Tagged with strategy

Japan “This marks a significant moment in Takeda’s history and is an exciting step forward as we accelerate our transformation journey,” said Christophe Weber, Takeda’s CEO, after the USD 62 billion acquisition of international biotech Shire was completed in 2019. Two years later, the Japanese giant appears to finally be on…

Turkey Dr Burak Cem, Novo Nordisk Vice President and General Manager for Turkey, outlines the company’s big bet on Turkey as a future regional hub through deep investment in clinical trials, localization and an operational hub overseeing 75 countries. After almost two decades working with the Danish diabetes and obesity giant,…

Saudi Arabia Haitham Habashi, general manager for Merck Saudi Arabia, outlines his affiliate’s approach to the big reforms shaping the country’s healthcare system, discusses the new public procurement process, and explains why Vision 2030 means transformative opportunities for Saudis, women, and health. Moreover, he highlights Merck’s manufacturing in Saudi Arabia and its…

Singapore Dr Piers Ingram, PhD, co-founder, and CEO of Singapore-based biotech Hummingbird Bioscience, shares his motivation for establishing the company in 2015, their proprietary Rational Antibody Discovery (RAD) technology platform, and rich pipeline of clinical assets in global development.   As we are able to now understand biological systems much better…

Switzerland AstraZeneca’s recently arrived Switzerland country president, Katrien de Vos, gives her first impressions of the Swiss market and how she hopes to build upon the affiliate’s strong performance. de Vos also touches on access challenges (and how to surmount them) as well as AstraZeneca Switzerland’s role in bringing the company’s…

Singapore Cerecin’s Charles Stacey outlines the company’s progress in expanding its lead asset into migraine and infantile spasms, how its funding strategy has evolved, why Singapore is still a logical base, and how broader developments in the CNS landscape stand to benefit all stakeholders.   Moving to Singapore was a good…

Switzerland Santen is a leading multinational company that specializes in ophthalmology. President and Head for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Luis Iglesias highlights the company’s recent transformation through partnerships across a vast array of areas including digital technology and cell and gene. He also discusses how Santen has leveraged its…

China Hot on the heels of a USD 120 million fundraising round, Shanghai-based EpimAb Biotherapeutics is now looking towards a 2022 IPO with the aim of becoming a globally competitive player in the bispecific antibody field.   The Series C financing round means that the company has raised over USD 220…

Singapore J&J Singapore’s Guillermo Frydman outlines how his affiliate negotiated the COVID-19 pandemic; why managing J&J’s pharma, medical devices, vision care and consumer businesses together offers unique opportunities to engage as a ‘broad healthcare company’; and Singapore’s role as an innovation hub for the region.   There are many learnings on…

Singapore Lucas Chan, Scientific Founder and CSO of CellVec, a Singapore-based CDMO that specializes in the development and manufacture of viral vectors for clinical gene therapy, discusses how his company is helping companies with mature preclinical gene therapy projects wanting to progress into the clinic. Moreover, he discusses why Singapore is…

Turkey Ümit Dereli is secretary general of the Turkish Association of Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (AIFD), which has 35 multinational member companies that together account for almost 50 percent of the Turkish market. In this interview, he discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the research-based, innovative, pharmaceutical industry in Turkey, AIFD initiatives…

Europe Janssen’s Cyril Titeux highlights the commonalities and challenges within his 31-country portfolio, his hopes and expectations for the evolution of market access in the region, and some of the key industry trends emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic.   I foresee a renewed and increased focus on prevention [post-COVID], especially for…