mergers The global pharmaceutical sector continues to witness significant mergers and acquisitions activity, with 122 M&A deals completed in 2013. This trend has continued due to several multi-billion dollar deals around the world in 2014, which is already recorded the busiest year for healthcare acquisitions. In Chile, the dealmaking sweeping started in December 2013…

Spain’s pharmaceutical industry has been under a lot of pressure in the past few years: public expenditure on pharmaceuticals contracted nearly 29 percent between May 2010 and December 2013. Numerous cost-containment measures, such as increases in co-payments, de-listing hundreds of minor medications and price cuts have all contributed to the…

generics   “The IMS Health figures show around three to four percent growth in the marketplace,” remarks Raymund Azurin, chief executive of Zuellig Pharma Philippines, “but we are now at a point in time where the business models in this market are changing. The rise of generics and increasing government intervention…

In PharmaBoardroom’s first coverage of Portugal in 2007, generics represented 16 percent of the country’s pharmaceutical market, a tremendous feat considering laws for generics had only been implemented a few years before. Today, generics represent nearly 40 percent of the market in units, with the aim is to increase this…

UAE “Over the past twenty years, we have seen a drastic change in the socio-economic climate of the Gulf region and neighboring countries. There has been considerable growth in terms of wealth and a sharp increase in health expenditures, which was mandated by the Ministry of Health”, explains Ayman Sahli, CEO…

  When PharmaBoardroom came to Portugal in 2007, price cuts, payment delays and changes to the health system with each successive government were but the first indications for the pharmaceutical sector that troubled times were ahead: four decades of political and financial mismanagement had resulted in Portugal’s economic stagnation. When…

Before the introduction of universal healthcare (UHC), most major private hospitals in the Philippines had to rely on imported products. With the MNCs showing only limited interest in small volumes, all too often certain products would never actually make their way to market. It was a situation that skewed market…

china Signed in June 2010, the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) between Taiwan and China was set to reduce tariffs and commercial barriers between the two countries. Obviously, such a deal means a lot to Taiwanese companies; arguably much more than it does to Chinese businesses. But just because the agreement…

  Canada operates a single-payer healthcare system in which the majority of services are provided by private entities, which are paid for at the provincial level. The Canada Health Act of 1984 stipulates universal coverage for all insured health services as administered by the country’s ten provinces. Medication is covered…

Between Portugal’s two main distribution channels of hospitals and pharmacies, hospitals have suffered in particular. As the pharmaceutical industry’s largest customer, it has been critical for government to work with pharmaceutical companies to find solutions. Robin Turner, general manager of Roche Portugal, likens the relationship of the industry with the…

  The inclusion of healthcare as a priority on the presidential agenda has led to knock-on consequences that are being felt across the healthcare value chain in the Philippines. Universal healthcare coverage (UHC) has been cemented, which has led to a shift from branded medicines to generics, leading many players…

Basic Research Despite declining investments by big pharma in recent years, Canada has created a number of innovative ways to incentivize R&D throughout its vast geography. “Science powers commerce,” Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper remarked in 2010. In those three words, the prime minister summarizes a massive effort by various stakeholders to…