Italy As the European Union’s largest beneficiary of the Next Generation EU (NGEU) package, aimed at boosting the EU’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy will receive some EUR 235 billion in grants and loans over the lifetime of its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP). With respect to healthcare, the…

Switzerland Roche slipped from second to fifth place in this year’s ranking of the world’s top pharmaceutical companies, reported uninspiring numbers for the first half of the year and seen its long-time CEO resign. But make no mistake: the Swiss giant is carefully guarding its position as one of the world’s…

UK “Life sciences are at the heart of my vision to build a country fit for the future,” tweeted new UK Prime Minister Liz Truss last month. Now installed as leader of a country facing a once-in-a-generation cost of living and energy cost crisis compounded by geopolitical turbulence and the continuing…

Italy While Italy’s biotech landscape is generally held to be somewhat immature in comparison to more established markets such as Germany, France or the UK, that does not imply a deficit of innovation. On the contrary, the Italian life science scene is increasingly strong when it comes to behind-the-scenes, incremental innovation.…

Poland Some of the top stories emanating from Poland’s pharma industry, including Polish biotech Ryvu Therapeutics’ exclusive deal with Exelixis, the partnership between Polpharma and startup Pikralida on a promising epilepsy candidate and Adamed’s expansion of its laboratory facilities.   Exelixis and Ryvu Therapeutics Sign Agreement to Develop Novel STING Agonist-Based…

France Exor, led by Fiat brand heirs the Agnelli family, has signed a partnership agreement for an investment of EUR 833 million in the also family-owned French holding, Institut Mérieux, known for its diagnostic arm, BioMérieux. Under the new partnership, Exor will acquire a 10% shareholding in Institut Mérieux by way…

Spain The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to more than five years of economic growth in Spain. But the country was not alone. Due to strict containment measures, the Europe’s economy went into the greatest recession since the Second World War during the first half of 2020. To…

Croatia With the start of construction on a EUR 100 million biotech production plant near the Croatian capital Zagreb, Pfizer continues its investment in the country. The creation of the plant is the result of a partnership with the Swedish company specialised in rare diseases, Sobi, and Pfizer-backed CDMO Pfizer CentreOne…

Spain After decades of investment, Catalonia has secured its healthcare and life sciences hub status, accounting for more than half of Spain’s pharma exports and with more clinical trials than any other region. The birthplace of many of the country’s pharma success stories, Catalonia boasts a strong scientific output by European…

Spain Its unorthodox name reflecting a somewhat unconventional approach, mAbxience has achieved some significant milestones in its short history, including becoming the only privately-owned company in the world with less than 500 people to have launched a monoclonal antibody biosimilar. “This is not usually a small company game, and mAbxience did…

Italy Italy, Europe’s fourth largest pharma market at a size of EUR 23.446 billion, has a highly decentralised healthcare system, with the country’s 20 regions negotiating market access for medicines individually following central regulatory approval. This creates significant complexities for the representatives of Big Pharma looking to roll out their latest…

CEE Some of the most important stories emanating from the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region’s pharma industry, including Poland’s most promising biotech start-ups, an interview with Zentiva CEO Nick Haggar, and Takeda’s investment in an IT centre in the Slovak capital, Bratislava. Elsewhere, Pfizer has begun construction on a new…