UAE With a welter of regulatory upgrades in the UAE and Saudi Arabia in recent years, patients in the Middle East’s leading countries now have wider and faster access to cutting-edge biopharmaceutical innovation than ever before. Here, four leading lights in the region’s pharmaceutical industry highlight some of the most important…

Global Several macro-trends affected the pharmaceutical industry in 2022, impacting its inventory position, writes Matthew Bardell, managing director of specialist inventory consultants nVentic. Bardell highlights findings in a recent report – including the fact that despite widely-reported medicine shortages, Big Pharma’s inventories grew significantly last year – and calls for a…

USA Big Pharma has been raging against the US’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ever since it was passed last year. Merck (MSD global) has recently taken its indignation a step further and sued the US government, arguing that the new legislation violates the constitution, but shareholders at the ICCR are not…

Saudi Arabia The Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) has joined the Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme (PIC/S), aimed at harmonising inspection procedures worldwide. Through PIC/S membership the SFDA looks to continue bolstering its capabilities and further its international collaboration efforts.   SFDA’s accession to PIC/S is one of the strategic projects of…

Europe Writing in the June 2023 edition of DIA’s Global Forum magazine, Angelika Joos of MSD and Susanne Ausborn Roche consider some of the key takeaways from a workshop on regulatory reliance at DIA Europe 2023 which brought together international representatives from both industry and regulatory bodies.   Reliance* is considered the…

USA Although clinical trial diversity remains high on the agendas of industry sponsors, there is still a long road to travel towards more equitable and representative research – and ultimately safer and more effective medicines. On this theme, writing in the June 2023 edition of the DIA Global Forum magazine, Jorge…

USA Speaking at the 2023 BIO International Convention Chris Viehbacher who joined Biogen as CEO only a few months ago, criticised the US’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legislation that will allow Medicare to negotiate prices for the drugs it spends the most on as of 2026. Viehbacher, who was brought in…

USA While the COVID-19 pandemic was a global wake-up call for many, life sciences stakeholders argue that not enough is being done to address the rising threats of further health crises and equate health security with national security, a necessity that requires consistent public funding. In addition, as a recent panel…

USA During a panel discussion at the BIO International Convention, Peter Marks, director of the US FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) discussed the positive regulatory outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as the backlogs it created and the challenges of carrying the lessons learned forward.   At…

China A roundup of some of the most significant recent stories from the Chinese pharmaceutical industry, including a slate of international investment which seems to suggest that – despite ongoing political tensions – China remains an attractive market for multinational pharma.   AstraZeneca defies geopolitics to bet on China – Financial…

Greece Greece is a middling performer in terms of clinical trial numbers on the European stage, nestled next to Finland and Romania on total trial numbers between 2002 and 2020 but ahead of Germany and Italy on trials per capita. However, the pharmaceutical industry does see opportunities for establishing greater trial…

USA During the ongoing BIO International Convention in Boston between June 5th and 8th, the US lobbying group has announced a new board chair in Ted Love as well as a new executive committee.   Love is a longstanding BIO board director and the former President & CEO of Global Blood…