Rare Diseases The 28th February 2019, marks the twelfth international Rare Disease Day. On and around this day hundreds of patient organisations from countries and regions across the globe will strive to raise awareness of some of the world’s rarest disease. For many of the rare diseases out there, we are yet to…

Ipsen Following on from Johnson & Johnson’s acquisition of Actelion in January 2017 and Takeda’s takeover of Shire two years later, pharma multinationals’ rush to snap up rare disease specialists continues with Ipsen’s proposed acquisition of Clementia Pharmaceuticals. Industry insiders predict that this trend is set to continue well into the…

Mexico Cristobal Thompson is the executive director at AMIIF (Asociacion Mexicana de Industrias de Investigacion Farmaceutica). In this article, he introduces us to an exciting new youth program set up to improve unemployment rates in Mexico and how the pharmaceutical industry is getting involved.    The investment in human capital is an…

China China’s regulator approved a biosimilar version of Roche’s Rituxan this week, the first such drug ever to be given the green light in the country. With numerous other biological copycats of blockbuster drugs in development, potentially difficult times lie ahead for Roche and other Big Pharma firms in China.  …

Japan Already established as one of the world’s leading markets for innovative and patented drugs, Japan is set to grow rapidly in 2019, partly as a result of a dramatic uptake in generics and biosimilars.   Japan’s pharmaceutical industry has long centred on strong innovation and patented drugs, but we are…

Opinion Despite the savings and increased patient access biosimilars have brought to health care systems across Europe, the US has been surprisingly slow in their adoption. Chip Davis, President and CEO, Association for Accessible Medicines breaks down the systematic challenges that must be addressed in order for the US biosimilars market to realize…

China The lowdown on what it takes to be a country manager of a multinational pharma company in some of the world’s most challenging markets. Robert Hall of Ardent Search outlines what he looks for in potential candidates for country manager positions in China.   What are the qualities you look…

Opinion For PharmaBoardroom, Ian Chamberlain has already covered the changing role of the medical rep and the line manager of tomorrow. This time he turns his attention to sales trainers and the skills they will need to expand on in coming years.   It is a myth that the longer I do…

Opinion Kelly du Plessis is CEO & Founder of Rare Diseases South Africa, a registered NPO born out of necessity when her oldest child was diagnosed with Pompe disease at 11 months old. Here she provides insights on where South Africa is at in terms of rare diseases and what needs…

Opinion Pierre Meulien, Executive Director of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI) in Europe, outlines the value of public-private partnerships in drug research and development and highlights areas where these collaborations are proving their worth in overcoming some of the most challenging threats to our health.    Our collective ability to translate…

South Korea This week the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety announced that as of 12th March 2019 a revised narcotics bill will go into effect that will allow imports of medical cannabis for self-treatment but under strict conditions.   Until now, the import, export, manufacturing and sale of cannabis has been…

Turkey Turkey – home to an 80 million-strong population, a substantial pharmaceuticals market and a universal healthcare system that is the envy of its neighbours – stands as one of the most promising healthcare and life science investment destinations in its region. Topics covered in this report range from the successes…