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Pharmaceutical
Member states of the East African Community (EAC) plan to jointly procure drugs to avoid high prices and counterfeit drugs, Uganda's First Deputy Prime Minister, Eriya Kategaya, has revealed. Mr Kategaya, speaking at a meeting in Kampala last week which included Kenyan Health Minister Beth Mugo, director general of ESCA health community Hellen Igombeko and other officials, said procurement of drugs in bulk would resolve challenges associated with procurement and supply chains of essential medicines, reports New Vision. 23 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
A US Senate committee has alleged that UK drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline's diabetes drug Avandia (rosiglitazone) poses increased risk of heart attacks, a conclusion which has been rejected by the company, and also criticizes the nation's drug regulatory body. 22 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Taiwan is one of the richest countries in the Asia Pacific region. It has a strong health care system and the universal health insurance ensures that all citizens have grown to expect a high level of care, notes a new report from Espicom Business Intelligence. That said, like a lot of public welfare systems, the health care system is being constrained by rising costs, and a rapidly growing elderly population is adding to this. 22 February 2010
Generics
After three years of negotiations in a dispute that has kept Israel on the US Trade Representative's priority watch list, and delayed the nation's entry to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Israel and the US have reached agreement on pharmaceutical intellectual property. 19 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Two major research deals have been signed between the UK and India, Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Pat McFadden, announced yesterday. UK and Indian researchers will collaborate on health research and the changing global water cycles - which both present huge challenges for our societies as we adapt to a changing climate. 18 February 2010
Generics
Drug costs in the Republic of Ireland have risen inexorably in recent times to the point where the State's spend on pharmaceuticals is among the highest in Europe, claimed a recent editorial in the Irish Times, which has raised the hackles of the trade group the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association (IPHA). 18 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
In the face of criticism of UK pharmacists and wholesalers for selling drugs to overseas outlets - leading to shortages of certain medicines in the UK, a British hospital, the Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS [National Health Service] Foundation Trust, which has a licence to sell drugs, has been criticized for selling more than 4 million ($6.3 million) worth of drugs abroad, making a 300,000 from the practice during the past year. 18 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
As a result of last year's World Trade Organization upholding of Brazilian complaints against the USA on subsidies granted to cotton producer, the Brazilian government has taken a serious step forward to apply trade barriers against American products in the amount of $560 million and to further impose $270 million retaliatory sanctions on services and intellectual property rights. 17 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
As part of its ongoing campaign to lower AIDS drug prices and increase access, the USA-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) has unveiled its latest element in a multifaceted advocacy campaign challenging Merck & Co over the steep price it charges for its key HIV/AIDS drug, Isentress (raltegravir), which it argues is the most expensive first-line AIDS therapy in the USA today. Last month, the AHF banned Merck's representatives from its clinics as part of the campaign (The Pharma Letter January 27). 17 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Billy Tauzin, one of Washington DC's highest-paid lobbyists, and a former Louisiana Congressman, is resigning as president of the US drug industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) ' a post he has held since 2005, effective June 30 -amid internal disputes over its pact with the White House to trade political support for favorable terms in the proposed health care reform, according to The Washington Monthly as well as other US media reports. 15 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has asked the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil) to put forward any policy changes, if needed, to help pharmaceutical exporters, as both the sides decided to meet regularly to discuss and mitigate the problems faced by the exporting community, reports the Indian firm PharmaBiz. 15 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
EU wants to showcase the commitment of science to economic recovery 12 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Ricardo Garcia, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Chile (Chile Amcham) has noted that one of the reasons Chile stayed in the "red list" of intellectual property was for allegedly copying certain US pharmaceutical companies' drugs, thus sparking off discussion on intellectual property protection in the country. 10 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Jean-Ah Kang, Special Assistant to Director Tom Abrams at the US Food and Drug Administration's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications (DDMAC), recently re-stated and emphasized that the FDA is requesting additional information from the public, including pharmaceutical companies and other health organizations, to help the agency determine whether explicit Internet-specific guidance should be drafted, and if so, what considerations should be made. 10 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
The PricewaterhouseCoopers report on reform of the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme released by the government last night is fresh evidence that the PBS is sustainable and that the reforms are working, according to the country's research-based drug industry group Medicines Australia. The report finds that the PBS will grow by just 5.99% cent a year out to 2018. 10 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
The government of South Korea is planning to offer additional tax benefits to local pharmaceutical companies attempting to develop new drugs, a move aimed at easing the country's growing trade deficit in this area, reports the JoongAng Daily. 9 February 2010
Biotechnology
A US government committee at the Department Health and Human Services - Secretary's Advisory Committee on Genetics, Health and Society (SACGHS) ' last Friday voted to advise HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to limit the ability of holders of gene patents to keep others from using those genes for diagnostic and research purposes. 8 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
The fight against fake and counterfeit medicines requires a united public-private front to overcome people's resistance to health warnings and to dismantle increasingly sophisticated trafficking networks, medical professionals said at a meeting in the Togolese capital Lome, reports the United Nations Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN). 8 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
US Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Margaret Hamburg last week announced the launch of a new risk-assessment tool to ensure the safety of imported drugs and food. The web-based PREDICT (the Predictive Risk-Based Evaluation for Dynamic Import Compliance Targeting ) system will rank the risk hazards of food and drugs as they enter the country and allow inspectors to focus on the most likely threats to public health. 8 February 2010
Pharmaceutical
Australia's Therapeutic Goods Administration has completed a review of the prescription medicine evaluation process, with a number of areas for streamlining being identified. Prior to implementation of the new streamlined process the TGA is inviting external stakeholders to review the proposed changes and provide comment on the underlying requirements that have been developed to underpin the process. 8 February 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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