Pharmaceutical industry

Over twenty pharma companies have rejected the UK government’s proposed changes to the statutory scheme for branded medicines, the latest move in an ongoing disagreement between the government and industry. According to the Association of the British Pharmaceutical industry (ABPI), the “radical plans” are “unworkable”. And will be “highly damaging to UK life sciences and […]

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology has the potential to revolutionise drug discovery and pharma companies need to make plans for a future in which AI is frequently utilised in research, says ResearchAndMarkets.com. However, the change AI will bring about in drug discovery will take some time, according to the ‘Global Markets for Artificial Intelligence in Drug […]

Six out of 10 people in the UK trust pharma businesses to do what is right: up 1% on last year. The UK places more trust in pharma than European neighbours France (52%), Germany (55%), or the industry’s largest global market, the US (54%). People living in the world’s second largest and fastest-growing pharma market, […]

A round-up of the latest senior appointments in the drug discovery sector over the last month. Julian Collins, Jana Windt and Michiel Stork, ProBioGen Julian Collins has been appointed as Senior Vice President, Head of People & Organizational Development (P&OD) and a member of the Executive Team. Michiel Stork has taken on a role of Vice […]

Novo Nordisk has been suspended as a member of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) for two years due to serious breaches of the ABPI Code of Practice. This is the eighth occasion in the past 40 years the ABPI Board has issued such a significant sanction. The ABPI says the action has […]

The ABPI Board has confirmed that Susan Rienow, UK Country President of Pfizer, will be the next President of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI).   Rienow was appointed as ABPI Vice-President in September 2022 and will formally take up her role as President in May 2023.   As President, Rienow will lead the ABPI Board […]

The Pistoia Alliance Pharma Innovation Council has been launched, bringing together 13 leaders from large global pharmaceutical companies.   The Council will explore common challenges at a grassroots level and seed ideas for new pre-competitive projects aligned with the Alliance’s strategic themes: Emerging Sciences and Technology, Improving the Efficiency and Effectiveness of R&D, and Empowering the […]

Women in Life Science Denmark (WiLD), an inspiring and science-centric not-for-profit network for women in senior positions across industry and academia, launched in January 2023 to strengthen value creation in the Danish Life Sciences industry, while promoting talent, diversity and inclusiveness. DDW’s Megan Thomas caught up with WiLD to learn more about the future for […]

For International Women’s Day, DDW’s Diana Spencer celebrates some of the women in leadership making an impact on the drug discovery and life sciences sector. The life sciences sector has traditionally outperformed others when it comes to attracting women to its workforce. In its ‘Women in Business 2022’ report, Grant Thornton reported that at 39%, the […]

The European Commission and the UK Government have reached a political agreement that they hope will address the challenges faced by citizens and businesses in Northern Ireland (NI) following Brexit. The Windsor Framework, which focuses on a variety of issues, including supply of medicines, constitutes a comprehensive set of joint solutions aimed to ensure lasting […]

There have been a number of significant appointments in the drug discovery sector over the last month. So who are the latest movers and shakers?  Amy Berrington and Montserrat Garcia-Closas, Institute of Cancer Research: Professors Amy Berrington and Montserrat Garcia-Closas have been appointed as Team Leaders at the Institute of Cancer Research’s Division of Genetics and […]

The top 20 biopharmaceutical companies have recorded a growth of 5.4% in aggregate market capitalisation – from $3.43 trillion on December 31, 2021 to $3.61 trillion on December 31, 2022.  According to analytics company GlobalData, 11 companies indicated double-digit growth, with four companies – Merck & Co (45.3%), Vertex Pharmaceuticals (32.8%), Eli Lilly (31.6%), and […]

AbbVie and Eli Lilly have left the voluntary medicines pricing agreement in protest over what they describe as “increasingly punitive revenue clawbacks”.  The companies have left the UK’s Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines Pricing and Access (VPAS), a long-standing agreement between government and industry with roots going back to the foundation of the NHS.  As […]

As 2022 draws to a close, life sciences market analysts attempt to correctly predict what the next 12 months might bring to the drug discovery sector. DDW’s Diana Spencer summarises the key trends likely to impact the market in 2023.  1. There will be greater emphasis on diversity in clinical trials A focus on the representation of […]

Optibrium, a developer of software and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions for drug discovery, recently announced the promotion of Dr Tamsin Mansley to President of its new subsidiary to lead its US-based team and business operations. DDW’s Megan Thomas spoke with Dr Mansley to learn more about what she considers the role of AI in drug […]

There have been a number of high-level career moves within the industry in the last couple of weeks. In this update, we provide a round-up of the latest senior appointments and promotions. Nick Maishman, ViroCell Biologics Nick Maishman has joined contract development and manufacturing organisation ViroCell as Chief Operating Officer. The appointment follows Susan B […]