Global Health Matters
The 4th African Regulatory Conference generated unprecedented consensus on a shared vision to bring about genuine regulatory harmonization in Africa. Discussions built on the strong foundations laid by African Medicines Regulatory Harmonization (AMRH) that will ultimately shape a new regulatory landscape for Africa. This is a giant leap from when ...
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The human cost of malaria affects countless families worldwide – including my own. As a young man, my grandfather suffered with the disease whilst serving with British troops in India. He described it as having ‘stolen a year of his life’, but that his long illness paled in comparison to ...
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For all the advances it has produced, globalisation also has its downsides. One such example, the counterfeiting of medical products, represents a major threat to our societies, in particular the poorest ones. The data is rare and difficult to verify with certainty. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about ...
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In a globalized world, the regulatory landscape is changing every day to address, in tandem, old and new challenges. With regulatory systems increasingly under pressure globally, what will be the most promising weapons in the fight to make regulatory systems in Africa work more efficiently? And how to pay the ...
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What can be done to speed up access to new medicines for patients and improve quality, safety, and efficacy of medicines in Asia The 2015 Asia Regulatory Conference (ARC) on February 4-5 in Chinese Taipei brought together over 250 stakeholders from regulatory, pharmaceutical, academic, civil society, international and non-governmental organisations, ...
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The clock is ticking! In just few days, we will be joining friends and colleagues in Chinese Taipei for the Asia Regulatory Conference (4th and 5th of February). The program was crafted by a Programme Committee, which consists of regulatory professionals from regulatory authorities, industry and trade associations including the ...
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The case has been made time and again: the annual flu shot saves lives. Around 3 to 5 million people suffer from severe flu each year and it is estimated 5% to 10% of people die as a result. Children, pregnant women, healthcare workers and the increasing number of people ...
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Pushing the boundaries of innovation is at the core of the pharmaceutical industry. However, it’s also the “business model” for many diseases. Microbes, including bacteria and viruses, are constantly evolving to cloak themselves from being affected by antimicrobial medicines. Similarly, aggressive cancers are increasingly becoming unresponsive to first line treatments. ...
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Did you know that with the exception of safe drinking water, no other public health intervention has had such a major impact upon mortality reduction as vaccines have had? Figures talk by themselves. In 2012 alone, 111 million children were given vaccines against life threatening diseases, preventing some 2 to ...
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The Chief Innovation Officer of the company that invented the way crisps in a tube are packed (rather than the wasteful packages full of air) coined the phrase: “What we’ve done to encourage innovation is make it ordinary.” The bio-pharmaceutical scientists and researchers deal with more complex issues than the ...
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With 1 billion people lacking access to basic health care and more than 2 billion people lacking regular access to essential medicines, governments are increasingly placing emphasis on the promise of universal health coverage (UHC). UHC has become an increasingly salient issue for developed and developing countries alike in the ...
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In a month we will celebrate “World Malaria Day” (25 April)! The Fight the Fakes campaign would like to mark the progress made in the control and elimination of malaria with a ringing Thunderclap! Malaria is a disease that can be prevented, diagnosed and treated when using the right medicines. ...
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Life just always seems a bit tougher on Mondays. One good way to blow away the blues is to concentrate on projects that reward you with quick wins followed by the reward of some “me time”. That’s why, when I can, I try to fit in an hour of sport ...
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Today, February 4th is World Cancer Day. This annual event is the ideal opportunity for millions of people to raise the profile of cancer around the world. The Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) and its 800 member organisations across 155 countries seek to press the world’s media to place ...
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In my capacity as IFPMA Director General, I have an interesting vantage point of how the various global health groups in Geneva and beyond – international organizations, NGOs, national governmental missions and industry – collectively tackle a range of global health issues. Collective action has led to important progress on ...
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