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Generics
In what is clearly a victory for the research-based pharmaceutical industry, the UK government has decided not to progress with plans for the automatic generic substitution of medicines in primary care, Health Minister Lord Howe announced yesterday. 15 October 2010
Biotechnology
Germany's medicinal biotechnology sector came through the global financial crisis with flying colors, but is under threat from Germany's drug pricing reforms. That was the message from a medicinal biotech panel in Munich this week led by Frank Mathias, chairman of VFA Bio and chief executive of the biotech firm MediGene AG. VFA Bio is the lobby group for biotechnology within the German pharmaceutical association, the VFA. 15 October 2010
Generics
Canadians are paying almost twice as much for generic prescription drugs as Americans because government drug plans distort retail prices and prevent manufacturer discounts from being passed on to consumers, concludes a new study released yesterday by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading public policy think-tank. 14 October 2010
Generics
The fact that India is experiencing strong economic growth, including for its pharmaceuticals sector, is well documented, as are some of the challenges facing drugmakers, and these were highlighted by several industry and academic leaders at a select press forum in Mumbai, organized by privately-held Swiss drugmaker Nycomed, along with its inauguration of a new active pharmaceutical ingredients plant in the city (which was attended by The Pharma Letter's editor; TPL October 4). 12 October 2010
Pharmaceutical
Confirming its decision to not cut the National Health Service, the UK's Coalition government says it has made its choice: to deliver better outcomes for patients: earlier diagnosis; better and faster treatment - and lives saved. 12 October 2010
Biotechnology
In a Perspective piece published on-line this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, Georgetown University School of Medicine, USA, family medicine physician Susan Okie gives a comprehensive overview of change, and planned change, within the Food and Drug Administration. The review comes as the FDA's commissioner, Margaret Hamburg, completes her first year as the agency's leader. 8 October 2010
Pharmaceutical
Prescription drugs are not to blame for the unsustainable growth of government health spending in Canada, concludes a new study released this week by the Fraser Institute, Canada's leading public policy think-tank. 6 October 2010
Biotechnology
Just ahead of Brazil's presidential elections on Sunday (October 3), Global Health Progress (GHP) released a new report that reveals how the biopharmaceutical sector in Brazil, the 10th largest biopharmaceutical market in the world and the largest in Latin America, is an important driver for its economy. 5 October 2010
Pharmaceutical
Patients must have better access to high quality information on prescription drugs in the future, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) decided last week (see also The Pharma Letter September 30). Objective information on a drug's characteristics and the health conditions it is intended to treat should be among the details given, said the EP Environment Committee. At the same time, MEPs want to protect patients from unsolicited information on medicines. 4 October 2010
Biotechnology
A new fact sheet highlighting Russia's commitment to expanding and promoting its biotechnology sector has been issued by Global Health Progress (GHP), an initiative launched in April 2008 by the worldwide pharmaceutical industry to bring research-based biopharmaceutical companies, global health leaders and policymakers together to build on current partnerships to improve health in the developing world. 4 October 2010
Pharmaceutical
The German government's health reforms have been widely seen as a setback for the pharma industry (The Pharma Letters, September 17 and August 6). Yet proposed changes to the legislation over the past few days could soften the blow. 'The coalition has bowed to the pressure of the pharma lobby,' says the Die Welt newspaper. 1 October 2010
Biotechnology
The R&D tax incentive legislation reintroduced to the Australian Parliament this week has the potential to make the country more globally competitive as an investment location for pharmaceutical R&D, Medicines Australia chief executive Brendan Shaw said. 1 October 2010
Pharmaceutical
Commenting on the vote of the European Parliament's Health Committee on the proposed new legislation to improve patient access to health and medicines information, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) said the the proposals represent one element of the European Commission's 2008 'Pharmaceutical Package,' along with proposals on falsified medicines and pharmacovigilance. 30 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
US Vice President Joe Biden, the US Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Friday announced that the nation's pharmaceutical manufacturers will provide 50% discounts on the cost of covered brand-name prescription drugs for beneficiaries in the Medicare Part D coverage gap, or donut hole, starting in 2011. 26 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
Members of the European Parliament yesterday adopted by an overwhelming majority (559 to seven) the text on the proposals for a directive and a regulation on pharmacovigilance. The proposal is the first section of the 'pharmaceutical package' of legislation to be adopted. 23 September 2010
Generics
Following last Friday's public meeting with the US Food and Drug Administration concerning the generic drug user fee program, Gordon Johnston, vice president for regulatory science at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association (GPhA), one of the presenters at the meeting, said the group was encouraged by the initial dialogue. Also last night, Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca lent its support for FDA funding. 21 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
Spanish pharmaceutical companies finally got their meeting with the nation's Prime Minister to put their case against what they see as austerity measures which they see as disproportionally impacting the industry (The Pharma Letter June 3). 20 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
Germany is a 'pharma paradise,' says the domestic newspaper Koelnische Rundschau, commenting on the latest Arzneiverordnungs Report, an annual study of new developments and pricing in the German drug market based on 740 million prescriptions, noting that the German health system is being fleeced by the pharmaceutical industry. 17 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
Venezuela remains third from the bottom, above Nicaragua and Honduras, with a pharmaceutical rating of 34.0 in Business Monitor International's third-quarter 2010 Pharmaceutical Business Environment Ratings (BER) for the Americas. Globally, this equates to a shared 76th place with Pakistan, which reinforces BMI's view that Venezuela remains one of the most challenging pharmaceutical markets in the world. 15 September 2010
Biotechnology
The Washington DC-based US-India Business Council (USIBC) says that it will embark on a Life Sciences Executive Mission to coincide with the Biotechnology Industry Organization's first annual international partnering conference in Hyderabad, India, from September 21-22. The mission will be led by US biotech giant Amgen's Romi Singh, executive director of global regulatory affairs and safety at the firm. 14 September 2010
Pharmaceutical
The nomination of Robert F Kennedy Jr — known as RFK Jr — for the role of US Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) President-elect Donald Trump sent shares in vaccine companies sharply downwards. 22 November 2024
article
The UK government has reappointed BioIndustry Association (BIA) chairman Daniel Mahony as its Life Sciences Investment Envoy. 21 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
The Danish government’s newly-unveiled health reform has been praised for tackling chronic disease care and health inequalities while driving health innovation. 18 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
New research published by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) provides in-depth analysis of the economic footprint of the pharmaceutical industry in Europe, across member states and compares Europe to other regions of the world. 18 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Johnson & Johnson has taken legal action to defend a contentious rebate initiative, filing a lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. 15 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
The share prices of Pfizer, GSK, Novavax and other vaccine companies were all markedly lower on Friday. This was not due to the publication of disappointing research results in the sphere, or an ominous stance taken by a major regulator on a key filing, but rather a political development that could spell trouble for the vaccines field as a whole. 15 November 2024
Biotechnology
BeiGene has announced plans to rebrand as BeOne Medicines, a move the cancer specialist says reflects its commitment to fighting cancer through collaboration. 15 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Danish patients are being offered fewer innovative treatments than Norwegians and Swedes, a new estimate from the Danish Medicines Council shows. 11 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
According to the Swedish pharma trade group Lif, it is positive that, in the updated life science strategy, the government expresses an ambition for Sweden to become more attractive for research investments. 11 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Li Li, Commissioner of China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), and Mette Aaboe Hansen, interim director general of Danish Medicines Agency, have signed a letter of intent to promote bilateral cooperation in regulation of drugs and medical devices. 11 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Following the news that Donald Trump is the winner of the 2024 US Presidential Election, Morningstar Equity analyst Julie Utterback has published a new note about the impact of this on the managed-care industry. 7 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
UK pharma major AstraZeneca, which has invested heavily in China, hosted a sell-side analyst call on Wednesday (November 6) to discuss the recent media reports about ongoing investigations in China. 7 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
Some of the UK’s leading academics and industry professionals have welcomed Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ £520 million ($669 million) pledge to develop the country’s medicine manufacturing capabilities. 6 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
European regulators will decide by December 6 whether Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish pharma giant Novo Nordisk, can finalize its $16.5 billion acquisition of contract drug manufacturer Catalent. 5 November 2024
Pharmaceutical
The Danish government is rolling out the red carpet and welcomes several pharmaceutical companies. 4 November 2024
Generics
Medicines for Europe has launched a study of market barriers faced by European generics and biosimilar pharmaceutical companies operating in 11 key third-country markets. 31 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
Following the first Labour budget for 14 years, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) welcomes Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ measures to improve UK life sciences competitiveness. 30 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
HOPO Therapeutics has been awarded a contract valued at up to $226 million from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). 29 October 2024
Pharmaceutical
The Danish government has presented part of the plan for a future life science strategy, which has been welcomed by the industry. 28 October 2024
Biotechnology
Legend Biotech has removed Genscript Biotech as its majority shareholder, in a move coinciding with rising US concerns over Chinese ties within the biotech sector. 24 October 2024
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