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Brazil In the race to develop the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine, Brazil – now one of the world’s worst-affected countries – is becoming an attractive clinical trial destination for biopharma companies that heading into phase III trials. Chinese firm Sinovac recently received regulatory approval to test its vaccine candidate in Brazil…

USA French firm LFB is targeting the lucrative US market with its hemophilia products and recently received two FDA approvals. Although launching new products in the midst of a global pandemic is not without challenges, LFB USA CEO Jose Antonio Moreno Toscano is optimistic that the launches will be a success…

Korea Dr Jeong-Sun Seo, chairman of Macrogen & president of the Korea Biotechnology Industry Organization (KoreaBIO), explains the basis for Korea’s success in combating the spread of COVID-19, casts light on the future role of precision medicine, and the current hurdles impeding its widespread adoption.   The pandemic, while tragic, has…

Belgium Alexander Alonso, general manager of medtech giant BD’s operations in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg outlines the company’s extensive footprint in the region, how it has rapidly mobilised in the fight against COVID-19, and the market access situation for innovative medtech solutions in Belgium today.   In Benelux there is…

India Six Indian pharma and biotech firms have joined the global race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 with India-developed vaccine candidates moving swiftly toward Phase I and II human trials thanks to international partnerships and financial backing.    The Indian companies currently at the forefront of COVID-19 vaccine development are…

Korea Gencurix was the first Asian company to develop a prognostic diagnostic test for breast cancer. Its CEO, Dr Sangrae Cho, discusses the importance of creating a test tailored to Asian patients, explores the company’s expansion plans into China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and the synergies in their partnerships with big…

Belgium Philippe de Pougnadoresse, country president & general manager pharma for Novartis Belgium & Luxembourg, outlines his affiliate’s fast and comprehensive response to the COVID-19 crisis, what can be learned from it, the importance of Belgium to the European group, and the challenges of launching gene therapy Zolgensma® in Belgium.  …

Vaccines Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, spoke to Financial Times correspondent Vanessa Kortekaas on 25 June 2020 about the global race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. He emphasized the importance of prioritising access to at-risk populations, supply chain scale issues that must be considered, why there is no future…

Belgium Vincent Stephenne, managing director of Belgian CDMO BePharBel Manufacturing, highlights the company’s innovative approach to developing new galenic forms for existing molecules, its growth trajectory thus far, and his future plans for partnership strategies and expansion.   Recently we have patented the new MMCR technology (for multi-layer microparticle controlled-release system)…

Belgium Christophe Van Damme, vice president and general manager of Perrigo Belgium and Luxembourg, shines a light on the transformation for Perrigo since its acquisition of Omega Pharma in 2015. Van Damme also explains Perrigo’s strategy for growth, the impact, opportunities, and challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, and how the self-care…

France French pharma giant Sanofi is pivoting its focus to invest more heavily in vaccines with a plan to invest USD 679 million in vaccine manufacturing operations in the next two years. This announcement came shortly after news of further rounds of layoffs of research staff working on cardiovascular diseases and…

USA Dan Leonard, Kimberly Westrich, and Brian Sils of the National Pharmaceutical Council examine how a new HHS ruling on how US patients pay for medicines could hurt them financially, exacerbating what is already a challenging time in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.   The pandemic has been a challenging…