Real Options is still not widely accepted in the Bio-Pharmaceutical Industry for various reasons such as their complexity, novel concept, and inability to be recognized in real-life managerial settings. Let’s assume that a biotech company has developed a patent for a…
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative received a considerable boost towards achieving their funding target when the Gates? Foundation pledged$1.8bn USD towards eradicating Polio. The commitment, announced at the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, brings the total funds raised to $4bn,…
The Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) will soon be launching a “Grand Challenges” programme with a $25mn investment backing from the Gates Foundation and $25mn from India?s Department of Biotechnology (IDB). The aim of the programme is to increase…
Biosimilars remain a hot topic with news yesterday that Indian generic drug giant Cipla, who only last week was praised by former president Bill Clinton, has launched the first Rheumatoid Arthritis biosimilar of Pfizer and Amgen?s blockbuster Enbrel. With its successes in producing generic chemical…
Biosimilars is the topic of the day as news broke of Indian Agila Biotech?s joint venture with US Pfenex Inc to produce Biosimilar products. Under the agreement Agila Biotech will hold 51% equity of the joint venture that will take advantage of…
There has been considerable amount of debate on what discount rates should be used in each and every phases of a biotech project. Should you use the cost of capital of the company while evaluating projects? The answer is clearly…
India?s generic drug manufacturers have received a large amount of negative press in the last few weeks and it is at times like this that it is important to remind ourselves of the key role these companies play in combating…
Shasun Pharmaceuticals and Debiopharm Group have entered into a licensing agreement to manufacture and commercialise the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor “Huperzine-A” (HupA) that has been shown to improve cognitive performance in patients that suffer from Alzheimer?s Disease (AD). According to the deal, Shasun Pharmaceuticals…
The World Health Organisation has approved India?s vaccine regulatory system that will allow India?s vaccine producers to easily export vaccines out of the country. The regulatory system passed the WHO?s international standards for efficacy indicators for a functional vaccine regulatory system based…
Last week I covered India?s landmark ruling against granting Novartis patent protection for its Leukaemia and gastrointestinal cancer drug “Glivec”. The ruling received both domestic and international criticism that drove India?s trade and industry minister, Anand Sharma, to defend India?s judiciary…