Tagged with Investment,

Romania Iulia Arif-Percă executive director of the Local American Working Group (LAWG), shares her insights on the launched initiatives to finding new funding alternatives that will increase Romanian patients’ access to innovative medicines. She highlights the constraining environment in which innovative companies operate in, and how LAWG’s work contributes to the…

Switzerland German biopharma giant Merck is investing EUR 250 million in a new Swiss biotech development facility; underscoring the company’s reliance on Switzerland for the manufacturing of advanced biologicals.   The Merck Biotech Development Center is to be located in Corsier-sur-Vevey, south-western Switzerland, close to the firm’s existing biotech commercial manufacturing…

UK Although biotech financing in the UK took a hit last year in large part thanks to uncertainty around Brexit, 2019 was still the British industry’s third-best year on record.   The UK’s exit from the European Union looms large over all British industries, including pharmaceuticals and biotech. Unsurprisingly, therefore, UK…

USA In 2019 big pharma companies prioritised shareholder payouts and dividends, with the eight biggest US pharma companies topping $31 billion in stock buybacks and the same amount in dividends. Revenues were not necessarily consistent with dividend and buyback amounts, and some critics argue that payouts should be lessened in favour…

China 2019 was a bumper year for biotech companies listing on the Hong Kong Exchange (HKEx), with nine pre-revenue biotechs and eight revenue-generating biotech and biotech-related firms, mostly originating from mainland China, listing last year. The average amount of funds raised by these was a whopping four to five times higher…

UAE Samir Khalil, executive director for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Middle East and Africa (MEA), reveals why the US industry is investing in MEA, the challenges presented by the lack of intellectual property enforcement in the region, and the shifting of focus from manufacturing to broader research…

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is aiming to become a more attractive investment destination for multinational pharma companies through economic development projects that facilitate ease of doing business. Not stopping there, the Kingdom has a bold ambition to become a pharma hub for the entire Middle East region.    Saudi Arabia has the…

Puerto Rico Rodrick Miller was recently appointed CEO of Invest Puerto Rico, a government mandated but privately led non-for-profit organization tasked with positioning Puerto Rico as a competitive investment jurisdiction globally. Together with Gail Towers Nolan, Chief Strategy and Research Officer, he lays out his aggressive strategy to promote Puerto Rico’s assets…

Czech Republic The Czech Republic is aiming to carve out a space for itself among Europe’s most innovative countries by 2030 as part of the ‘Innovation Strategy of the Czech Republic 2019–2030.’ While a number of promising steps have already been taken, it is far too soon to tell whether the Czechs…

Hungary Hungary’s Minister of Finance Mihály Varga has repeatedly underlined the importance of the pharmaceutical industry to the country’s economy in recent weeks. With this strong governmental backing, pharma stands to increase its standing within the overall Hungarian economy.   Speaking at the inauguration of a new plant for Egis Pharmaceuticals…

Sweden Region Skåne is the county council responsible for healthcare, public transport, business development, culture, infrastructure, and environmental issues in Skåne, Sweden. We sit down with Carl Johan Sonesson, chairman of the Executive Committee, who highlights his plan to dramatically reduce the waiting times in the region’s healthcare system, the importance…

Sweden Invest in Skåne is the official regional business promotion agency for Southern Sweden and provides one-stop investment and export consultancy. Ulrika Ringdahl, managing director, reveals the unique opportunities available in the region’s life sciences industry, explains how the Skåne region managed to overcome the departure of AstraZeneca, and discusses the…