Non-governmental organizations in India have jointly issued a letter calling on the country’s government to expand the scope of price control by bringing other essential and life saving medicines under price regulation in order to protect patients from overcharging and to promote public health. 22 August 2014
Ukraine plans to ban pharmaceutical imports from Russia, except 20 vital drugs, the analogues of which are not produced in Ukraine, according to Oleg Musy, Ukraine’s Health Minister. 11 August 2014
The Russian Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly of the country, has put forward a proposal to restrict imports of drugs from Western countries to Russia, in response to sanctions, imposed on the country by the USA and the European Union, reports The Pharma Letter’s Russia correspondent. 11 August 2014
US Senators Lamar Alexander (Republican, Tennessee) and Orrin Hatch (Rep, Utah) have led colleagues in calling on the Obama administration to release guidance documents on biosimilar drug approvals. 6 August 2014
South African trade group the National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers (NAPM) has proposed a zero Value Added Tax (VAT) rating of medicines in its submission to the Davis Tax Committee, tasked with assessing the country’s tax policy framework and its role in supporting the objectives of inclusive growth, employment, development and fiscal sustainability in South Africa. 22 July 2014
All Australian Health Ministers have committed to working towards the virtual elimination of new Australian HIV transmissions by the end of 2020, said the Department of Health and Ageing over the weekend. 21 July 2014
Adding to previous criticism from the likes of the medical humanitarian organization Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and the World Health Organization, US Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (Democrat, Oregon) and senior Finance Committee member Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) on Friday requested detailed pricing information from US anti-virals specialist Gilead Sciences on its costly new hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug Sovaldi (sofosbuvir). 12 July 2014
A wide-raging report published today by the UK House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee report on Antimicrobial Resistance has welcomed Prime Minister David Cameron’s decision to appoint Jim O’Neill, a former Goldman Sachs chief economist, to lead a team to spur the development of new drugs to prevent antibiotic resistance. 7 July 2014
South Africa’s National Association of Pharmaceutical Manufacturer’s has appointed its new Executive Council, which has been tasked with strengthening the association’s strategic position within the pharmaceutical industry whilst representing the interests of its members and the broader public. 3 July 2014
A new KPMG study shows that R&D investments made by Canada's innovative pharmaceutical sector continue to be chronically under-reported by the government of Canada at an increasing amount year-over-year. 30 June 2014
In order to make drugs more affordable to the country’s public, the Indian government is likely to hike the number of drugs that come under the category of essential drugs, and place them under the ambit of price control, reports The Pharma Letter's India correspondent. Once implemented, the move would effectively result in drug prices sliding by 10% to 15%. 30 June 2014
Encouraging private-sector innovation, making public research institutions more accountable and channelling more funds into the most promising R&D projects would help restore France’s former prowess in science and technology, a new OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) report says. 27 June 2014
Trade body AusBiotech has made preliminary comment regarding the establishment of the Entrepreneurs’ Infrastructure Program (EIP), based on questions posed in the EIP Discussion Paper. 26 June 2014
In order to keep a lid on the escalating cost of drugs, India's drug price regulator has decided to fix a ceiling price on new drugs aimed at treating HIV, cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, tuberculosis and malaria, reports The Pharma Letter's India correspondent. 16 June 2014
The annual Australian Biotechnology Industry Position Survey (2014) shows a worrying trend: advanced manufacturing associated with this industry of the future is following traditional manufacturing and there has been a sharp increase in the number of companies heading overseas, the trade group AusBiotech warns. 12 June 2014
The US Senate yesterday confirmed the nomination of Sylvia Mathews Burwell, the current director of the Office of Management and Budget, to serve as the next US Secretary of Health and Human Services, by a vote of 78 to 17. 6 June 2014
Bayer HealthCare, one of the business units of German drug major Bayer, is exploring all options for meeting Russia's 2020 regulations for foreign pharma players, country division head Viktor Geisler told BiopharmInsight. 28 May 2014
The Brazilian Commission for Consumer Protection will soon hold a hearing to discuss the effectiveness of generic drugs, writes Juliane Carvalho writing on Brazil Pharma News (http://www.brazilpharmanews.com). 26 May 2014
Germany’s Merck KGaA has proposed the creation of a global alliance to help the World Health Organization (WHO) achieve its goal of eliminating schistosomiasis worldwide. 20 May 2014
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