Tagged with EU

Spain The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to more than five years of economic growth in Spain. But the country was not alone. Due to strict containment measures, the Europe’s economy went into the greatest recession since the Second World War during the first half of 2020. To…

Croatia With the start of construction on a EUR 100 million biotech production plant near the Croatian capital Zagreb, Pfizer continues its investment in the country. The creation of the plant is the result of a partnership with the Swedish company specialised in rare diseases, Sobi, and Pfizer-backed CDMO Pfizer CentreOne…

Global Swiss pharma giant, Roche, has announced a change in leadership that will see Severin Schwan replaced by diagnostics division head, Thomas Schinecker, after a 14-year stint as CEO. Schinecker, who became a contender for the role by leading the company’s efforts in developing a COVID-19 test kit, growing sales by…

Canada Some of the top stories coming out of Canadian healthcare and life sciences, including a new GSK flu vaccine deal, Amylyx Pharmaceuticals’ first approval for an ALS drug, and the Public Health Agency of Canada’s recent smallpox contracts with Chimerix and Bavarian Nordic.   GSK flu vaccine deal renewal (Reuters)…

Spain After decades of investment, Catalonia has secured its healthcare and life sciences hub status, accounting for more than half of Spain’s pharma exports and with more clinical trials than any other region. The birthplace of many of the country’s pharma success stories, Catalonia boasts a strong scientific output by European…

Spain Its unorthodox name reflecting a somewhat unconventional approach, mAbxience has achieved some significant milestones in its short history, including becoming the only privately-owned company in the world with less than 500 people to have launched a monoclonal antibody biosimilar. “This is not usually a small company game, and mAbxience did…

Italy UCB Italy’s Managing Director, Federico Chinni offeres his insights into UCB’s positioning and its new product launches, the first for the company in ten years. He also weighs in on Italy’s national Recovery and Resilience Plan and explains how the company was ready for digitalisation even before the pandemic.  Our…

Global GSK has separated itself from its consumer healthcare business, newly named Haleon, home to brands such as Sensodyne and Advil. Now what? After underperforming in recent years, a few clinical trials fails and a resulting push for change from its investors, the breakup with its consumer healthcare arm was long-announced…

Italy GeneraLife, an in vitro fertilisation (IVF) clinic group with 14 clinics in Italy as well as in a number of other countries. The group’s Director of the Scientific Executive Committee, Dr Filippo Maria Ubaldi, spoke to us about the evolution of reproductive health, Italy’s alarmingly low birth rate and the…

Spain UCB’s general manager for Iberia, Pau Ricós, comments on the Belgian company’s upcoming launches, its focus on immunology and neurology, and the importance of R&D – UCB spent around 28 percent of its revenues on R&D in 2021. In addition, Ricós analyses Spain’s slow access to innovation and the pros…

Switzerland After a Moderna-Lonza production site and a Merck manufacturing facility were set up in western Switzerland, the country continues to attract big pharma capital with a CHF 200 million investment from Takeda. “Switzerland is a globally recognized hotspot for biopharma companies. As such, it naturally attracts investments. Our role is…

Europe In Europe, patient access to Orphan Medicinal Products (OMP) for the treatment of rare diseases remains inequitable. With the common goal of ensuring broader and faster access to OMPs across Europe, EURORDIS and EFPIA have joined forces to propose a series of solutions. According to a 2020 study, fragmentation of…