advocates for a stronger and more empowered regulator in India if the country is to build public confidence in its pharma output and drug inspectors.    Improving the image of drug inspectors- will require investments in “infrastructure”. The key elements of this…

Mexico Cristobal Thompson is the Executive Director at AMIIF (Asociacion Mexicana de Industrias de Investigacion Farmaceutica). The AMIIF represents more than 60 global companies with the aim of contributing to improving health in Mexico through innovative medicine. In this article, Thompson outlines the country’s challenges to the healthcare system and the pharma…

China In late 2018 China adopted a novel procurement scheme with the aim of dramatically cutting the amount being paid for generic drugs. The policy’s effect on pricing stands to hit domestic generic firms hardest unless they adapt their business models. Big Pharma could also lose out as their off-patent originators…

Opinion Deloitte’s Global Life Sciences & Health Care industry leader, Greg Reh gives us an exclusive insight into their forecast for 2019’s industry trends.   For companies to address mounting pressures, a digital-first mindset will be required to make business operations more efficient and bring transformational therapies to the market.   Digital…

Canada As the President of Innovative Medicines Canada, Pamela Fralick leads the industry association for Canada’s innovative pharmaceutical companies, working with its members and communities to ensure Canadians have access to the medicines they need when they need them. In her first article for PharmaBoardroom, Pamela calls for the regular assessment…

Opinion Christoph Bieri, PhD is Managing Partner of Kurmann Partners, an M&A firm advising Pharma and MedTech companies on strategic mid-market deals in Europe and the Americas. In this article, Bieri looks back on the stand out deals of 2018 and gives his insights into 2019.   Sentiment in the industry is…

Egypt Egypt continues to struggle with fake drugs reaching the hands of patients as the suppliers of counterfeit medicines become more sophisticated by adding company logos to packaging.   The Egyptian police have launched large-scale surveillance campaigns aimed at “Bir Al-Salam factories” which are known for manufacturing these drugs that include multiple unknown…

Egypt The Health Committee of the Egyptian House of Representatives is preparing to discuss a draft law from the government on the establishment of the “Egyptian Drug Authority.”   The new entity will specialise in all medicine-related issues, from pricing to shortages to registering new drugs.   Similarly to Europe’s European Medicine…

Korea This week, the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that it would enhance drug safety management and make a new, streamlined review process for advanced healthcare goods. The new process will tighten control on raw drug materials, expand patient compensation for side-effects, and prepare review systems for advanced…

Canada The research areas in which Canada has the potential to excel are numerous, one being the world of genomics. The stem cell itself having been discovered in Canada, Marc LePage, president and CEO of Genome Canada, identifies great potential to attract more fundamental research into that domain in the future.…

Canada PharmaBoardroom’s list of personalities whose voices, opinions and decisions matter in Canadian pharma’s industry, regulatory affairs, reimbursement and pricing.     The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor Minister of Health  The Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor was elected in October 2015 as a Member of Parliament in the riding of Moncton–Riverview–Dieppe. Ms…

France On January 21st, 2019, AstraZeneca inaugurated the extension of the group’s industrial site in the city of Dunkirk in Northern France. The launch was attended by Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, as part of the promotional event ‘Choose France,’ designed to promote…