South Korea This week the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that as of 12th March 2019 a revised narcotics bill will go into effect that will allow imports of medical cannabis for self-treatment but under strict conditions.   Until now, the import, export, manufacturing and sale of cannabis has been…

Turkey Turkey – home to an 80 million-strong population, a substantial pharmaceuticals market and a universal healthcare system that is the envy of its neighbours – stands as one of the most promising healthcare and life science investment destinations in its region. Topics covered in this report range from the successes…

Rare Diseases In the run-up to Rare Disease Day 2019, David H. Crean, PhD, Managing Director for Objective Capital Partners, reviews the investment and deal activity for orphan drugs in 2018 and delves into future forecasts for the rare disease space.   With drugs currently available for only about 5% of rare diseases,…

Canada Durhane Wong-Rieger is the President & CEO of the Canadian Organization for Rare Disorders (CORD). In her first article for PharmaBoardroom, Durhane explains the changing landscape for access to rare disease drugs in Canada and the actors involved in getting there.   The irony of the government processes, which, on…

Opinion Brian Hilberdink, President of Novo Nordisk Canada, calls for the Canadian government to encourage and invest in innovative biopharmaceutical companies in Canada.    I’ve often wondered how things would be if Canada had steadily continued a path of biopharmaceutical discovery and commercialization after Banting and Best’s breakthrough in 1921, and what…

Opinion After her son was diagnosed with SYNGAP1 – an extremely rare gene mutation – Monica Weldon founded Bridge the Gap – SYNGAP Education and Research Foundation to support families of those suffering from the illness and to accelerate the path to better therapies. Here, Monica shares her organisations secret to success in the…

China It has been announced by China’s State Council that as of March 1st 2019, the government will reduce the VAT on a “first batch” of 21 rare disease drugs and four active pharmaceutical ingredients (API’s) by more than 80% in a bid to get new treatments to market faster. Historically, China has…

China This is the first in a series of articles examining what it takes to be a country manager of a multinational pharma company in some of the world’s most challenging markets. We start in China, where the heads of Merck, Ipsen, Chiesi, Gedeon Richter and AbbVie’s Chinese affiliates give their…

GW Pharma Founded in 1998, GW Pharmaceuticals is a British biopharmaceutical company, best known for being the only company with a license to cultivate cannabis in the UK. True pioneers, they are the producers of Sativex and Epiodiolex, the former being the world’s first prescription medicine derived from the cannabis plant —…

Korea Looking at what it takes to be a country manager of a multinational pharma company in some of the world’s most challenging markets. DHR International’s Helen Park outlines what she looks for in potential candidates for country manager positions in South Korea.   What are the qualities you look for…

Europe The 9th February 2019 marked the launch of the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) which will use cutting-edge technology to safeguard the medicine supply chain against fake products.   Each European country has to implement a National Medicines Verification System – EMVS   The new system — which is being dubbed the…

France The healthcare and life sciences industries, as they become more advanced and complex, increasingly require government involvement to ensure clinical compliance, ethical behaviour and the well-being of the nation. The health sector is subject to mounting regulatory pressures meaning politics must play a key role. As we advance more and more in healthcare…