Tagged with PR

USA With a total R&D spend of USD 2.66 billion in 2022 and a pipeline that features cutting-edge technologies such as mRNA, cell therapy and gene editing, Vertex Pharmaceuticals is looking to deliver “serial innovation” by investing most of its resources in research. And while some other biopharma companies depend on…

Belgium Belgium’s drug reimbursement system has become increasingly lengthy and complex, compromising patient access to innovative medicines. The roadmap recently presented by the Minister of Health and the Belgian National Institute for Health and Disability Insurance (INAMI) proposes a series of measures to speed up access, limit the duration of reimbursement…

LatAm Having spent 25 years in the rare disease arena, Maria Gabriella Pittis now finds herself at the forefront of a different field, spearheading the launch of Takeda’s dengue vaccine across Latin America.   Pittis, an Argentinian native, is a previous employee of the Argentinian National Scientific and Technical Research Council…

USA After considerable government pressure to reduce insulin costs in the US, Eli Lilly recently slashed its prices by as much as 70 percent, followed by competitors Novo Nordisk and Sanofi. While these steps to make insulin more affordable, together with the US Medicare insulin price cap that came into effect…

Europe The European Medicines Agency (EMA) recently published its annual Human Medicines Highlights report, documenting key figures on its recommendations for the authorisation of new medicines in 2022. The Agency gave 89 positive opinions last year and recommended the authorisation of 41 new active substances. See below for a full list.…

Switzerland An extract from PharmaBoardroom’s new country-focused series on market access and health technology assessment (HTA), this piece gives the lowdown on price controls and reference pricing systems in Switzerland. Buy The Pharma Legal Handbook: Market Access & HTA – Switzerland here for £359.   1.1 How does price control at…

UK The UK government has decided to go ahead with a much-debated increase in the revenue clawback rate —from 24.4 percent to 27.5 percent— for drugmakers subject to its Statutory Scheme for branded medicines. The Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) warns that this latest move to reduce spending will…

Global Blue Spoon Consulting’s John G. Singer takes aim at the recent anti-Big Pharma rhetoric around the drug pricing crisis in the US, instead calling for a more holistic view of the situation, acknowledging the role being played by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). More importantly, Singer sees a new approach to…

Greece Speaking exclusively to PharmaBoardroom Marios Themistocleous, secretary general of primary health care at the Greek Ministry of Health, introduces the transformation that primary healthcare in Greece has undergone since the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact that EU RRF funding stands to have. Themistocleous also touches on the administration’s approach to…

USA As debate rages over where to lay the blame for the USA’s drug affordability crisis, Katie Payne, senior vice president for strategic communications for the Pharmaceutical Care Management Association (PCMA) sets out a defence of the country’s pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry. Payne instead raises concerns with big drug companies’…

Global The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries. Executive Director Charles Gore outlines the MPP’s goals, how it interacts with an industry – innovative pharma – known to jealously…

CEE Some of the most important stories emanating from the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region’s pharma industry, including Polpharma’s bid for Zentiva, Richter’s acquisition of OC Distributors and MDD approval in the US, Hungary’s windfall tax on pharma, Presage’s collaboration with Pure Biologics and Lithuania’s biotech ambitions.   Polpharma working…