France David Loew, formerly executive vice president of Sanofi Pasteur, Sanofi’s vaccines division, was appointed CEO of fellow French firm Ipsen on the 28th May 2020, effective 1st July.   Loew, who spoke to PharmaBoardroom in January 2019 while in position at Sanofi Pasteur, is taking the helm from Aymeric Le…

Europe Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel recently put their heads together to come up with a health strategy that would ensure greater European access to innovative medicines and COVID-19 treatments.   The so-called “power couple” – German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Emmanuel Macron –  presented a jointly developed five-point…

Coronavirus In a recent interview with Financial Times, Sanofi CEO Paul Hudson set out to clarify some recent comments that the US would get priority access to a COVID-19 vaccine. He explained the firm’s collaboration with US research group BARDA and underscored that Sanofi is committed to bringing vaccines to all…

Talent Four Belgium country managers for some of the world’s largest pharma companies give their words of wisdom for women starting out in the industry.   “Focus on your strengths” Sonja Willems, managing director for Janssen in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux) shares her wisdom for people building their careers…

Romania With the 2019 acquisition of Celgene – one of the largest pharma acquisition in history – two of the sector’s most innovative oncology companies have joined forces to lead the charge against cancer. The combined entity is expected to rise in the global biopharma rankings, complete with a fresh new…

Roundup Below we highlight some recent developments in pharma and healthcare in the UK, including drug shortages in British intensive care units (ICUs), COVID-19 drug trials, biotech deals and market access developments.   Coronavirus leading to ICU drug shortages In the UK the coronavirus pandemic is leading to shortages of drugs…

Spain PharmaMar, a Spanish firm, is beginning Phase II clinical trials for its anti-tumour drug Aplidin to treat coronavirus. The firm’s stocks have soared on the news.   PharmaMar is joining the race to find a treatment for COVID1-9. The Madrid-based company that developed multiple myeloma therapy Aplidin (plitidepsin) announced that…

Coronavirus The world’s two leading vaccine producers, GSK of the UK and France’s Sanofi, last week announced that they are working together to develop a vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19); an unprecedented agreement that shows the scale of the challenge facing the global biopharmaceutical industry and possibly provides the world’s…

Czech Republic PharmaBoardroom’s latest report: Healthcare & Life Sciences Review: Czech Republic is available for download now.   Home to a USD 3.38 billion pharma market, one of Central and Eastern Europe’s most high-performing healthcare systems, and one of the region’s leading economies, the Czech Republic’s healthcare and life sciences market is…

Belgium In 2020 PharmaBoardroom sat down with several key stakeholders in Belgian pharma to discuss company strategy, the Belgian healthcare landscape at large, and the country’s role within the wider European and global ecosystem. Here we highlight some of the key themes of the discussions: innovation, generics and biosimilars, and teamwork.…

Romania According to a 2015 United Nations International Migration Report, since Romania joined the European Union in 2007, around 3.4 million Romanians have left the country in search of a better quality of life and economic opportunity.   In 2019, the number of babies born in Romania was approximately 182,000, making…

Romania While the dismal regulatory environment in Romania has negatively affected the innovators with the uncertain and lengthy regulatory approval timelines as well as the dreaded ‘clawback tax’ doubling over the past decade, the generics sector has argued that they are the ones that have borne the brunt of unfavourable industry…