Tagged with Antibiotics

Europe Will a new ‘Critical Medicines Act’ go far enough to ensure Europe’s resilience to future health crises?   A Continent at Risk The COVID-19 pandemic exposed serious vulnerabilities in the European medicine supply chain. EU countries suddenly found themselves competing for limited supplies of sedatives and antibiotics for ICU care,…

Switzerland The World Health Organisation has highlighted antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as one of the leading global public health and development threats today. AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines (including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics). This makes infections harder to treat…

Switzerland David Veitch, the CEO of Basilea Pharmaceutica, shares his insights into the company’s strategic vision to become a global leader in the antifungal and antibacterial space. Veitch discusses the unique challenges faced by companies navigating the anti-infectives space, the importance of public funding from partnerships with governmental organizations like BARDA,…

Switzerland Dr Daniel Roth outlines his long-standing career with Menarini Group, its strategic evolution in Switzerland, and the broader challenges facing the healthcare industry. Dr Roth emphasizes the importance of building strong teams, the role of entrepreneurial freedom in shaping local strategies, and Switzerland’s unique position in the global healthcare landscape.…

Global Marijn Verhoef, Director of Operations and Research at the Access to Medicine Foundation examines the interconnected challenges of drug shortages and antimicrobial resistance. Verhoef urges decisive and urgent action from the pharma companies that manufacture lifesaving antibiotics and antifungals to ensure that patients can get the right medicine when they…

Europe The general manager for Sandoz Iberia, Joaquin Rodrigo, comments on the intricacies of the Spanish healthcare system, the main trends driving generics and biosimilars in the country and shares his perspective on recent policy changes at a national and continental level. With over ten years of experience with the company,…

Global Antimicrobial pollution is a major global health and environmental risk. Shawview Consulting’s Brendan Shaw and Nicolai Schaaf of SIWI uncover what antibiotics manufacturers are doing about it.   Last month, global leaders issued an urgent call for all countries to reduce antimicrobial pollution. This includes the safe disposal of antimicrobial…

Saudi Arabia Medochemie’s Yasser Sabra gives a fascinating insight into the branded generic and value added medicine field today, including why the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to a reappraisal of medicine repurposing. Sabra also touches on the firm’s operations in the Middle East’s biggest market of Saudi Arabia, explaining why the Saudi…

Sweden Anders Blanck, CEO of Lif, the trade association for the research-based Swedish pharmaceutical industry, writes about the challenges the world faces from antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Sweden has for decades been a pioneer in the field, and Blanck believes that Sweden is an excellent test market for various incentive models that,…

Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly being utilised in the drug discovery process, with the latest breakthrough being the development of an antibiotic that is powerful enough to combat resistant bacteria strains via a deep learning algorithm.   AI has the power to enable biopharmaceutical companies to reduce costs and improve…

Opinion Steve Brooks, Advisor to the AMR Industry Alliance, outlines the threat that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses to global health,  how antibiotic manufacturing may be a contributing factor to AMR  and how responsible manufacturing processes can minimize any such contribution.   The causes of antimicrobial resistance are numerous, from over prescribing to…

Novartis In the latest in a wave of Big Pharma companies retreating from the field of antibiotics, Novartis has decided to drop its antibacterial and antiviral early-stage research programs, laying off 140 staff in the US. This comes at a time when antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria – so-called ‘superbugs’ – are…