Tagged with research

Switzerland Animal testing for medicinal purposes is back under the spotlight in Switzerland after a petition against the practice filed in Bern managed to generate tens of thousands of signatures. Even more ominously, a popular initiative emanating from the Canton of St Gallen is still pending that proposes an outright ban…

Switzerland In February 2020, US giant MSD announced the launch of a new site in Zurich specialising in R&D, data management, and commercialisation, foregrounding the company’s commitment to Switzerland. MSD employs over 1000 people in Switzerland across five sites in local, regional, and global functions, engages in 25 in-country clinical trials…

Europe The EFPIA’s Nathalie Moll outlines the significance of Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan to cancer patients in Europe, and its potential to boost the continent’s push to catch up with the US and China on biopharmaceutical innovation.   Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan adds real momentum to the fight against cancer, promising…

China Dr Haijun Dong, recently appointed CEO of BioDuro-Sundia, shares his priorities for the newly merged entity, one of the largest Contract Research, Development and Manufacturing organizations (CRDMOs) in the world, his talent strategy, and the use of AI within the sector.   BioDuro has very strong capabilities on the discovery…

Switzerland After 15 years as director at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI) (2004-2019) and even longer as the group leader at her own research lab, Professor Susan M. Gasser was appointed director of the Foundation of the Swiss Institute for Experimental Cancer (ISREC), in a way closing the…

USA Dr Maria T. Millan, president and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), shares the Institute’s mission to advance basic and translational research in regenerative medicine in the State of California, their unique funding and operating model, and her perspective on the critical importance of investment in science…

Vaccines The story of how British doctor Edward Jenner serendipitously discovered a way to inoculate people against smallpox in 1976 by injecting them with cowpox pus is well-known. Over the past two centuries, vaccine development platforms have (thankfully) advanced leaps and bounds, delivering a wealth of options to tackle global health…

Switzerland Professor Susan M. Gasser, now director and group leader emeritus of the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research (FMI), shares the crucial aspects behind the FMI’s world-class reputation in basic research, her thoughts on the importance of public-private collaboration, and her perspectives on the European research ecosystem. Since February 1,…

Switzerland Dr Chris Martin, CEO and co-founder of Swiss-headquartered antibody-drug conjugate cancer company, ADC Therapeutics, shares the company’s journey over the past decade, the exciting progress of their two lead candidates, the process of building their commercial organization in the US, and his perspectives on Big Pharma partnerships.   We have…

Norway Norway has long held a strong international position in neuroscience and is home to Professors May-Britt and Edvard Moser, a married couple and the 2014 winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. The Mosers, along with their former mentor John O’Keefe, won the award for their work on…

China PharmaBoardroom had the pleasure of interviewing HitGen chairman & CEO Dr Jin LI in July regarding the company’s focus on DNA-encoded chemical libraries (DEL) and their multipronged business strategy. Established in 2012, the company introduced the novel DEL technology platform to China.   As Dr Li recounted, “it was not…

Global Epidemiologist John-Arne Røttingen has had a long and distinguished career in both academia and industry, including stints at Oslo, Oxford and Harvard universities, as well as helping coordinate the WHO’s response to the West African Ebola virus epidemic of 2013-2016 and being the founding CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic…