Some of the top recent stories from Germany, Europe’s leading pharma market according to CPhI, including big new investments from Merck and Bayer, the implications of the country’s new Digital Healthcare Act, the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on investor sentiment, and the health minister potentially poised to become Germany’s next chancellor.
Merck Announces EUR 250 million Investment in ‘Biotech Development Center’ (Fierce Pharma)
The company says the new facility, to be based near the German firm’s existing manufacturing site in Corsier-sur-Vevey, Switzerland, will bridge biotech development and manufacturing for clinical studies.
https://www.fiercepharma.com/manufacturing/merck-kgaa-antes-up-eu250m-to-bridge-r-d-manufacturing
Bayer and Nuivsan Found Research Unit in Berlin; Still Reeling from Monsanto Affair (BioSpace)
The acquisition of Monsanto for USD 63 billion in 2018 saddled Bayer with more than 42,000 lawsuits over Monsanto’s weed killer Roundup and led to CEO Werner Baumann losing a shareholder vote of confidence in April 2019.
Now in the midst of restructuring and with a USD 10 billion settlement over the Roundup lawsuits in sight, Bayer is stepping up its efforts to boost pharmaceutical sales with the creation of a new research unit in Berlin. It plans to transfer a significant portion of its Berlin-based small molecule research unit to Nuvisan, an international service provider for clinical trials, lab services and contract manufacturing.
Germany’s New Digital Healthcare Act: What’s in it for the Patient? (Healthcare IT News)
Angela Velkova, director of communities and strategic relations for EMEA at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), explains how the DACH delegation (from German-speaking countries Austria, Germany and Switzerland) will prepare for HIMSS20 in the wake of the new Digital Healthcare Act.
https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/europe/new-german-digital-healthcare-act-what-s-it-patient
Coronavirus Impact causes Investor Sentiment to Darken in Germany (FT)
Investor sentiment in Germany dropped sharply in February as the effects of the coronavirus outbreak weighed on exporters, a survey revealed, adding to an increasingly gloomy picture for Europe’s biggest economy.
https://www.ft.com/content/4664ed50-5238-11ea-8841-482eed0038b1
Angela Merkel is on her way out. Meet her Potential Replacements (Fortune)
Candidates to succeed Angela Merkel as Germany’s next chancellor include 39-year-old Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn, profiled alongside the other potential successors here.
https://fortune.com/2020/02/19/angela-merkel-successor-cdu-germany-laschet-merz-roettgen-spahn/
