Faced with the problem that has arisen in the last few months with regards to the access to new treatments for hepatitis C, as well as with the information and opinions expressed, sometimes contradictory, on these new medicines, Spanish pharma trade group Farmaindustria says it would like to thoroughly support the government and offer its collaboration with the aim of making an accurate diagnosis of the number of patients who need to be treated. 23 March 2015
The UK BioIndustry Association (BIA) welcomes statements made in today’s Budget announced by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, supporting previous BIA calls for change in respect of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) access to R&D tax credits as well as the operation of tax-advantaged venture capital schemes. 18 March 2015
The Russian government may allow parallel imports (imports of non-counterfeit product from another country without the permission of the intellectual property owner) of drugs to Russia, according to Andrey Kashevarov, Deputy Head of the Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS), reports The Pharma Letter’s Russia correspondent. 17 March 2015
The Cyprus Association of Research and Development Pharmaceutical Companies (KEFEA) is concerned about the Minister of Health’s decision to proceed with a further 8.5% horizontal price cut on private sector medicines. 17 March 2015
The Russian General's Prosecutor Office has issued a warning to a local firm Veropharm, one of Russia’s leading drugmakers, (which was recently acquired by the USA’s Abbott Laboratories about the permissibility of compliance with any anti-Russian sanctions. 16 March 2015
The Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) will open up vast new markets for Australian companies, including manufacturers of innovative medicines and vaccines, says trade group Medicines Australia’s chief executive, Tim James. 16 March 2015
After months of uncertainty, the Spanish Ministry of Health has announced its new policy for the biosimilars of monoclonal antibody (MAb) drugs. 12 March 2015
The recent outbreak of infections and death caused by the influenza A H1N1 strain across India has turned the spotlight on the country's ailing health care system. 9 March 2015
Russian drugmakers and some foreign producers operating in the country may fix prices for their drugs in Russia, in exchange for signing of long-term contracts with the state, according to Olga Golodets, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister. 9 March 2015
On March 3, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and international research-based pharmaceutical industry represented by the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) and the Association of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (APRAD) entered into a Letter of Intent. 9 March 2015
The political establishment needs to concentrate on cleaning up its own act and concentrating on their own critical matters, before getting involved with the 'golden hello' offered to Olivier Brandicourt by Sanofi, says Mark Bloomfield, chief executive of French biotech firm Polyplus. 4 March 2015
US Senators Chris Coons (Democrat, Delaware) and Dick Durbin (Democrat, Illinois), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Mazie Hirono (Democrat, Hawaii), member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, have introduced legislation to strengthen America’s patent system and target abusers. 4 March 2015
The European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) has welcomed the debate held in the European parliament last week. 23 February 2015
The Union Finance Minister should take his government’s “Make in India” campaign to the next level by taking steps to boost indigenous research, says Pawan Chaudhary, chairman and managing director of Indian research-based drugmaker Venus Remedies, outlining his expectations from the 2015-16 Union Budget. 19 February 2015
The passage of unwelcome legislation last week to cap claims on the Australian Research and Development (R&D) Tax incentive and its retrospective application to July 1, 2014, has prompted calls for the government to provide transitional arrangements for biotech companies abandoned in a difficult position, according to trade group AusBiotech. 17 February 2015
The Russian government plans to provide subsidies for the production of pharmaceutical substances for leading national drugmakers this year, according to Alexander Petrov, member of the Committee on Health of the Russian State Duma. 16 February 2015
The Australian government’s shock deal with the Palmer United Party and Independent Senator Xenophon to pass legislation in the Senate on Tuesday night to limit the Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive deals a further blow to Australia’s innovation ecosystem and will impact large and small biotech companies, the country’s trade body AusBiotech has warned. 12 February 2015
The Russian government may consider the possibility of the re-purchase of the Russian pharmaceutical producer Veropharm that was recently acquired by the US drugmaker Abbott. 9 February 2015
Ukraine’s Association of Pharmaceutical Research and Development (APRaD) in cooperation with the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine has appealed to the Minister of Health of Ukraine, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine and the head of the VR Health Care Committee about the introduction of additional 5%VAT on imported medicines and its influence on public procurement. 9 February 2015
The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has released final guidance for the second cycle of Medicare drug price negotiations. 3 October 2024
The Russian government has finalized the rules for granting preference to domestic drugs in public procurements, which will come into force in 2025. 1 October 2024
The Danish government is to remove the rules that currently prohibit the purchase of medicines from countries outside the European Union (EU) in a move that has not been welcomed by pharma. 30 September 2024
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
Global leaders have approved a political declaration at the 79th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR). 30 September 2024
The generics and biosimilars trade group, Medicines for Europe, has put out a strong message amid ongoing discussions on a European Union (EU) Critical Medicines Act. 26 September 2024
US biotech Emergent BioSolutions revealed it has secured approximately $400 million in orders in 2024 and 2025 associated with its vaccinia, smallpox and mpox product portfolio. 26 September 2024
The UK government has released a position paper outlining its vision for Framework Programme 10 (FP10), a successor to Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship research collaboration program. 26 September 2024
President Biden has said the USA will commit at least $500 million to support African countries in battling the ongoing mpox outbreak in Central and Eastern Africa. 25 September 2024
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) is continuing its legal challenge against the US government’s drug pricing reforms. 24 September 2024
The Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research and Greek pharma trade group the Hellenic Association of Pharmaceutical Companies have presented two studies reflecting the industry’s importance. 23 September 2024
Basilea Pharmaceutica announced that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), part of the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has awarded Basilea an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), under OTA number 75A50124C00033. 20 September 2024
Novo Nordisk is under increasing pressure over the cost of its blockbuster drugs in the USA, as chief executive Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen prepares to testify before a powerful Senate committee. 18 September 2024
The research based pharmaceutical industry has welcomed Mario Draghi’s report, published by the European Commission, outlining proposals on how Europe can regain its competitive edge and the critical role of innovative industries in achieving this. 11 September 2024
Even as emerging signs of a thaw in the broader Indian start-up funding landscape were evident, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has tightened its exemption list under new combination rules. 11 September 2024
The US House of Representatives has passed the BIOSECURE Act, gaining bipartisan support with a vote of 306–81. Nearly all of the votes against the bill came from Democrats. 10 September 2024
The Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult (CGT Catapult) has highlighted what it regards as the UK's potential to lead the global cell and gene therapy sector. 5 September 2024
The budget on October 30 is an opportunity to end short-termism, cut waste, and attract long-term investment to the country’s economy with a sector-targeted R&D tax relief policy, according to the UK BioIndustry Association (BIA). 3 September 2024
The Danish Pharmaceutical Industry Association, Lif, has given its verdict on the government financial bill setting out new priorities in health in 2025. 2 September 2024
Marseille-based ImCheck Therapeutics has received 20.2 million euros ($22.4 million) in non-dilutive funding as part of the i-Démo call for projects under the France 2030 Plan operated by Bpifrance on behalf of the French government. 29 August 2024