Russian drugmaker Nanolek has reached an agreement with SK Chemicals on the establishment of production of vaccines at the facilities of the company’s Russian plant, which is located in Kirov region. 25 September 2017
Mandatory immunization for children in India between nine months and 15 years of age against measles and rubella has not worked its charm, with India and Indonesia accounting for over 90% of unvaccinated children in Southeast Asia, according to the World Health Organization. Misconceptions and misinformation have turned out to be the main culprit, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 11 September 2017
Prices for drugs in Russia may increase by 15%-20% as soon as October of the current year, according to predictions of the Russian Ministry of Health reported by The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 5 September 2017
Swiss pharma giant Roche will increase the level of localization in Russia through the establishment of full cycle of production of its Gaziva /Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) antitumor drug, according to the company. 5 September 2017
Expensive medicines that can generate billions of dollars in sales for drugmakers and the US Supreme Court's decision to speed access to copycat biologic drugs has found an echo in India, with the Indian biogenerics industry poised to exploit the opportunity similar to the generics potential, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 30 August 2017
Russian drugmakers and foreign companies operating in the country have significantly increased the volume of pharmaceutical substances imports this year, a spokesman for Veronika Skvortsova, Russia’s Minister of Health, recently said, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 21 August 2017
A new leading drugmaker is to be established in Russia as a result of the recently announced merging of the pharmaceutical assets of Russian state corporation Rostec and local pharmaceutical producer Marathon Group. 9 August 2017
The Indian government is looking to review the existing drug price control measures in order to make medicines more affordable in the country, and at increasing the number of clinical trials taking place in the country, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 5 August 2017
Foreign pharma companies began a major push into the Japan market in the 1950s, albeit in the form of joint ventures (JVs) since ownership above 50% was not permitted, writes long-time Japanese industry watcher P Reed Maurer, president of International Alliances Limited, in his exclusive column for The Pharma Letter. 1 August 2017
Drugs will be the subject for total labeling in the Russian pharmaceutical market according to a recent draft law, which was submitted for the consideration of the national Parliament (State Duma) by the Russian national government, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 29 July 2017
R-Pharm, one of Russia’s leading drugmakers, has signed an agreement with the USA’s clinical stage biotech firm Aspyrian Therapeutics on the transfer of the rights for the use of one of its investigational molecules by the US company during the development of anti-cancer drugs, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 29 July 2017
China has released a new list of 36 drugs, including 31 chemicals and biologics and five traditional Chinese medicines, covered by China’s national Medicare reimbursement scheme, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent Wang Fangquing. 25 July 2017
Stem cells are expected to dramatically improve the ability of drug companies to screen new drugs for side effects much earlier in the development process. Given that this is expected to significantly lower costs and shorten the time it takes to develop a new drug, India is looking to set forth new guidelines for stem cell research, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 25 July 2017
The launch of a new Russian-Nicaraguan vaccine production, which was recently established in the city of Managua with the aim of becoming one of the largest in Central and Latin America, will be postponed for the end of the current year, according to press-service of the Russian Ministry of Health. 19 July 2017
Swiss pharma giant Novartis is considering accelerating expansion in the Russian market of anti-cancer drugs in the coming years, according to the company. 19 July 2017
As a result of lack of commercial interest, pharmaceutical companies operating in Brazil have withdrawn from the market old and cheap medications, some of them essential and without substitutes. 12 July 2017
Serving the twin purposes of creating a globally competitive biopharmaceutical industry that addresses India's major concerns around barriers to affordable healthcare, India's Department of Biotechnology (DBT) is set to roll out biosimilar drugs for diseases such as cancer, diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 11 July 2017
US biotech major Biogen has received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor Welfare (MHLW) for its orphan drug Spinraza (nusinersen) to treat infantile-onset spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent Wang Fangqing. 10 July 2017
Bosnalijek, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s largest drugmaker, is considering building a plant for the production of its drugs in the Russian city of Kaluga, according to the company, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 7 July 2017
India is set to complete 50 new greenfield pharma manufacturing plants in the next two years under its Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for pharma and medical devices. 30 September 2024
The number of clinical trials of new drugs in Russia is steadily declining, which could be mainly related with the overall reduction of investment activities in the local pharmaceutical market, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 30 September 2024
Pharmaceutical laboratories, institutions, guilds and medical federations have taken on the task of designing programs to end health illiteracy in order to have informed, educated, knowledgeable and empowered communities where their health and wellbeing are concerned. 19 September 2024
Oligonucleotide therapeutics are rapidly emerging as a promising class of drugs capable of addressing a variety of genetic and complex diseases by targeting RNA sequences.1 16 September 2024
The protection of intellectual property (IP) rights of foreign pharmaceutical companies in Russia remains complex situation, according to recent statements by Konstantin Panurovsky, legal director of AstraZeneca’s Russian subsidiary, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 13 September 2024
The Russian Ministry of Health wants to speed registration of drugs that are not localized in the Russian Federation at the time of the application submitted by domestic pharmaceutical companies, explaining such changes by "unpredictable geopolitical situation," reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 12 September 2024
NewCo, a relatively new business model that involves a joint venture (JV) between a biotech and a group of investors to bring the biotech’s promising assets to the global market, is gaining popularity among Chinese biotechs, who traditionally rely on out-licensing deals to capitalize assets, s 11 September 2024
A significant drop has been noticed in the prices of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), bringing much-needed relief to the pharmaceutical industry and potentially translating to lower drug costs for consumers. 9 September 2024
Targeted alpha therapy (TAT), or radioligand therapy, is a recent hot area that attracted big pharmas like Bristol Myers Squibb and Novartis. 5 September 2024
German pharma major Bayer has filed a lawsuit against the Russian drugmaker Promomed to protect the patent rights for Xarelto (rivaroxaban), its treatment for stroke prevention which is the best-selling drug in the Russian market at present, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 2 September 2024
Scientists from the Russian Institute of Immunology of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency (FMBA) say they have created the world's first allergy vaccine. 30 August 2024
In a major crackdown, the Indian government has imposed an immediate ban on 156 fixed-dose combination (FDC) drugs, including commonly used antibiotics, pain relievers,and multivitamins. 27 August 2024
Russia plans to create conditions for a significant increase of domestic production of anti-Rhesus immunoglobulin drugs after a sharp decrease of their imports to the local market this year, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 22 August 2024
One of the largest pharmaceutical production facilities in the Russian North-West region will soon be built in the city of Pushkino by the local drugmaker Active Component enterprise, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 14 August 2024
The shortage of drugs in Russia is deepening, and is currently being observed in almost 70 regions throughout the country and forcing the local state to consider ways to resume stable supplies to local market, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 13 August 2024
The Russian Ministry of Health has registered the third Russian generic of the original drug Ozempic (semaglutide) from Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk. 8 August 2024
US biotech major Biogen is disputing the launch of a Russian generic of Spinraza (nusinersen), a drug, which is used to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 7 August 2024
Domestic drugs and foreign drugs, the production of which is localized in Russia, will be given a priority when included in the list of vital and essential drugs (VED) and expensive drugs, according to a recent resolution signed by the Russian government, The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent reports. 1 August 2024
Major pharmaceutical multinationals are looking to collaborate with Indian drug firms, leveraging their cost-efficient manufacturing capabilities, robust supply chains, and innovative research potential. 31 July 2024
The Russian government will be ready to significantly increase state procurements of drugs against hepatitis C in case of reduction price for them both by global drugmakers and Russian pharmaceutical companies. 31 July 2024