Tagged with S

Belgium Belgium is a hugely significant country for GSK – which employs 9,000 people in the country – as host to three of the firm’s major vaccine sites, the global headquarters for its vaccines division, and many of its oncology and haematology clinical trials. Recently installed VP and GM BeLux Emmanuelle…

Belgium Paul Newton of Vertex Pharmaceuticals – one of the first biotech firms to use an explicit strategy of rational drug design rather than combinatorial chemistry – outlines the company’s footprint in Benelux, how it is looking to take learnings from its success in cystic fibrosis treatment into new therapeutic areas,…

Brazil The latest pharma news from Brazil, including Daiichi Sankyo’s new plant; Bristol Myers Squibb’s re-entry into Brazil’s cardiology market; the Anvisa approval of HIV prevention drug, cabotegravir; Merck’s gamble on the Brazilian obesity market and Novo Nordisk’s patent extension denial.   Japan’s Daiichi Sankyo invests $80 million to expand Brazilian…

Belgium Thanks to its world-renowned networks of medical and academic institutions, the long-standing presence of Big Pharma, and a favourable regulatory environment, Belgium has a well-established tradition of excellence in clinical trials. Pharma industry leaders and Belgian government officials weigh in on the factors threatening the country’s position as a clinical…

Hong Kong A groundbreaking research scientist noted for his work in non-invasive blood-based diagnoses, Professor Dennis Lo currently holds a number of positions at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). Lo, whose work was first commercialised via the company Cirina – later acquired by GRAIL – outlines his current research focus on…

United Kingdom Life sciences have been steadily losing ground in the UK with a significant drop in global R&D investments and a decreasing number of patients enrolled in clinical trials. The British government has announced a GBP 650 million “Life Sci for Growth” package along with some pro-innovation regulation and a review…

Greece After 15 years of economic struggles coupled with political swings to the left and right, Greece seems to be on its surest footing in decades. Indeed, the Economist observed that the May 2023 election victory of incumbent Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis (and the heavy defeat handed to his left…

Hong Kong With the global market for cell and gene therapy (CGT) products set to skyrocket in the coming years, Hong Kong is looking to get in on the action with the opening of a new Advanced Therapy Products (ATP) Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) Centre earlier this month.   Leveraging the city’s…

Belgium Belgium’s Flanders region is a hotbed of biotech excellence, with numerous examples of university spin-offs being translated into commercial-stage companies and many of those later acquired by Big Pharma. Wouter Piepers of cluster organisation flanders.bio outlines the fundamentals behind this success story, and what potential future investors in Belgian biotech…

Hong Kong Professor Michael Yang of City University of Hong Kong (CityU) introduces the ‘HK Tech 300‘ programme he oversees, the largest university-based entrepreneurship programme in Asia. Drawing on his own experience as co-founder of Prenetics and Cellomics, biotech companies based on technologies developed in his laboratory at CityU, Professor Yang assesses…

Hong Kong Hong Kong’s Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry since July 2022, Professor Dong SUN is a pioneer in robotic manipulation of biological cells and robot control, whose research has led to breakthroughs in the use of robotics combined with various micro-engineering tools. Now with responsibility for developing Hong Kong into…

Belgium Karel van de Sompel of GIBBIS – the pluralistic federation of the public and private social-profit healthcare sector within the Brussels area – outlines the scope and aims of the organisation, the learnings from his near-four decades at Pfizer that can be applied in this new role, and some of…