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. Here Thompson discusses the need for stronger public-private sector alliances in the push towards universal…

Opinion Meghann Chilcott, senior vice president of OrderInsite, discusses the opportunities and threats around Amazon’s move into selling software that reads medical records.   Digital health records are notorious for creating more work for doctors. A lack of standard practices means that the information saved in these records is often copied and…

Canada Jan Hux is the President and CEO of Diabetes Canada. Canadians have been at the forefront of tackling diabetes since the discovery of insulin. Now that the disease has become an epidemic, measures must be put in place to tackle it at a population level.   If diabetes prevalence were…

Patients The Director General of EFPIA (European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations) discusses what they are doing to put patients at the forefront of their business.      Actively listening to patient experiences, patient challenges and exchanging insights must shape how EFPIA develops its thinking, its dialogue with others, its policy…

IFPMA On Universal Health Coverage day, the Director General of IFPMA (the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations) explains UHC and how the biopharmaceutical industry is part of the solution.   Our industry is much more than a supplier of medicines and vaccines and is increasingly pioneering new ways to overcome…

USA David H. Crean, PhD, Managing Director for Objective Capital Partners, a leading investment banking advisory firm examines the venture investment activity in life sciences for the past year.    In order to have a successful life sciences R&D program, biotech and pharma companies must develop game-changing therapeutics, companion diagnostics and personalized…

Opinion Emmanuel Fombu, Global Strategy and Digital Innovation Leader at Johnson & Johnson reflects on health professionals’ fears of AI and their place in the healthcare workforce of the future. Sure, robots might be better at carrying out specific operations or at carrying out monotonous tasks without tiring, but it’s the…

Opinion Ian Chamberlain looks at the changing role of the pharma sales manager and the skills needed to keep up with new tech and the next generation of millennial sales reps. With more than 25 years pharmaceutical industry experience, Ian  provides training to help pharma salespeople talk to their customers. The best…

Genomics Aditya Bhattacharji manages Eurasia Group‘s healthcare analysis and Kevin Allison is the director of geo-technology. Together they look at last week’s shock revelation of two CRISPR* babies who were born in China and the added tensions this might cause with the USA.    Aside from the immediate implications for US-China strategic competition, the…

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. Here he looks at Novartis’ bold M&A moves and what they could mean for their generics arm, Sandoz.   Besides the large business platform…

Opinion Martin Dewhurst, co-leader for McKinsey’s global Pharmaceuticals and Medical Products Practice, discusses the enormous potential value of digital and analytical advancements for R&D.     One of the areas with the most transformational impact is the potential to double R&D productivity over the next five to ten years.   After years of…

USA Chester “Chip” Davis, Jr, the President and CEO of the Association for Accessible Medicines (AAM) discusses the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples Act (CREATES) and how it will improve access to medicines and restore healthy competition to the market.    American taxpayers, along with millions of patients, will benefit…