Europe The 9th February 2019 marked the launch of the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) which will use cutting-edge technology to safeguard the medicine supply chain against fake products.   Each European country has to implement a National Medicines Verification System – EMVS   The new system — which is being dubbed the…

UK In recent years, apocalyptic conversations around superbugs caused by antimicrobial resistance (AMR) have been on the up, but just in case we were becoming immune to these warnings, the UK has dropped a big announcement that not only indicates the country’s commitment to the problem but also the imminent threat that…

UK An unusual characteristic of the UK’s healthcare landscape is that charities fund the vast majority of medical research.  According to the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC), in 2017, 8 million people donated to medical research charities which funded £1.6bn in research and accounted for 47% of all publicly-funded medical research in…

UK The two Big Pharma giants today announced the merger between their consumer healthcare businesses, with the joint venture (JV) set to become the global market leader in over-the-counter (OTC) products with a market share of 7.3 percent.   This move will see GSK effectively split into two separate businesses –…

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…

UK Aditya Bhattacharji manages Eurasia Group‘s healthcare analysis. In his second piece for PharmaBoardroom, Aditya examines the dangers of nationalism and populism for the private sector.   The biggest global risk I see is with active pharmaceutical ingredients, most of which come from China, which has been at the centre of trade tensions,…

UK With more than 25 years pharmaceutical industry experience, Ian Chamberlain provides training to help pharma salespeople talk to customers and provides sales managers with software to help pharma companies intelligently listen to the dialogue. As an insider, Ian breaks down the changing role of medical salespeople, from “Tell Sell” to “Intelligent…

UK Yesterday, pharma giant AstraZeneca announced that they have halted investment in the UK due to lack of clarity on trading regulations during this time of Brexit uncertainty. “If a transition deal does not make clear what will happen in the future, we will maintain our decision not to invest,” Leif…

Regulation The UK Prime Minister has been convinced by medical professionals to fortify all flour with folic acid to reduce the number of birth defects in newborns. A large cohort of government and NHS advisors are in support of fortification, which already occurs in over 80 countries including the US. It…

BIOTECH This week the NHS becomes the first in the world to routinely offer access to breakthrough genomic medicine. Today (1st October 2018) marks a huge stride in ‘precision medicine’ in the UK as the NHS begins to offer gene therapies tailored to individual patients. Hospitals across England have connected to specialist…

UK The UK country managers of some of the biggest global pharma companies explain what it takes to manage in the UK market.   Erik Nordkamp, Pfizer Erik Nordkamp, the Dutch national serving as managing director of Pfizer UK and the newly-appointed president of the ABPI, likens managing a UK affiliate…

UK For French mid-cap Ipsen, the UK is one of three global hubs, with manufacturing in Wales, large-scale R&D activities near Oxford as well as UK Commercial Operations and global functions including HR, Tech Ops and Commercial Operations in Slough, near London. With ten percent annual growth to reach GBP 80…