Japan A roundup of the most important stories coming out of Japan’s pharma industry, including the sharp increase in deaths linked to Kobayashi supplements; the partnership between Moderna and Mitsubishi Tanabe to jointly promote Moderna’s mRNA respiratory vaccine portfolio; the country’s move to to support domestic antibiotics production; Takeda’s licenscing agreement…

Brazil With the largest public healthcare system in the world, Latin America’s biggest pharma market, its leading regulatory body, and a huge and diverse population, Brazil is a strategic destination for both regional and global pharma. Read on for five things to watch in 2024 and beyond from this dynamic nation. …

Mexico Mexico’s president-elect Claudia Sheinbaum recently revealed some of her key cabinet choices, naming eminent physician and researcher David Kershenobich as the country’s new health secretary. When Kershenobich takes office in October he will be inheriting a healthcare system rife with medicine shortages, partially adopted systems and inadequate resources. However, rather…

USA The Promising Pathways Act 2.0 is a newly proposed bill that aims to expedite and streamline approval pathways for rare disease therapies in the US. The Act is, however, facing a number of challenges in terms of implementation. The sponsors of these niche therapies tend to be small and medium-sized…

China A roundup of some of the biggest pharma industry news from China, including Fosun’s bid for Henlius Biotech; the revision of the US’s Biosecure Act to provide more time for cutting ties with China; Baili Tianheng’s second Hong Kong listing; Hasten’s acquisition of asset rights for 14  products from Celltrion,…

Global 35 years after the specific mechanisms and structure of the human immunodeficiency virus were first identified, the world is still waiting for a vaccine against HIV. Several late-stage candidates have failed in this time, leading to most of the major pharma companies exiting HIV vaccine research. Some new early-stage approaches…

Saudi Arabia As a part of the sweeping transformation Saudi Arabia is achieving thanks to its Vision 2030, the Kingdom is also advancing its research ambitions. With the restructuring of its regulatory framework along with its well-established network of research institutes and bolstered by the integration of electronic health records, Saudi has…

Global Brendan Shaw paints a concerning picture of global health priorities post-pandemic, highlighting the need for renewed focus and investment in healthcare systems to prevent further backsliding.   “There isn’t a financing gap. There is just money that is not moving towards the right things. There’s plenty of money out there”…

Italy Some of the biggest pharma and healthcare stories coming out of Italy, including Italy’s antitrust investigation of Novartis and Genentech; Johnson & Johnson’s EUR 125 million investment in its Italian manufacturing site; Chiesi Farmaceutici’s licensing agreement with Gossamer Bio for a pulmonary hypertension drug, and Menarini and Insilico’s oncology partnership.…

China Writing exclusively for PharmaBoardroom, Song Ruilin of the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association (PhIRDA) outlines some of the key improvements and optimisations in the regulatory landscape for pharmaceutical innovation in China. Professor Song also notes the major impact that Chinese innovation is having on global R&D pipelines and…

Europe As the EU’s push to harmonise clinical assessments across its 27 member states moves from the initial Health Technology Assessment (HTA) regulation in 2022 to the European Joint Clinical Assessment (JCA) process that will come into effect in January, European HTA authorities and industry leaders weigh in on the implications.…

Global Writing in the June 2024 edition of ISPOR’s Value in Health journal, Nancy J. Devlin, PhD, Michael F. Drummond, MCom, DPhil, and C. Daniel Mullins, PhD look back on the history of QALYs in cost-effectiveness analysis and policy decision making, and why the backlash against QALYs in the United States…