Egypt As Egypt moves towards universal healthcare coverage for its 100 million-plus population, the country has become the fastest growing pharma market in the Middle East and Africa region with a value of USD 6.3 billion. Here are some of the key trends to watch in Egypt as identified by local…

Italy Angelini Pharma CEO Pierluigi Antonelli has announced that he is leaving his position with immediate effect, posing the question of what comes next for the leading Italian mid-cap.   Antonelli, profiled by PharmaBoardroom earlier this year, had been in position since 2019 having previously worked his way through the ranks…

Switzerland The latest news from Swiss pharma and healthcare, including the startling announcement that Switzerland is set to destroy a full nine million doses of expired Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, with over five million more likely to follow. Elsewhere, Swiss health insurance premiums are set to see their largest rise since 2010…

Vietnam Despite a decline in pharmaceutical sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam is among the 17 countries with the most rapidly growing pharmaceutical industries in the world, as reported by nganhduoc.vn in its 2022 pharma industry forecast. With a market value of some USD 10 billion in 2020, according to another…

South Korea After launching the first Korean COVID-19 vaccine, SKYCovione, SK Bioscience is preparing for its next big milestone, a US subsidiary, with the appointment of two new executives who are already securely anchored in the American life sciences ecosystem: former senior program officer in global health at the Bill & Melinda…

Canada Drs Neil Cashman and Larry Altstiel of ProMIS Neurosciences weigh in on recent progress towards an effective therapy for Alzheimer’s disease, potentially representing a break from three decades of scientific stagnation.   Are we there yet with Alzheimer’s immunotherapies? No. But we have a map, and it’s a good one.…

UK With the brief tenure of Liz Truss as Prime Minister already drawing to a close, the UK faces yet another new leader as the country attempts to extricate itself from the financial havoc wreaked by the Truss administration. Despite this backdrop, activity continues in the UK’s vibrant healthcare and life…

Europe Victor Mendonça, chair of the Generic Market Access Committee at Medicines for Europe, outlines why patient access to medicines is at risk due to intense price pressure and unprecedented inflation and proposes ways to tackle this. The COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine have caused unprecedented challenges for Europe,…

Vietnam A roundup of recent pharma and healthcare news from Vietnam including Gilead’s viral hepatitis initiative, the country’s explosion of dengue fever cases and the investigation into Boston Scientific’s Vietnam operations.   Gilead initiative to improve viral hepatitis management in Vietnam and the Philippines (BioSpectrum Asia) Gilead Sciences has embarked on…

Gobal Thomas Schinecker is set to replace long-standing CEO, Severin Schwan, in the leadership shakeup Roche announced a few months ago. Schinecker is known for leading the company’s COVID-19 test kit efforts as the CEO of its diagnostics division, but he comes to the helm after an almost 20-year career at…

Latvia Latvia has seen some major breakthroughs in recent years: more innovative medicines are available to patients than ever before; the market for commercial, OTC and reimbursable medicinal products has achieved new heights, and we are in a strong position to continue this trend. What has been accomplished and what challenges…

Singapore MSD is set to inject an additional USD 500 million into its existing Singapore manufacturing operations with two new facilities to produce vaccines and biologics. One of the new plants will turn out MSD’s immunotherapy for cancer and its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine for the Asia-Pacific region. The reason we…