China DIA Global Forum’s annual review of new drug approvals in China has shown growth in both the number and types of new drugs approved in China from 2019 through 2021: from 34 new chemical drugs and 19 biological products in 2019 to 37 new chemical drugs and 24 biological products…

Asia-Pacific Through compassionate use programs patients suffering from critical, life-threatening conditions can access potential life-saving therapeutic options which have not been formally approved by the responsible health authority in an ethical and regulated way. ChongXiang Tan, Fengyun (Vicky) Han and Annetta C. Beauregard of Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson…

Brazil Although Brazil is one of the world’s top pharma markets, with the highest market value in Latin America, and has made major strides towards universal healthcare, the country continues to recover from its worst recession ever and the fallout from its disastrous COVID-19 response. Brazilian voters are preparing for a…

Global Fortune’s new 50 Most Powerful Women in Business list features four representatives of Big Pharma, as well as a further four from powerful US health insurance corporations.   The annual ranking is based on five criteria: the size and importance of a leader’s business in the global economy, the health…

Egypt Back in June 2022, Pfizer signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Egyptian Ministry of Health (MoH) to transfer the technology for producing its pneumococcal vaccine. The fifth highest selling drug in the world in 2020, Prevnar 13 is on the World Health Organization (WHO)’s list for use in routine immunisations given…

France French mid-cap Servier has launched a new visual identity and logo and announced an ambitious 2030 growth plan with an increased focus on hard-to-treat cancers.   Servier, which is governed by a foundation, brought in EUR 4.7 billion in the 2020/21 period according to the firm’s latest annual report, and…

Italy The electoral victory of the centre-right coalition in Italy should see far-right firebrand Giorgia Meloni replace former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi as Prime Minister at the end of October 2022, becoming the first woman to ever hold the role. This spirit of change seems also to have permeated…

Europe The EU biopharmaceutical ecosystem is currently languishing in third place globally. EUCOPE’s Alexander Natz discusses how the European Commission’s most fundamental review of the pharmaceutical legislation in decades is supposed to change that but in reality, is discouraging innovation and competitiveness.   The European Commission’s ambition to future-proof the EU…

China A roundup of some of the biggest recent stories from Chinese pharma, including Moderna’s refusal to divulge its mRNA IP, Advanced MedTech’s acquisition of urology leader WIKKON and Menarini’s AMR deal with SciClone Pharmaceuticals.   Moderna holds onto its vaccine IP and refuses tech transfer in China (Financial Times) Moderna…

Sweden Svante Paabo has won the 2022 Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for his ground-breaking work in paleogenetics. Paabo’s research – which includes sequencing the genome of the Neanderthal for the first time – has wide-ranging implications for the study of human evolution, as well as in the development of…

Ireland Recent announcements from Ipsen and AbbVie of multimillion Euro investments into Irish manufacturing plants underline the Celtic nation’s continuing attractiveness to pharma multinationals. While an upcoming hike in Ireland’s famously low corporate taxation rates could dampen investor enthusiasm, industry insiders are bullish on the country’s continuing attractiveness.   Banking on…

Germany A roundup of some of the biggest recent stories from German pharma, including the latest on beleaguered Bayer CEO Werner Baumann, Merck KGaA’s latest investments in France and Germany, and STADA securing the first authorized treatment in Europe for the rare kidney disease immunoglobulin A nephropathy (IgAN).   Bayer’s hunt…