UK The UK government has decided to go ahead with a much-debated increase in the revenue clawback rate —from 24.4 percent to 27.5 percent— for drugmakers subject to its Statutory Scheme for branded medicines. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) warns that this latest move to reduce spending will…

Europe The Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) sector has flousished in recent years as Big Pharma has shifted its attention to its core R&D activities and outsourced other supply chain components, including manufacturing, to independent CDMOs. In Europe the CDMO market is expected to reach a revenue of nearly USD…

France Despite an uncertain macro-economic environment, the French health technology sector continues its growth trajectory, demonstrating both entrepreneurial dynamism and maturity, according to the new edition of the France Biotech study encompassing French startups in biotech, medtech and digital health.   France Biotech, the French association for innovation in healthcare, has…

Poland Poland’s largest pharmaceutical company and leading generics manufacturer, Polpharma, is looking to expand its presence outside of the country’s borders. With a recent acquisition bid for former Sanofi European generics unit, Zentiva, Polpharma is building on a growing international footprint beyond its CEE base.   Founded over 80 years ago,…

Global IFPMA Director General Thomas Cueni highlights the global innovative pharmaceutical industry’s five key priorities for ensuring better national and international healthcare responses to future pandemics, drawing on the lessons of COVID-19.   The international community is working to rebuild the global health architecture to ensure it is fit for purpose…

Global Dr Matt Linley, senior director for analytics and forecasting at predictive health analytics firm Airfinity, looks ahead to a potentially game-changing year in the fight against respiratory synctial virus (RSV), which has seen a major spike in cases this winter. Linley assesses the potential impact of some major new treatments…

Belgium A roundup of some of the biggest pharma news from Belgium including Neuraxpharm’s new Belgian affiliate, Novalis Biotech’s investment in Rarity Bioscience, Catalent’s plasmid DNA manufacturing site and a recent study on the country’s clinical trial footprint.   Neuraxpharm completes its presence in Benelux by opening an affiliate in Brussels…

CEE Some of the most important stories emanating from the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region’s pharma industry, including Polpharma’s bid for Zentiva, Richter’s acquisition of OC Distributors and MDD approval in the US, Hungary’s windfall tax on pharma, Presage’s collaboration with Pure Biologics and Lithuania’s biotech ambitions.   Polpharma working…

Greece DEMO, founded in 1965, is a mainstay of Greek pharma and one of its largest companies, accounting for 25 percent of the total investment across the entire Greek pharmaceutical sector. Throughout its long history DEMO has shifted its focus, moved towards exports and weathered Greece’s financial crisis. Today, the family-owned…

Global In spite of the spectacular healthcare advances the world has seen in recent decades and increasing evidence that gender equality is not only an ethical necessity, but a decisive component of economic and social development, disparities in women’s health persist. At the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, diverse…

UK A roundup of the latest UK healthcare, pharma and biotech news including AbbVie and Lilly’s departure from the country’s voluntary medicines pricing agreement, Moderna’s expanded footprint, UK biotech’s 2022 funding downturn and Gilead’s Yescarta approval from NICE.   Northern Ireland Medicines supply still ‘problematic and inefficient’ (BBC News) According to…

Global At the recent World Economic Forum in Davos, Chair of the Executive Board and CEO of Merck, Belén Garijo, speaking in a session on workforce transformation in the digital era, shared lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic experience, insights into the importance of building leadership skills, and using technology as an…