The courts in India have come down heavily against certain domestic pharmaceutical companies who have been accused of allegedly flagrantly violating patent policies, with many launching drugs that are still covered by patents, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 11 February 2023
The Russian pharmaceutical market has generally withstood the pressure of sanctions from West, as foreign companies stopped supplying only 8% of drug names to Russia, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 7 February 2023
Róbert Wessman, founder and chairman of Icelandic biosimilars company Alvotech and investment fund Aztiq, offers his vision for affordable global healthcare in an Expert View piece. 7 February 2023
After an illustrious career as chief scientific officer at Johnson & Johnson, Dr Paul Stoffels is ready for a new chapter in his home country, with Belgian biotech Galapagos. 2 February 2023
The existing interruptions in the supply of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) to Russia and lack of their production within the country currently remains one of the major reasons for a shortage of various drugs in the local market, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 31 January 2023
Pharmaceutical production in Russia in 2022 grew by more than 15% compared to 2021, while the industry continues to increase its technological independence, according to recent statements, by Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov – a state official personally responsible for the development of pharmaceutical sector in the Russian government, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 30 January 2023
An interview reflecting on 2022 and looking forward to the year ahead with Paul O'Donohoe senior director, eCOA Product and Science at Medidata. 26 January 2023
On December 23 2022, the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was passed with full support from both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.1 This act aims to improve the process for approving drugs and commits to significantly reducing the use of dogs, primates, and other animals in laboratory testing. 26 January 2023
Histiocytic neoplasms, also known as histiocytosis, are rare disorders in which specialized immune cells (histiocytes) accumulate and form tumors in tissues such as skin, bones, liver, lungs, lymph nodes and spleen.1,2 25 January 2023
Russia is facing with a new wave of drugs’ shortages and interruptions of supplies due to the ever-tightening sanctions regime against the country and logistics issues, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 23 January 2023
Since 2019, in the Latin American pharma market, imports have doubled the number of exports, writes The Pharma Letter's local correspondent. 20 January 2023
As a blockbuster heart failure drug by Swiss pharma giant Novartis goes off-patent, several Indian drug majors are rushing to market with their generic applications. The patent loss of Entresto (sacubitril/valsartan) has brought on significant disruptions in India’s cardiology sector. High courtroom drama ensued a few days before the patent loss and had everyone on tenterhooks, reports The Pharma Letter’s India correspondent. 20 January 2023
There is no shortage of criticism currently being directed at the UK government from the public sector, especially where healthcare is concerned ... 18 January 2023
A sudden surge in Covid cases in China has made anti-Covid generic drugs from India attractive, including the generic version of Pfizer's anti-Covid oral drug Paxlovid (nirmatrelvir/ritonavir), which is in high demand and needs to be reserved weeks in advance, reports The Pharma Letter's local correspondent, 12 January 2023
PSK Pharma, a Russian drugmaker that is part of the local Rus Biopharm Group, is looking to become one of the leading pharmaceutical companies in Russia in the coming years to come, achieving this by a significant increase of its output and expansion of its range, reports The Pharma Letter’s local correspondent. 10 January 2023
In November 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hosted a webinar on the topic Understanding Generic Narrow Therapeutic Index (NTI) Drugs. The aim of the webinar was to educate healthcare professionals on NTI drugs and the FDA’s efforts to ensure therapeutic equivalence of generic NTI drugs.1 3 January 2023
Never has the importance of Flanders’ biopharmaceutical output to the international community been more obvious than it was during the COVID-19 crisis. 3 January 2023
During the whole of 2022, merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the pharma and biotech sector showed a slight improvement on 2021, when it fell to a decade low of just 92 deals, with a total number of 109 (See table below). 2 January 2023
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
The upcoming European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congress 2024 should provide a reminder—if it were needed—of the pace of innovation in the development of new medicines for cancer. 10 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
Amid an explosion in investment and development milestones seen over the past decade, the age of radiopharmaceuticals as both diagnostics and as therapeutics is very much arriving. 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
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
Accord Healthcare might not be as well-known as certain preeminent pharma corporations in the UK and Europe, but you would struggle to find any company making a greater contribution to the production and supply of medicines across the continent. 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
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
CytoReason’s $80 million venture round may not have been the biggest in July, but it is one of a growing number of investor bets on AI powered drug discovery this year. 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