BioSpectrum Asia Dec 2014 by BioSpectrum

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BioEdit

A PAC pharma sector comes off age in 2014

s 2014 winds down, from the Asian perspective, it has been a significant year on two counts. First, the aura that surrounded the operations of multinational pharma companies (MNCs) as one of being reproach has been dimmed during the year. Two, a set of home-grown pharma companies in the region have demonstrated that they are rightful partners in the global pharma sweepstakes. Let me take up the first issue. For long, visiting MNC pharma executives used to talk down to their Asian counterparts during interactions. The message always was that back home their regulators were very stringent and hence ethical business practices were a way of life for them. The implied message was that weak regulatory regimes allowed Asian pharma companies to get away with a lot of practices frowned upon back home and that, somehow, gave undue advantage to local organizations. Regulators in China and Japan have effectively broken the myth about MNCs being paragons of virtue in their business practices. Three examples suffice. Chinese government fined GSK a record (by Asian standards) $489 million in early 2014 for the company’s many fraudulent sales practices that bribed local doctors and administrators. Johnson & Johnson too received a $3 million fine for some of its illegal trade practices. And Japan pulled up Novartis for submitting highly manipulated clinical trial data for its top selling drug Diovan. The trend so far has been that either due to ignorance or lack of resources and expertise, Asia’s drug regulators winked at such MNC practices. Also, governments did not want to jeopardize foreign investments by antagonizing these powerful MNCs. Looks like the worm has finally turned. The “easy” regulatory regime in Asia was further highlighted by the absence of a crackdown on local pharma companies. Asian pharma companies are routinely pulled up by regulators in the western countries on various counts and local government agencies just looked the other way and overlooked the interests of local consumers of medical products. Now it is clear that the sanctimonious approach of MNCs towards local companies has been proved to be just humbug and they are as good or as bad as any organization in Asia and will take their chances with questionable acts. The halo certainly dimmed for MNCs in 2014. Sovaldi, the $1000 pill to cure hepatitis C infection from Gilead Sciences, is one of the most talked about product of 2014. A 12-week treatment would require a patient to spend $84,000 for a course and is a huge cost even by American standards. No wonder Gilead was subjected to severe criticism on this score in the US and many other nations. But Gilead did something unthinkable to salvage its otherwise exemplary image. Gilead did not wait for generic companies to file compulsory licensing applications to make Sovaldi in many countries. It just licensed the production of Sovaldi to seven generics manufacturers in India in September, allowed them to decide the prices, and above all sell it in 91 countries where hepatitis C is a major concern. Gilead will just charge a token royalty on the sales. Gilead hopes these Indian companies can spearhead a new wave Narayanan Suresh of pharma sales in the world. Asia has indeed joined the Group Editor global pharma bandwagon in 2014. BS narayanan.suresh@mmactiv.in

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BioMail Uneven Regulations - A big hurdle I was quite enthralled by BioSpectrum Asia’s smart healthcare survey. It was exciting to read the nuances of the smart healthcare market. As an entrepreneur of a wearable technology, I am also of the opinion that if appropriate regulations are in place, digital health and smart healthcare industry is all set to boom. Lack of uniform regulation is deterring many healthcare firms from incorporating smart health technology into their kitty. Mr Lin Huang, Shangai

M-health and E-health are the next big thing! The article on e-health was an interesting read. It is indeed very true that with the mobile and Internet connectivity available even in the remotest parts of many countries, m-health and e-health platforms are the easiest way to bring in advanced healthcare technologies to remote areas. Ms Elsi Samuel, Sydney

Time for a legal framework! The article on orphan drugs was a thoughtful read. It is sad to note that many children in Asian countries die due to lack of availability of appropriate drugs. It is time that

member nations wake up and formulate a policy before orphan diseases become a huge disease burden for the Asians! Mr Rex Anderson, Tokyo

Precise details needed! The article on 3D printing was a good read. However, the write up spoke mostly about US-based companies and their technology innovations. BioSpectrum being a pan-Asia magazine, it would have been good to read Asian innovations in medical science. Ms Mercy Thapar, Bangkok

Online story updation I keep visiting the BioSpectrum website for news updates on lifesciences and the business of bio-pharma. However, one thing that I have consistently observed is that there is no follow-up of the news that is featured. I request the team to update the news items so that readers are aware of the latest developments in the same. Eg- Rat poison in sterilization deaths. Mr Srinivasan, Bangalore

Vol 9; Issue 12; December 2014 Publisher: Jagdish Patankar

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BioContents

CoverStory

NewsMakers

2014

2014 turned out to be a tough year for major multinational pharmaceutical companies in Asia. A lot of hits and misses, acqusitions and major investments, mammoth fines and scandals have marked the year gone by. BioSpectrum Asia takes a glance at all the major newsmakers and trends that have evolved over the last 365 days.

2014

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Investments

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People

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Acquisitions

An MM Activ Publication

Biotech

Medtech

BioColumn Healthcare through satellite

Designing wearables for healthcare

MNC’s still think global, act local

BioEvent Singapore President’s Science and Technology Awards

44 Malaysia seeks investment in bioeconomy

BioEdit �� 05 BioNews �� 10 BioTalk �� 35 ► Medtech to fuel future growth

BioPolicy �� 37 ► FDA labels Hospira’s Australia-made drugs as adulterated

BioHealth �� ► Google introduces ‘Genomics cloud platform’ �� 38 ► China’s fourth batch of aid to West Africa �� 39 ► Will social media be the next tool to reform healthcare? 40 ► Northeast India to become SE Asia’s healthcare hub �� 41

BioEvent �� 46 BioPeople �� 47 BioBuzz �� 48 BioComment �� 50 An MM Activ Publication

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BioNews

J&J starts Asia Pacific Innovation Center

Bio Bytes

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) Innovation has announced the opening of the Asia Pacific Innovation Center, located in Shanghai with satellites in Singapore, Australia and Japan. It extend network of J&J Innovation Centers in lifesciences hotspots around the globe. With local science and technology experts and deal-making capabilities, the center will identify and develop promising early-stage opportunities across the company’s areas of focus pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, and consumer healthcare products.

PCR for cancer detection Singapore-based JN Medsys has launched Clarity digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of mutations in cancer or fetal abnormalities, potentially improving the management and outcomes of life-threatening diseases. Clarity digital PCR system features an innovative chipin-a-tube design.

Sartorius opens application center Sartorius has recently inaugurated a new application center in Shanghai. The leading international laboratory and equipment supplier announced that the new center will serve as a training facility for customers, offering product demonstrations and trial runs. The center can be used to test Sartorius products for cell cultivation.

ABIVAX to market typhoid vaccine ABIVAX, Europe-based clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing anti-viral compounds and human vaccines, has collaborated with Finlay Institute, Havana, Cuba, to commercialize vaccines against typhoid, meningococcus, and leptospirosis, in Asian and Latin American markets. Under the terms of the agreement, ABIVAX will gain exclusive and non-exclusive distribution rights for three vaccines including Typhoid vaccine-vaxTyVi, meningococcal vaccine-VA-MENGOC-BC and Leptospirosis vaccine vax-SPIRAL. ABIVAX will have rights to commercialize these products in a range of countries in Asia, including India, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

Indian city to get science gallery Bengaluru, India, will be the first Asian city to house a science gallery, designed on the model pioneered at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s leading research university. A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) to the effect was recently signed by the Science Gallery International (SGI) and the Karnataka State Government, India. The gallery is expected to hold innovative and ever-changing science programs and showcase new innovations and developments in science.

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A new preclinical imaging center launched Bruker, global manufacturer of scientific instruments for molecular research, has opened its Preclinical Imaging (PCI) Centre in collaboration with the Singapore Bioimaging Consortium (SBIC), a research institute under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR). Located within SBIC’s premises at Biopolis, the SBIC-Bruker PCI centre is the first facility of its kind in Asia and only the second in the world to be opened by Bruker. The company’s first pre-clinical imaging centre is located in Massachusetts in the United States. The new SBIC-Bruker PCI centre will provide demonstration, training and applications support for Bruker’s preclinical portfolio and multi-modal imaging platforms. |

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BioNews

Biomedical innovation wins award

Bio Bytes

Singapore’s President’s Technology Award (PTA), 2014, is conferred to two teams in biomedical sector who have achieved outstanding breakthrough in eye research. Professor Wong Tien Yin from the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), and Professor Wynne Hsu and Professor Lee Mong Li from NUS, in collaboration with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), and A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), developed a suite of novel eye image analysis technologies. This platform allows doctors to detect and track progression of three major eye diseases which cause blindness as well as study the onset of systemic vascular diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes.

Japanese technology to treat cancer

The other winning PTA team comprises Professor Subbu Venkatraman and Professor Freddy Boey of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Associate Professor Tina Wong from SERI. They recieved this award for the development of a platform for sustained release of glaucoma medication.

Thailand hospital is planning to introduce Japanese cancer therapy technology using a heavy ion beam to treat cancer. The therapy involves targeting a beam of heavy ions at cancerous tumors. The hospital has signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan. For the first time a Japanese technology for heavy ion radiotherapy will be transferred abroad. The therapy causes minimum damage to host’s healthy cells.

Korean Ministry partners with J&J The Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare recently inked a pact with Johnson and Johnson (J&J) Medical Korea to develop medical devices industry. The partnership will focus on augmenting R&D in cancer, chronic diseases and cerebral vascular diseases and expand academic exchange and collaboration programs. An agreement to the effect was signed by the two partners stating a five-year cooperation with an investment of $25 million.

Medidata and PPD partner Medidata and Pharmaceutical Product Development(PPD) has announced they are expanding their partnership to provide the lifescience industry with a more comprehensive approach to riskbased monitoring (RBM) aimed at conducting drug development more intelligently, more quickly and more cost-effectively.

The deal aims to build collaborative network for clinical research and executing scientific medical and education programs for local experts. An official at the Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare said in a news release, “Partnerships with global market leaders like J&J is essential for the Korean medical devices industry to gain competitiveness in the global market.”

Transasia named ‘Global Growth Company’ Transasia Bio-Medicals has been selected as the ‘Global Growth Company 2014’ by the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) at the India Economic Summit. This award recognises the strength of the company’s ability to become future Global leader.

“We are very excited about extending our partnership with a world-class CRO like PPD. We share a common vision of transforming drug development through the power of technology and the intelligent use of data for the benefit of our customers,” said Mr Glen de Vries, Medidata’s president.

The nominated Global Growth Companies (GGCs) represented a broad crosssection of industry sectors but share a track record of exceeding industry standards in revenue growth, promotion of innovative business practices and demonstration of leadership in corporate citizenship. Transasia Bio-Medicals being commended as India’s top manufacturer and exporter of diagnostic products to over 100 countries has been proudly reckoned in this cadre. An MM Activ Publication

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BioNews

China, Taiwan call for deeper pharma ties

Bio Bytes Sun Pharma recalls its drug in the US

Pharma companies from China and Taiwan have recently convened a forum, co-organized by the Taiwan-based Institute for Biotechnology and Medicine Industry (IBMI) and the China Pharmaceutical Innovation and Research Development Association, seeking to strengthen ties between the two countries and boost new drug development.

Sun Pharma has decided to recall 68,194 bottles of its Venlafaxine Hydrochloride Extended-Release tablets, an anti-depression in the US. The company is recalling the drug for failing “dissolution specification”. The 37.5 mg tablets in 30-count bottles and 90-count bottles, were manufactured by Sun Pharmaceutical Industries at Halol for Sun Pharma Global, Dubai.

Mr Chen Weijao, chairman of the IBMI, said, “While China is a huge potential market for drug developers, Taiwan has the expertise and has been conducting many clinical trials and novel drug research. The collaboration of the two countries will help in grabbing a larger share of the market.” Mr Weijao added that Taiwan and China should seek new collaborative models to attain substantial outcomes.

Pfizer sues Mayne pharma’s US arm Australia-based Mayne pharma has reportedly filed an application seeking rights to produce and market the generic version of Pfizer’s heart medicationTikosyn, used to prevent irregular heartbeats. The patent for Tikosyn does not expire until 2018.

Eisai pharma opens its Australia division Eisai, a Japanese pharmaceutical company, is seeking to expand its global network by opening a new office in Australia. The new outlet will serve as a platform to market Eisai’s oncology and epilepsy products, leading with breast cancer treatment-Halaven (erbulin) and epilepsy drug Fycompa (perampanel). “Australia has a distinctive healthcare system,” said Mr Gary Hendler, president and CEO of Eisai, “Halaven has received reimbursement in Australia recently, and is one of the few breast cancer treatments to be approved by the Australian Pharmaceuticals Benefits Scheme (PBS) in the recent years.”

Medtronic tie-up with CARE hospitals

ScinoPharm to develop Regadenoson for China Taiwan-based ScinoPharm and China-based Nanjing King-friend Biochemical Pharmaceutical have entered into a collaboration for joint research and development of Regadenoson for China market. Regadenoson is a pharmacologic stress agent indicated for radionuclide myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) in patients unable to undertake adequate exercise stress. As Regadenoson dosing is not dependent on patient weight or renal impairment and can be administered by rapid injection.

Medtronic has announced a strategic partnership with CARE Hospitals to set up Heart Failure (HF) clinics for the prevention and management of Congestive Heart Failure (CHF). The first HF Clinic will be launched in Hyderabad.

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ScinoPharm will be responsible for the development and manufacturing of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API) for Regadenoson. Both sides will jointly develop the injection technology and conduct clinical trials. NKF will take charge of the actual sterile injection production and drug certificate applications with the China Food and Drug Administration. |

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An MM Activ Publication

CoverStory

NewsMakers

2014

2014 turned out to be a tough year for major multinational pharmaceutical companies in Asia. On one hand, China cracked down on GSK imposing corruption charges for fraudulently driving product sales in the country and fined the giant company a whopping $489 million. On the other hand, Japan slammed Novartis for alleged data manipulation of the clinical trial of its best selling blood pressure drug Diovan. Even Johnson & Johnson came under the scanner of Chinese watchdog for illegal trading in China and was slapped a fine of $3.04 million. India was on an investment spree in 2014. Indian generic drug makers exhibited interest to expand their presence in the overseas space and were also on the receiving end of investments by foreign firms. In a significant acquisition deal, Sun Pharma acquired troubled Ranbaxy and emerged as the fifth largest global player in generics business. Aurobindo Pharma acquired the commercial arm of Actavis to get strong in Western Europe and Cipla entered into the emerging markets of Czech and Slovakia. 2014 was a year of shuffling strategies by pharmaceutical companies to churn profit in the slimming drug pipeline as novel drug makers are venturing into the generics space. Companies that have, so far, adopted globalization strategies are now turning towards the concept of ‘glocalization’, to develop drugs and devices that meet the trends and requirements of the local region. BioSpectrum Asia takes a look at newsmakers of 2014 and the trends that went into shaping up the year.

2014

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2014

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PHARMA Japan files criminal complaint against Novartis The Japanese health Ministry had filed a criminal complaint against Novartis for the alleged exaggerated advertising of its popular blood pressure drug, Diovan. A medical study of the drug proved that the data generated in clinical studies might be skewed to promote the drug. Further investigation led to the arrest of the drug maker’s ex-employee on the grounds of suspected violation of the country’s laws by providing false data to researchers. The drug maker cracked down hard on its employees as the allegation unfolded.

Sanofi, UCB join hands for drug innovation The strategic collaboration between the two drug firms will aim at discovering and formulating innovative anti-inflammatory molecules to treat immune-mediated diseases. The costs and profits will be shared by both companies on a 50/50 basis.

Biocon launches world’s first Biosimilar ‘CANMAb’ Biocon made history by launching the world’s first biosimilar drug for treating metastatic breast cancer. The drug developed co-jointly in partnership with Mylan is said to be 25 percent cheaper than in India the original drug Herceptin.

Merck, Samsung to co-develop diabetes drug The deal was signed to collaborate, manufacture and commercialize an insulin glargine candidate that can treat patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes. The companies will collaborate on clinical development, regulatory filings and manufacturing. The drug, if approved, would be commercialized by Merck.

Dr Reddy’s foray into the Japanese market The lucrative Mexican markets have wooed pharma majors for years and Dr Reddys is no exception. After shrugging off the proposed MoU with Fujifilm, the drug giant had issued a statement that the company was planning a fresh collaboration with various partners in Japan. Market analysts estimate that the Japanese healthcare market is set to boom generating revenue close to $90-$120 bn by 2017.

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2014

Actavis sets up APAC headquarters in Singapore In a move that will further strengthen the drug giants hold in Asia, Actavis has set up its global headquarters in Singapore. Actavis offers a broad portfolio of drugs for Asian markets and has been a long-time leader in Singapore’s healthcare market. With the market value for pharmaceuticals in Asia expected to reach $350 bn by 2016, the headquarters at Singapore provides easy access for Actavis to the pharma markets across the APAC region.

Takeda fined $6 bn by the US federal jury The Japanese pharma major was slammed with a mammoth fine of $6 bn for allegedly concealing the cancer risks associated with its blockbuster diabetes drug Actos. The US FDA further ordered the drug maker to add the cancer warning to the drug’s label. This is the largest ever fine imposed on any pharmaceutical company.

Lupin inks strategic JV agreement with Yoshindo A new entity YL biologics was born as a result of the deal. YLB will be responsible for conducting clinical development of certain biosimilars, regulatory filings, and marketing monoclonal antibodies in Japan. The deal is considered to be the most significant merger in the biosimilars space with the Japanese biological market currently valued close to $12 bn.

Samsung enters the pharma market Amid shrinking profits from smart phones and electronics, Samsung targeted the pharmaceutical industry as another growth engine. The company said in a statement that it aimed to become the number one pharmaceutical company in the world and has already invested $2bn in this venture. Samsung announced plans to sell its first biosimilar version of Amgen in Europe by 2016.

Novartis under fire from Tasigna allegations Allegations that the Swiss giant had failed to inform the Japanese authorities on serious side effects of its Tasigna tablets prompted the country’s health ministry to launch an investigation under possible violation of pharmaceutical law. Novartis faced serious trouble in Japan this year with a series of malpractice investigations, and this severely affected the drug maker’s business and reputation in the Japanese market.

GSK pharmaceutical bribery scandal Months of elaborate investigations unraveled the biggest pharmaceutical bribery and corruption scandal in China, and the Chinese police charged the former GSK China head with bribery. The probe led the cops into establishing how billions of yuan were paid in bribes to doctors and hospitals. The British drug giant was charged with a hefty sum of $489 million fine. The scandal severely hampered the reputation and earnings of the drug maker.

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2014

CoverStory

BIOTECH Astrazeneca shuts neglected disease R&D site in Bangalore What came in as a sad news to the 170 full time employees at the R&D center, as part of its global strategy and to simplify its footprint in R&D, Astrazeneca shut its Avishkar center, one of the drugmakers’ critical centers for research and development. With troubling operations overseas, the move was thought to be a reflection of the drug makers shrinking global business.

The Sovaldi story Gilead’s blockbuster Sovaldi treatment recorded the biggest drug launch in history after going on sale late last year. The drug hailed as a breakthrough for hepatitis C cost $84,000 for a 12week treatment and was projected to earn nearly $8.1 billion in 2015 by many analysts. The hefty price of the drug invoked nationwide protests, with many organizations and health insurers accusing the drugmaker of the sky high price tag for a lifesaving drug. The drug maker then licensed the drug to five generic makers including Cipla and Ranbaxy to make the drug available in 91 developing countries. The companies will be allowed to set their own prices for the generic drug, and will pay a royalty on their earned sales to Gilead.

Mitsubhishi to elevate particle therapy portfolio The Japanese electronics giant set up a medical system global marketing group to solidify its presence in the bioscience sector. The firm intends to expand its particle therapy solutions to global markets and has also established a regulatory group in each to country to address the specific compliance challenges.

Sanofi announces maiden dengue vaccine The news came as a relief to millions of dengue sufferers across Asia. The vaccine major’s announcement that its maiden dengue vaccine has passed clinical trials and will be available for administration by early 2015 made headlines. The breakthrough was considered a critical milestone achievement as the endemic disease affects nearly 100 million people every year.

Sanofi, Medtronic sign strategic alliance The alliance was considered to be an important collaboration that will help Sanofi tap the technological advances and create a holistic treatment solutions for diabetes which is the number one non-communicable disease in the world. With both the companies being world leaders in diabetic care, this strategic tie up is thought to boost efforts to focus on Type 2 diabetes.

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2014

Neuclone, Serum Institute join hands This historic deal will pave the way for manufacturing of 10 biosimilars. Targeted to treat cancer and autoimmunity, the biosilimars are estimated to be worth billions of dollars. With the biosimilar market booming, this tie up is considered to be one of the most profitable partnerships in biosimilars space.

Pfizer to acquire Baxter’s vaccine portfolio The $635 mn win-win deal will boost Pfizer’s vaccine business, while slimming the healthcare company Baxter for a spinoff. The acquisition is expected to rack up $300 mn revenue for Pfizer in 2014. The Baxter deal will help Pfizer expand beyond its blockbuster vaccine Prevnar and adds two high quality vaccines to its portfolio.

Baxter inaugurates biologics facility in Singapore The establishment of the new facility is expected to add 450 new biopharmaceutical jobs in Singapore. The deal will reinforce Baxter’s position as a leader in Biologics and will provide the drug maker easy access to Asian markets.

Roche Acquires InterMune The deal valued at $8.3 bn will help in complementing Roche’s strength in pulmonary therapy. In addition to its flagship drug pirfenidone, InterMune has research programs exploring new targets and pathways that may ultimately lead to improved treatment options for people with respiratory and fibrotic diseases.

Sanofi sets its first R&D hub in Asia With 50 collaborative research projects with APAC partners in its kitty, the vaccine major unveiled its R&D center in Shanghai. The Asia Pacific R&D hub, first in the region and fifth worldwide, will integrate its existing R&D capabilities in biopharmaceuticals, animal health, rare diseases and vaccines, and will bring together R&D centers in 12 countries in Asia Pacific with about 1,400 staff.

CSL to buy Novartis flu business The deal ended Novartis’ eight year foray into vaccines. In the first quarter of the year Novartis had divested a bulk of its vaccine business to GSK. With the flu shot sale, the drugmaker officially exited form its vaccine business. For CSL, the deal will beef up the Australian major to compete with global vaccine giants like Sanofi and Astrazeneca.

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MEDTECH Google launches eye lens that measures blood sugar The lens, equipped with tiny chips and antenna was considered a breakthrough as it will help in measuring blood glucose in a non-invasive procedure. Apart from this, the search engine giant introduced many healthcare initiatives like the Google Fit, Calico, and Google Health etc. Google’s promising health initiatives led a Medtronic executive to comment that ‘Google looms as its major competitor in the coming years’ according to Fierce Health IT.

Innova, TGR to co-market ELISA technology The tie up aims at promoting and co-marketing the two companies’ innovative complementary technologies. The partnership is considered a major step forward in simplifying the ELISA development process, while improving sensitivity and reducing costs.

GE acquires API healthcare The acquisition will help GE expand its services in the hospital management portfolio. With the new brand added to its bag, GE said that in the upcoming years health systems will experience double digit growth and it would be a global player in healthcare.

Philips launches healthcare IT services In a bid to implement new models for healthcare, Philips has announced a healthcare informatics initiative. Considered one of the lead initiatives by Philips in the healthcare sector, this partnership is believed to improve access, lower cost, and enhance quality across the continuum of care, from screening and diagnosis, to treatment and monitoring.

A virtual tool for diagnostic diseases from GE The virtual tool is the latest innovation in digital pathology, combining an intuitive viewer with the case management and reporting power of a software to create a technology that will change the way pathologists read, interpret, and report on suspected hematologic malignancies. The technology underscored GE’s commitment in investing in cutting-edge technologies.

Astrazeneca, Vodafone to develop mhealth cardiovascular services AstraZeneca teamed up with telecom giant Vodafone to develop a range of mHealth services for patients with cardiovascular conditions. The global deal will see the partners create new mobile and internetbased services to support patients in areas such as medication adherence and self-management. 18 BioSpectrum

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2014

Lifespine enters the China market With this deal Lifespine has entered the biggest and the most lucrative orthopedic market in the world. The company’s partnered with China Pioneer Pharma Holdings, which is considered an industry leader. The tactful move promises to create a large potential to expand revenues for both the companies.

Medtronic invests $200mn in brain simulation technology Medtronic acquired Netherlands-based Sapiens Steering, thus broadening its presence in the neuroscience space. The acquisition of Sapiens SBS is intended to supplement Medtronic’s capabilities in modulation of brain function.

Johnson & Johnson to sell its medical device unit This would be the second major divestiture for the conglomerate this year, it sold Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics to private equity firm The Carlyle Group in June for $4.2 billion. Declining profits could have stimulated the move as J&J had $14.3 billion in medical device and diagnostic sales during the first half, a gain of only 0.3 percent. Diabetes care and diagnostics were the worst performing segments; they declined 10 percent and 5.8 percent, respectively.

WuXi acquires US-based CRO The leading Chinese drug maker added a new feather to its cap by acquiring Xenobiotic laboratories. This business combination is an important step in WuXi’s development in building a comprehensive, integrated platform of R&D services to discover and develop drugs more efficiently and cost-effectively.

Merck acquires Sigma Aldrich The $17 bn deal was described by supplier industry market analysts as a quantum leap by Merck. The buyout will leave Merck with more profitable earnings and the company will be less reliant on its largest division, the pharmaceutical business.

Sartorius introduces new application center in Shanghai The new application center will help Sartorius customers try and buy its products. The center, located close to biotech hot spots in Asia, is expected to provide a new fillip to Sartorius business across the continent.

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REGULATORY USFDA bans Wockhardt US plant FDA lashed out at India’s pharma company Wockhardt for using unsafe drug-testing procedures at it US plant. Consequently, the company’s first quarter revenue of 2014 was down by 94 percent. FDA slammed Wockhardt for unsanitary conditions and poor employee sanitation at its plant and uncontrolled use of trial injections during chromatographic testing to release drug products.

China blacklists corrupt drug makers China takes stringent action against pharma companies involved in bribing doctors and other health authorities by barring them for selling products in the country. China’s National Health and Family Planning Commission introduced new regulations aimed at hospitals and physicians, as well as the medical product companies to sign Integrity Agreements by detailing names of their sales representatives and avoiding any deal with pharma company that takes corrupt route of business.

China halts import of FDA Pfizer drug China FDA suspended the import of a drug manufactured by the US drug maker Pfize on grounds of missing documents in accordance with the Chinese law. The suspended drug, reported to be, anti-fungal Fluconazole, is barred from sale in China. Pfizer confirmed to the failure of submitting the required document.

Ranbaxy recalls 64,000 bottles of generic drugs India-based Ranbaxy, that has been under quality compliance scan of FDA, recalled more than 64,000 bottles of a generic of Lipitor, indicated to lower cholesterol, in the US, for containing tablets of atorvastatin calcium. FDA declared the recall of Lipitor generic by Ranbaxy as Class II, which signifies a remote chance of severe adverse consequences or death due to the product flaw.

Sanofi brain drug detected with side effects USFDA raised fingers at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi for potential neurocognitive side effects of their experimental cholesterol drug. FDA questioned Sanofi for concerns about neurocognitive adverse events and other lipid-lowering therapies, including statins, as part of the oversight of new drug development

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Vietnam bands drugs from 45 Indian firms Questioning the quality standards of drugs exported by India drug makers, Drug Administration of Vietnam banned around 45 Indian pharmaceutical companies some of them including Strides Arcolab, Medley Pharmaceuticals, Marck Biosciences, Marksans Pharma and UMedica Laboratories. India is one of the largest suppliers of medicines to South-East Asian countries including Vietnam and African countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Ghana.

Sun Pharma settles Gleevac issue Facing a stiff threat from India’s Sun Pharmaceuticals for gaining tentative USFDA approval for the Novartis’ patent expiring blockbuster drug Gleevec, the drug developer settled with generics maker for a seven-month reprieve from the competition. Indicated for leukemia, generic of Gleevec is a major loss for Novartis. Post settlement, Sun is allowed to launch a generic version of Gleevec in the US only in 2016, that gives Novartis seven months to generate profit.

Aurobindo diabetes generic gets US FDA nod Aurobindo’s Repaglinide tablets, a generic version of Novo Nordisk’s Prandin tablets received the regulators nod as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in patients with type 2 diabetes. The product was estimated to clock in revenue close to $2.8 bn for 12 months.

Cipla’s HIV drug gets tentative nod from the US FDA Cipla’s generic version of Truvada tablets has received a tentative approval for administration against HIV in combination with other retroviral agents. The drug was not approved for marketing in the US because of existing patent protection. The drug can however be purchased outside the US under the PEPFAR program.

Roche, Novartis fined $250 mn for alleged collusion The two pharma giants were accused of unethical collusion to curb the distribution of Roche’s Avastin cancer drug as a treatment for eye disease. According to the regulator, Novartis and Roche Holdings had allegedly blocked the distribution of Avastin in favor of a more expensive drug Lucentis for macular degeneration.

Takeda gets FDA nod for new biologic therapy The approval added another treatment option for ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease patients which have been for long an un-met medical need in Asia. With millions of people suffering across the goal the approval was significant in bringing in treatments for these patients and achieving remission.

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INVESTMENT Indian generics firm gets $200 mn investment Gland Pharma, the first India-based company to get US FDA approval for pharmaceutical liquid injectable products, sold a minority stake to a global investment firm, KKR, at $200 million. The company pioneered Heparin technology in India and has a strong position in the US market. The company intends to channel the investment to expand its manufacturing capabilities.

ScinoPharma invests $113 mn in China Besides global MNCs investing in China, Taiwan-based ScinoPharm also invested $113 million in the country to set up an API R&D and manufacturing facility. The new plant is to manufacture antitumor, hormonal-active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates for the US and Europe markets.

Mylan buys Agila from Strides for $1600 mn, biggest acquisition deal in Asia Mylan invested $1.75 billion to buy generic injectable maker, Agila Specialities, from Indian drug maker Strides Arcolab. The acquisition is intended to expand Mylan’s product portfolio with around 300 filings approved globally and marketed in around 70 countries. Agila’s acquisition complements Mylan’s existing injectables platform of more than 500 products marketed globally and sterile manufacturing facilities in Ireland and India.

Cipla invests $512 mn in South Africa pharma space In a major acquisition deal, India-based Cipla invested $512 million to acquire Cipla Medpro, its distribution partner in South Africa and third-largest pharma company in the country. Expanding presence in South Africa market, Cipla intends to grow further in the region

ThermoFisher pays $13 bn for Life Tech In one of the biggest acquisition deals of the year, biotechnology supplier company, Thermo Fisher Scientific, acquired global lifescience company Life Technologies in a $13.6 billion deal. Profile of the combined entities would fuel Thermo Fisher market presence in genomics and proteomics research giving a boost to drug

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discovery, development, and production process

Lily invests $70 mn in China Global pharma company, Eli Lilly, expanded its manufacturing and development presence in China by investing around $70 million in a manufacturing facility to develop Lilly-branded generic drugs. The plant is designed to employ 350 headcount with a production capacity of 2.2 billion units.

Charlesriver acquired Galapagos at $186 mn Charles River Laboratories, CRO firm with strong presence in China, acquired CRO services division of Galapagos in around $186 million to strengthen its drug discovery and preclinical services. Argenta and BioFocus, CRO division of Galapagos, provide early drug discovery services including medicinal chemistry, target discovery, and complex in vitro biology, as well as offer therapeutic area expertise in respiratory, inflammation, oncology, and CNS disease.

Asian Development Bank approves $60 mn for investment in Asia Asian development bank approved to invest $60 million in a new healthcare private equity fund as part of a strategy to raise over $300 million to help develop better healthcare exclusively in Asia. A large portion of portfolio investments is expected to take place in China and India, including rural and second or third tier cities within those regions focusing on areas like pharmaceuticals, medical devices and diagnostics, CROs, hospitals and healthcare service providers.

Glenmark ventures into US market with new facility India based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals decided to venture into US market by setting up a manufacturing facility in the country to manufacture oral solid unit in the initial years and thereafter would set facilities for injectables and topicals. Glenmark’s first manufacturing facility in North America is dedicated only for the US market.

Abbott to sell branded generics business in Mylan Global biopharmaceutical company, Abbott, decided to sell its developed markets branded generics pharmaceuticals business to Mylan that includes operations in Europe, Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand and approximately 3,800 employees. Abbott intends to focus on emerging geographies with growing healthcare systems.

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ACQUISITIONS Merck to acquire Idenix for $3.85 bn Global pharmaceutical company, Merck, decides to acquire Idenix Pharmaceuticals, engaged in drug discovery for human viral diseases, at $3.85 billion. Already having three drug candidates for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in clinical development- two nucleotide prodrugs (IDX21437 and IDX21459) and a NS5A inhibitor (samatasvir), Idenix’s primary focus is on the development of next-generation oral antiviral therapeutics.

Novartis acquires cancer firm Costim In a bid to establish itself in the hot field of immunotherapy the Swiss giant acquired CoStim pharmaceuticals, a privately-held Massachusetts-based biotechnology company. Underscoring its commitment to cancer immunotherapies, Novartis had purchased a facility for $43 mn to manufacture these drugs.

Bayer to acquire China’s Dihon pharmaceuticals The German drugs major, in a bid to establish a strong foothold over emerging Asian markets for over-the-counter drugs, acquired Dihon pharmaceuticals. The deal will empower Bayer with 2400 employees of Dihon across R&D, manufacturing, sales and marketing, as well as several manufacturing sites in China.

Sun pharma to buy Ranbaxy for $3.2 bn This deal is considered to be the most historical deal of the Indian pharma industry. The collaboration gave birth to the world’s fifth largest drug maker with overall operations spread out in 65 counties and a total of 47 manufacturing units in five continents.

Teva to acquire Labrys Biologics for $825 mn This strategic move by Teva will strengthen its pain management portfolio. Labrys is a biotechnology company that focuses on chronic migraine and episodic migraine. The sales for Labrys’ flagship drug was estimated to be around $2-$3 bn.

Japan’s Meiji Seika pharma buys Medriech After Daiichi Sankyo’s acquisition of Ranbaxy way back in 2008, Meiji’s acquisition of Medriech will be another inbound Japanese deal in the Indian pharmaceutical sector. With the global generics market poised to reach $335 bn by 2017, the deal provides Meiji a direct access to the Indian pharma market.

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Novartis acquires GSK’s oncology business, sells vaccines to GSK In what seemed like a modern day barter system, Novartis and GSK decided to swap assets, where Novartis agreed to buy GSK’s cancer drugs for an aggregate of $16 bn and the latter acquired Novartis’s vaccine business for $7.1 bn. The new joint venture will be the second largest consumer healthcare company that will control 29 percent of the global vaccine market.

Abbott to invest $495 million to acquire Russian firm The acquisition is expected to add sales revenue close to $150 mn and strengthen Abbott’s portfolio in the oncology market. The deal added 100 pharmaceutical products and 2000 skilled workforce to Abbott’s kitty.

Actavis acquires Forest Lab The combination creates one of the world’s fastest growing specialty pharmaceutical companies with an annual revenue of more than $15 bn anticipated in 2015. The new entity will market more than 35 products across seven therapeutic market segments and maintain blockbuster product franchises in five therapeutic categories, as well as a global generics business that remains an industry powerhouse, with operations in approximately 60 countries and a top 10 position in more than 25 markets across the world.

Sun pharma acquires US-based Pharmaluecence After acquiring Ranbaxy earlier this year, Sun Pharma bought yet another US-based injectable business. The acquisition is expected to help the Indian drug maker strengthen its injectable profile as Pharmaleunce is expecting regulatory approval for its new state-of art pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Billerica.

Roche to acquire Santaris Pharma for $450 mn With gene targeted therapies enjoying a good market share, Roche’s strategic acquisition of Santaris will help Roche in further strengthening its position in the oncology market. Santaris’ next generation antisense technology is expected to complement Roche’s existing expertise in sisease biology, drug safety and diagnostics.

Actavis acquires Durata therapeutics The merger is considered to be a strong strategic fit to strengthen Actavis’ infectious disease portfolio. Through the deal Actavis gained Durata’s flagship injectable antibiotic Dalvance that recently received USFDA approval with years of market exclusivity. Durata recently was granted a special protocol agreement from the FDA to study Dalvance for cases of hospitalacquired pneumonia.

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PEOPLE Mr Cesar Rodrigues, Managing Director of Janssen in the UK moves to China Mr Cesar Rodriguez, Janssen’s managing director for the UK and Ireland, moved to China as the managing director and president of Xian Janssen, the Chinese subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson’s pharma division Janssen. Having worked in different geographies including Spain, Romania, and Egypt, Mr Rodriguez took the responsibility of strengthening Janssen position in China

GSK chief joins its rival, Takeda Mr Christophe Weber, president and general manager at GSK Vaccines portfolio, got appointed by the rival company, Takeda Pharmaceutical, as the Chief Operating Officer and is also a potential candidate as the next Chief Executive Officer of the company. Mr Weber, previously responsible for GlaxoSmithKline’s Asia-Pacific operations, took charge of Takeda to grow its generics business.

Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh appointed as WHO SEA regional director Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh is appointed as the new WHO regional director for South East Asia. Dr Khetrapal Singh has an extensive career in health and public affairs in Asia and has been health secretary of the Punjab region in India. She later moved to the health, population and nutrition department of the World Bank before joining WHO in 1998.

Phosphagenics appoints new non-executive director Australian biotechnology firm Phosphagenics appointed biotech industry veterans Lawrence Gozlan, Nathan Drona and Geert Cauwenbergh as non-executive directors, with Mr Gozlan assuming the role of Chairman of the Board on an interim basis. Mr Gozlan has been a leading fund manager and analyst in the Australian biotech sector over the past decade. He is the Chief Investment Officer and founder of global investment fund Scientia Capital, which specializes in managing investments for domestic and international institutional investors in the life science sector.

Sanofi India appoints Mr N Rajaram as country head Sanofi India appointed Mr N Rajaram as country head and general manager of pharmaceutical operations of India

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Merck Millipore appoints Dr Udit Batra as president and CEO Merck Millipore appointed Dr Udit Batra as president and CEO of the company. Mr Batra joined Merck from Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics business, where he was Head of Global Public Health and Market Access, based in Boston. He brings more than 13 years of industry and leadership experience

Dr Kiran Majumdar receives Othmer Gold Medal Dr Kiran Majumdar becomes the third woman to receive Othmer Gold Medal, and the first Indian to make it to prestigious group for pioneering efforts in biotechnology, and for scripting a hugely successful entrepreneurial story by drawing on her knowledge of fermentation science to build Biocon, India’s first biopharma company. The Othmer Gold Medal is presented annually and co-sponsored by CHF and four affiliated organizations namely the American Chemical Society (ACS), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Chemists’ Club.

Dr Reddy’s appoints Mr Satish Reddy as chairman of Board Mr Satish Reddy, son of late founder chairman Mr Anji Reddy, took over as chairman of Dr. Reddy’s and Mr GV Prasad, son-in-law of Anji Reddy, is appointed as co-chairman and managing director. Mr Satish Reddy is entrusted with the task of driving and building the company’s profile in drug formulations, new drug innovations and clinical trial modules

GSK appoints new team in China British drug maker GlaxoSmithKline appointed two new executives in China to oversee the sales and marketing operations in the country after going through a series of trouble in the country. After facing serious reputational damage, the new appointment of executives is hoped to prevent any repeat of bribery scandals. GSK appointed Mr Herve Gisserot as the new general manager and Mr Thomas Willemsen to look after sales and Mr Wang Yizhe to take charge of marketing.

Novartis employee arrested for fudging data A former employee of the Japanese drug maker Novartis, was arrested with allegations of data manipulation. According to reports, data pertaining to the drugmaker’s best-selling blood pressure drug Diovan was falsified in order to promote sales and revenue. Mr Nobuo Shirahashi (63) was accused of extrapolating the clinical studies data, with a view to boost sales of the drug.

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Designing wearables for healthcare Mr Satish Premanathan

he healthcare industry is looking for new ways to manage resources as the demand for beds grows in tandem with ageing populations across Asia. Today’s talk of the town is the wearables or devices that monitor physiological changes in the body when worn.

chief architect and general manager, VLSI & System Design As a chief architect, Mr Premanathan is responsible for the technological aspects of Wipro’s VLSI and System Design business Worldwide. During the last few years, Mr Premanathan has also been responsible for setting up and defining new service offerings and solutions for customers in the VLSI and System Design space.

Analysts have already seen the potential for health-related wearables as Transparency Market Research reports that the market for wearable medical devices will be worth $5.8 billion worldwide by 2019. ABI Research has also predicted that over 100 million wearable wireless medical devices will be shipped annually by 2016. While most have been designed for consumers’ personal interests, new types of wearables can also allow doctors to monitor a patient’s health remotely and continuously after he or she has been discharged from a hospital. This eases the crunch on healthcare resources without diminishing the patient care. These devices that work outside the hos-

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pitals are now more usable (small and lightweight) and consume less power. They are also more elegantly designed--no long wires needed, and attractively priced within the range of $200. Given these improvements, wearable devices are now being worn for longer periods. Medicine has relied on devices to monitor the body for years, but these were traditionally wired and were unable to store more than a few hours’ worth of information. The use of discrete components made such wearable devices bulky and the power consumption of these devices were impractical as they required frequent re-charging. The confluence of advanced mobile technology, better connectivity, and electronics are supporting the emergence of a new class of health-related wearables that are portable, accurate, and reliable. Regardless of what is being measured and monitored, key components of wearables usually include bio sensors, micro-controllers, memory to store data, power management functionalities to minimize

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BioColumn energy consumption, and a wireless interface to communicate to a mobile gateway. Electronics manufacturers such as Intel, Toshiba, Broadcom, MediaTek, and India’s Ineda Systems have already invested in creating specialized systems on chips for this purpose. The hardware is typically enclosed in a small package, characterised by long battery life, connectivity support for standards such as via bluetooth or wifi, location awareness, and very responsive sensors. Wearables created with such hardware could track vital signs like heart rates, skin temperature, skin resistance, and blood oxygen levels on a 24-hour basis to provide suggestions for general wellness. The devices could also look out for signs of distress in patients who have recently been discharged, or in those with a

to 30 days of high resolution data. That data could then be transferred to an Android or iOS phone app using Bluetooth, and also over mobile broadband networks to the cloud for analysis. The analysis results come in the form of an interactive report that are sent to a medical team, which then prescribes actionable insights that can be forwarded to the wearer of the device.

Wearables could track vital signs like heart rates, skin temperature, skin resistance and blood oxygen levels on a 24-hour basis history of heart problems. They could issue warnings to the patient advising to visit a doctor, or request help from emergency medical services as needed.

Truly, wearables have the potential to add a new layer of interactivity to healthcare businesses. The data from well-designed, easily-connected mobile wearable devices, when integrated with the right analytic tools, could yield more accurate insights for healthcare institutions, improving the quality of healthcare overall. Wearables might soon able to reduce medical requirements, visits to the doctor, hospitalisation, and unnecessary healthcare spending. BS

Wipro has worked with a manufacturer to create a wearable device that maps out how data would be transmitted from the wearer to health professionals for medical analysis and recommendation. We drew on our expertise in the medical field, cloud technology and analytics to help develop a product that stores up

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BioColumn

Healthcare through satellite Ms Nada El Marji

director, NGO Business, Enterprise Strategy & Development, Inmarsat

illions of people in Southeast Asia today lack access to affordable, quality healthcare. According to Rural Poverty, four billion people in Asia are scattered throughout rural areas or compacted into towns and cities on a land area of almost 45 million km², roughly 17 percent of the world’s surface. In rural Myanmar, 70 percent of the country’s 58 million people live in villages that lack basic healthcare, according to IRIN Asia. In the event of an emergency, it may take days for a villager living in a remote community to reach hospitals or clinics located only in towns.

Ms El Marji is responsible for setting strategic direction of Inmarsat enterprise business unit comprising Aids, Healthcare, and Education sectors. She has more than 15 years of experience in the Mobile Satellite Communications, Healthcare and Education advanced technologies.

If they had instant access to healthcare information and data during a medical emergency, imagine the number of lives that could be saved. Technologies that enable instant communications play a vital role in transforming the healthcare sector into a more efficient, patient-centered system where individuals have easy access to eHealth and telemedicine solutions. As connected devices become ever-present in the region, 30 BioSpectrum

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many companies and NGOs are developing innovative eHealth solutions to address this issue. According to a 2011 survey conducted by NetMotion Wireless Inc, 62.7 percent of respondents working in hospitals or multi-hospital systems reported increased productivity for mobile clinicians and staff since deployment of wireless data applications. Accessing telemedicine and eHealth technologies through a wireless network provides instant information which enables medical workers to reach out to isolated communities. However, this is compromised as most remote communities have poor telecommunications infrastructure or no telecoms available at all. This is where satellite communications can bridge the gap. Satellite technologies connect remote and urban communities by providing the connectivity needed to deploy eHealth solutions that allow for the provision of healthcare in areas not covered by telecommunications infrastructure. Equipping mobile doctors, healthcare workers, NGOs, missionaries, military personnel and

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civil servants with mobile satellite solutions opens opportunities for isolated communities to access quality healthcare anywhere and anytime. For instance, eHealth for remote Australia will allow The Royal Flying Doctor Service instant access to the essential medical history information of more than 750,000 Australians living in remote and isolated areas of New South Wales, South Australia, Queensland and Western Australia, according to Getnetworking. Satellite terminals are designed to be portable and lightweight which allow users to easily connect remote clinics and medical teams. This enables them to access eHealth solutions, be it access to intelligent decision support systems that aid them in diagnosis and treatment, or transmitting a patient’s vital signs in real-time to experts in urban areas, who can diagnose and monitor patients remotely. The same can also be applied to natural disasters such as floods or droughts. Data on extreme weather conditions can be quickly relayed to remote workers enabling them to warn rural villages before it is too late. High broadband connectivity also allows for quality video across camera feeds, allowing doctors to

including pilot projects, grants and funds to promote or even construct telehealth systems. This in turn will create opportunities for private ICT infrastructure companies, software vendors, and device manufacturers to partner with government.

With satellite technologies, the untapped medical benefits to remote communities are vast and with this comes a greater demand for more bandwidth

Growth in the Asia-Pacific region will be driven by improved awareness of the ability to provide affordable medical care to the wider population, with the governments of India and China rapidly adopting and pushing telehealth to cater to the needs of their huge rural patient populations. With such need and momentum it is expected that by 2018 the region will contribute up to $8 billion to the global telehealth and telemedicine market, up from $2 billion in 2011, state healthcare sector experts GlobalData.

see both patient and real time medical images and readings without an external video mixer or toggling between images. There is no doubt the future of the eHealth market is prosperous, especially in Asia-Pacific. Increased awareness in providing affordable medical care services to a wider population and government commitment will play a huge role in driving uptake.

With satellite technologies, the untapped medical benefits to remote communities are vast and with this comes a greater demand for more bandwidth. As satellite technologies continue to evolve, we can foresee a future where isolated and remote communities have increased access to quality healthcare; a right that the world’s population deserve, no matter where they live. BS

Frost & Sullivan Healthcare Industry Analyst, Natasha Gulati stated that governments across Asia-Pacific are and will continue to be the major architects of the telehealth industry in this region. Government involvement will drive initiatives

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Mr Ramana Rao is a Management Executive with 25 years of experience RR Consultancy Services, India, is engaged in the business of regulatory affairs, product registration, market research, distributor search and management in the healthcare sector namely, medical devices, medical, laboratory and scientific equipment

Mr Raman P V Rao CEO, RR Consultancy Services, India

‘MNC’s still think global, act local’

many medium-sized MNCs opening outlets in Singapore, Shanghai, and India, to showcase their innovative product-lines and expertise, taking advantage of growing economies in these emerging markets.

ulti-national companies or MNC’s as they are simply referred to have become extremely powerful in today’s world. They play a key role across the globe where they are established with own subsidiaries.

INSIGHT MARKETING MANTRA

Healthcare, being the foremost need, after the three basic needs of the human race, has grown leaps and bounds by way of inventions, innovation, and expansions. This growth can be attributed to many factors like population, global communication, and the need itself. However, one of the major contributors to the growth of the healthcare sector is the establishment and growth of MNCs.

Adding to this, the tech-savvy attitude in India and China have changed the way this huge populace looks at healthcare. The software industry offers their expertise and skill-sets, apart from their purchasing power, that has increased manifold in the last two decades in these two countries.

Large conglomerates have always devised strategies for representing their companies and products in Asia and other continents. Last decade saw

However, there seems to be a lot of room for improvement in the way MNCs think and act. Most MNCs still follow the (now) old philosophy,

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“Think Global, Act Local”. I would defy this statement at least for India, as nothing except the product must be global. Whatever the MNC does it must think “local and act local” too. It is always price versus volume. But when it comes to India the volumes are already there. So some fine-tuning or (initially) even coarse-tuning of price needs to be done to achieve bigger volumes. This would be my approach in emerging markets like India and China. Even though the product is welcome as an imported product, the price and service or the strings attached to any service are not. The Indian population has certainly changed the way they think in terms of quality of service or product. They want the best, but not at the cost of the sky. It must not be misconstrued here that the Asian or the Indian public do not wish to pay for quality. Wrong again! They very much want quality and they do not mind paying too, but not the same price as a westerner pays for the same product. Indians do not mind paying a premium for the quality but it cannot be too high compared to the next lower-level one. Strategically speaking, MNCs explore Indian and Chinese markets not because of the growing economy alone. It is due to the huge popula-

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tion in these countries, which today can afford a much higher price than in the 1970’s or 1980s. But an expensive mistake made by some MNCs is that they try to sell their products and services at almost the same price as they do in the western world. With India’s population of 1.25 billion, it is only wise that any manufacturer - foreign or local, target the entire population instead of only a section of people. This may not apply to all products depending upon input costs but it certainly can be applied to most categories of products. I would like to discuss here a couple of case studies from my own experience:

Sales Strategy:

A European company (once established by me) in India is doing very well with one of its product-lines. This is due to the fact that they listened to people and understood the market and then priced and serviced the market accordingly. Naturally, the product was a runaway success. However, it completely failed in another excellent product-

ity. But this simple phenomenon was not understood by the MNC. After some 10 years with its own subsidiary in India the situation is still the same.

line it had. In fact, they are still struggling to sell this product in India. Their contention is, “We are selling at the same price in the US”. Many an effort to make the company understand and reduce the price to an acceptable level fell on deaf ears. The target customer(s) for this product being children, it is easy to convince parents to buy this excellent product. However, price is extremely prohibitive. My own personal interactions with the top most of expert retailers in the industry has shown that the product can be sold in much bigger numbers at just two-thirds of the current price. A simple calculation showed that there is still a good margin left for the Indian subsidiary, not to mention how much bigger a piece of the cake was left for the European manufacturer. The MNC was missing the bigger picture. The numbers, the volumes, and the product movement in India which will occupy “space” in the market and thus open up the market. Once volumes are achieved, the economy of scales will take care of the input costs, reducing production costs, and increasing profitabil-

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Complex situation: A more complex situation was with a piece of equipment which is used for administering a particular drug. The disease “thalassemia” is usually found in children. World statistics show that 100,000 children are born with thalassemia every year. In India, the numbers are 10,000 children per year, which means 10 percent of the world thalassemic cases are born in India. These numbers are big enough for any MNC to help the children and of course themselves. The MNC and the distributor and even the drug manufacturer have not understood the game properly. An ideal situation would have been for the three entities to come together and sit across a table and negotiate a permanent contract--one to provide the equipment at an affordable price to the drug maker; the second, the |

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BioColumn drug-maker to make the drug and the equipment available to the end-user (the child) at an affordable price. The third, the distributor must accept a low commission on this contract. The three could have easily sold the equipment and the drug in bigger numbers than they are right now. (Sales now are almost nil). This will drive volumes and then it is just a numbers game. This is easy to handle that with parents’ associations and other NGO’s working tirelessly to take care of these unfortunate kids. I tried to adopt this strategy 10 years ago in vain.

The MNC and the distributor and even the drug manufacturer have not understood the game properly. An ideal situation would have been for the three entities to come together and sit across a table targets and naturally high pricing as there is an (inflated) market. Soon enough they would find out the truth but will not be able to settle for anything less than what they had originally planned.

Market Research: Last June, I got a call from a market research organization in the US who wished to know the market-size in India for a particular product, I handled for over 10 years at corporate level. I gave all the information I could and received the executive summary after three months. No doubt the report was presented in an excellent manner, but to my dismay I found that all figures were four times higher compared to those given by me. When I wrote to the gentleman back pointing the error, he simply said that it was not an error but he added up both whole-sale and retail figures, and put them in. He also added figures of another more expensive product-line and categorized all of them into one entity and hence the inflated figures. He did the same with figures from China which bloated the marketsize to manifold. I was shocked and advised him to correct, to no avail. As an explanation he simply stated they have explained this duplication of sales figures in the report. I am still not convinced of this market research report.

An interesting case is that of a foreign car manufacturer who came to India and launched its SUV. It set a conservative target of 6,000 cars in the first year. But they sold 22,000. Both the above cases are two extremes. In both cases, no proper home-work was done.

Case Study: An astonishing case is that of a European manufacturer who paid a whopping Rs 10 million ($200,000) way back in 2007 for a market survey. Surprisingly, they were selling as its India for the last two decades prior through a distributor who was doing nothing but copying their product and re-producing, and selling in his own brand. No doubt it was trying to side-sell the original imported product too but in very little numbers due to the high price compared to its own Indian equivalent. After 20 long years, the MNC pays someone a sum of $200,000 for a market survey. Now isn’t that funny? Later of course they found the right distributor and switched and are doing well today. But the question is why a market survey by a third party when

Such reports make excellent reading, for the way they are presented but they are a far cry from reality and specifics. Imagine an organization which relies on the above report and comes to India or China with huge 34 BioSpectrum

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one has been in the market for two long decades? And why pay such a high amount for a market survey for a non-commodity product? Marketing: An interesting case in marketing is that of an European manufacturer trying to impose their so called corporate marketing ideas, on Indians. I refused to buy my boss’ line and said, “Personally, I would not look at a product marketing poster which does not display the product itself. Neither would my fellow-Indians.” The concept of two happy people or a happy family is fine, but what is the reason? Where is the product in this picture was my question? I refused to use the poster here in India as a marketing tool. All my dealers echoed the same sentiment! What works in the US or Europe does not work here in India. Hence I defy the global term, ‘Think Global…Act Local’ and replace it with my own idiom “Think Local and Act Local” too. I conclude this discussion on two strong notes: Pricing strategy: Make a close observation of the markets in India, China etc. and then decide on the price. Market survey: Do not get carried away by the way a report is presented or by the reputation or experience of the market research organization. Get to the roots through opinion leaders in a particular domain. Such experts will be much more reasonably priced to conduct a real market research than some of the well known market research firms and of course the figures will be close to reality. Today the Internet is a boon and through this medium it is easy to find good free-lancers and small entrepreneurs who can do an excellent job, be it market research or any such activity for a reasonable fee, without burning the MNCs pockets. BS

An MM Activ Publication

BioTalk

Interview Assoc. Prof. Tan Sze Wee deputy executive director, Biomedical Research Council, A*STAR, Singapore

Medtech to fuel future growth

edical technology is one of the key sectors identified by Singapore to fuel its future growth in the biomedical science industry and to reduce the burden given the fast ageing population and consequently rising healthcare costs. With the presence of major international medtech companies in the country, Singapore’s key concern is to grow and stabilize the local medtech developers and entrepreneurs. From 2000 to 2010, the manpower base in the medtech sector is reported to have grown from 4,000 to more than 8,000 and its manufacturing output has also risen from $1.5 billion to $3.6 billion. With the objective to grow this sector, Singapore has recently invested $60 million in starting up a diagnostic hub to support the local medical technology developments. Besides, the country also injected $30 million fund managed under the Sector Specific Accelerator (SSA) program that took off in 2011 to provide a lending hand to Singapore’s medtech developers. SPRING Singapore, the national wing that supports local start-up firms, has recently appointed two accelerators in the medical technology industry to boost growth and these are expected to play a role in shaping the medtech industry in the coming years. Associate Prof. Tan Sze Wee is the deputy executive director of Biomedical Research Council of A*STAR and is playing an important role in the development of SingaAn MM Activ Publication

pore’s medtech industry. Biomedical Research Council (BMRC) supports, oversees, and coordinates public sector biomedical research and development activities in Singapore and engages in human capital development in biomedical sciences. Assoc. Prof. Tan is also the chairman of Singapore-Stanford Biodesign (SSB) program of Agency for Science, Technology, and Research (A*STAR) that aims to train the next generation of medical technology innovators in Asia. Assoc. Prof. Tan was formerly the MD and CEO of Rockeby biomed, a Singapore-based, healthcare company specializing in research, development, and marketing of rapid testing technologies for infectious disease in humans and animals and lifestyle health products. Wearing multiple hats, Assoc. Prof. Tan is currently a council member of the Singapore Medical Association (SMA) and the chairman of Singapore Medical Association, the commercial entity of SMA. Assoc. Prof. Tan also serves on Ministry of Health’s Singapore Medical Council Committees for both continuing medical education and maintenance of competency and was a former nominated member of parliament of Singapore. In an interview with BioSpectrum Asia, Dr Tan Sze Wee talks about the country’s approach to develop its medtech sector and the challenges a start-up firm faces while progressing a device from lab to market.

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BioTalk Talent is not just about breeding the medical device developers but supporting start-ups and veterans of medtech sector to gain knowledge from them When it comes to developing a favorable environment for the growth of medtech sector in the country, what are the major concerns and priorities?

Assoc. Prof. Tan Sze Wee: Our main priority is to build a strong infrastructure that comprises of human capital, financing channels, and regulatory expertise that we believe are the crucial elements of growth. We are looking at developing an ecosystem where local researchers have the space and tools to develop and commercialize medical devices. Since we are at the initial stage of developing our medtech sector, we are also assessing the bottlenecks that inhibit success at later stage. Human capital is the most crucial element of the whole ecosystem for which we have designed programs that target talent nurturing and growth. One of the dedicated programs is the Singapore-Stanford Biodesign (SSB) program that aims to train the next generation medical technology innovators. Our second initiative is linking the ecosystem together including hospitals, academics, and research institutes. We are also looking at providing exposure to Singapore developers using overseas skill development centers. What is your view on the regulatory structure of medical devices and how is Singapore gearing to get expertise in this process?

We realize that regulatory could be a major bottleneck in the development of medical industry in the future as regulatory often lacks transparency, understanding, and a clarity on the whole process. The regulatory process is a hurdle not only for MNCs but start-ups as well and our idea is to develop expertise in this area. Our vision is to develop Singapore as the tower hub for regulatory knowledge in the region for which we have to develop talent in regulatory structure. Singapore has partnered with Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) of the US for a joint graduate certificate in Medical Devices Regulatory Affairs (MDRA) program. The program is intended for Singapore-based regulatory professionals to cultivate an industry-ready regulatory 36â&#x20AC;&#x192;â&#x20AC;&#x192; BioSpectrum

December 2014

workforce. We hope to position Singapore as the hub for regulatory support in the region. Generating funds has always been a challenge for startup firms. Though Spring Singapore provides support to kick start a firm, midway fund raising poses a major challenge. How do you believe the budding companies should progress in fund raising process? We have quite a number of funding programs in public space such as Spring Singapore, that supports the local start ups and the bioscience accelerator program. Besides, we are also looking at ways to provide mid-stage financing. Once the company starts commercializing and rolling out revenue, they can go opt for various options. Also, growth of a start-up firm also depends on the quality and novelty of the product. Going public for raising funds might turn out to be risky for start-up firms and hence, looking for private support is the best option. Market access is another challenge faced by medical device industry. If the medical device is innovative, it can fetch good pricing and exposure in market and we are trying to encourage the development of novel devices only. Do you see local medical device developer bringing innovation to the regional market?

Innovation is mostly coming from academics before they move to spinoff stage. To accelerate innovation, we have partnered with Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI) to enable knowledge exchange program between Singapore and Korea and currently four Korean companies are being groomed in our facilities. Singapore has over 100 local medtech starts ups but majority of them are in developing stage. We are supporting scientists to turn into entrepreneurs to bring their device in the market. What is the access for a device developer in Singapore to launch a product in the global market?

There is a platform to launch products in global market but the start-ups have to develop a strong product that has a potential market. If the product is good, the market is open. Today, it is not only about developing a product or getting regulatory approvals, but who is going to pay for the reimbursement and is their scope of getting pay back support. In the past, technology has been based on the incremental changes but now it is about novel products.â&#x20AC;&#x192; BS

www.BioSpectrumAsia.com

Amrita Tejasvi |

An MM Activ Publication

BioNews

FDA labels Hospira’s Australia-made drugs as adulterated After a recent inspection of Hospira’s Melbourne based facility, FDA has labelled the pharma giant’s drugs as ‘adulterated’. Recently the regulator had slapped the drugmaker with a warning letter for serious failings of regulatory compliance and significant violations in the process of manufacturing injectable drugs used in hospitals. Last year, an inspection conducted by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration unraveled similar deficiencies, however, the local body allowed Hospira to continue manufacturing, pending ongoing corrective actions. “Ho-

spira Mulgrave was last inspected by the TGA in November, 2012. Deficiencies, including those cited in the FDA warning letter, have previously been observed by the TGA and notified to the company for action,” a Department of Health spokeswoman said in a statement toThe Australian. In its warning letter the FDA said, “The firm lacks corrective actions. There is gross failure to establish written procedures for production and process control to assure that the drug products you manufacture have the identity, strength, quality, and purity they purport or are represented to possess.”

Pfizer’s meningitis B vaccine gets FDA approval

Briefs

The US-based drug maker Pfizer scored high with the FDA giving approval for its novel meningitis B vaccine, Trumenba. Meningitis B is a potentially deadly bacterial disease that has recently caused many global outbreaks. The vaccine is considered one of the most important drugs in Pfizer’s pipeline. Trumenba is approved for use in individuals in the age group of 10 to 25 years. The vaccine was granted accelerated approval recently, ahead of tests in 2,800 adolescents in the United States and Europe.

US FDA accepts Actavis’ New NDA The US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has accepted Actavis’ Supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Saphris (asenapine) for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in paediatric patients aged 10 to 17 years. The company’s sNDA for Saphris has been granted priority review status by the FDA.

Trumenba showed promise in safety and efficacy tests, providing 82 percent protection against four different strains of meningtitis B that typically cause the disease. The most common side effects associated with the vaccine included inflammation at the site of the injection, headache and diarrhea.

TWi receives FDA approval for generic Alzheimer’s drug

“The sNDA filing of Saphris speaks to our commitment to ongoing research and development of our mental health portfolio. We are pleased that the FDA has accepted this sNDA, marking the first step towards our goal of bringing this important antipsychotic treatment option to paediatric patients,”said Mr C David Nicholson, senior vice president, Actavis Global Brands R&D.

FDA has given a nod to TWi pharmaceuticals ANDA for Donepezil Hydrochloride Tablets USP, 23 mg, the generic equivalent to Eisai’s Aricept 23mg. The drug is used to treat Alzheimer’s disease patients. The Taiwan-based company said in its press release that the product will be launched at the earliest in the US via its fully owned subsidiary, TWi Pharmaceuticals USA. The drug increases the concentration of acetylcholine through reversible inhibition of its hydrolysis by acetylcholinesterase. An MM Activ Publication

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BioHealth

Google introduces ‘Genomics cloud platform’ Google has launched a cloud computing platform, ‘Genomics cloud platform’ to keep, share, and analyze genomic data. “We saw biologists moving from studying one genome at a time to studying millions. The opportunity is how to apply breakthroughs in data technology to help with this transition,” said Mr David Glazer, the Google software engineer who led the effort, in a statement to MIT Tech-

nology Review. 3,500 genomes have been uploaded to Google’s servers so far. Reportedly, the programming interface of Google Genomics allows users to focus on science rather than tech details such as servers and file formats; store genomic data securely so that private data remains private, while public data is available to the community anywhere; and process as much data as they need, all at once.

New anti-typhoid gene discovered Researchers have found a new variant of a gene that can confer five-fold protection against typhoid fever. The study published in the journal Nature Genetics suggested that the new discovery may help in developing better vaccines for typhoid fever, which affects millions every year. The study co-author Ms Sarah Dunstan of the University of Melbourne said in a statement, “We found that carrying a particular form of the HLA-DRB1 gene provides natural resistance against typhoid fever.” The gene was found to offer protection against infection by recognizing proteins from invading bacteria, thus stimulating an immune response.

News

The World Health Organization estimated that every year about 21 million people suffer from typhoid. The disease is caused by the Salmonella typhi or paratyphi bacteria carried in contaminated food or water. Scientists also noted that currently, there were no approved vaccines for enteric fever caused by S. Paratyphi pathovars, potentially constituting a huge problem as the incidence of S. Paratyphi A infection is increasing in many countries across Asia.

Ebola spreading nine times faster in Sierra Leone In a shocking report, the African Governance Initiative (AGI) has said that Ebola in Sierra Leone is multiplying nine times faster than it was two months ago. The campaign group said that on an average 12 cases of the deadly virus were reported in October every day as compared to 1.3 cases in September.

Taiwan offers best medical services According to a recent survey, Taiwan offers the best and cheapest medical facilities for expatriates across the globe. Around 66 percent expats said that they enjoyed higher quality and better healthcare service in Taiwan. Through the survey expats also indicated better healthcare services in four other countries, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, UK, and Japan.

AGI has further cautioned that both rural and urban areas of Sierra Leone are worst affected by the virus. Recently the WHO had stated that the cases of Ebola in Liberia were reducing and that the agency was getting an upper hand on the virus. However, Sierra Leone’s rise in cases has alarmed experts again. 38 BioSpectrum

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The online poll surveyed 9288 expats from more than 100 countries. “Nearly seven in ten expats said that they spend lesser on healthcare after moving into Taiwan. Upon relocation, all the expats and their employers are required to register with the National Health Insurance system, which grants them access to medical and dental care,” said the survey report. Since 1995, the Taiwan government has implemented the national insurance scheme that can cover all the citizens. |

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BioHealth

China’s fourth batch of aid to West Africa As the Ebola epidemic across the west African nations is showing no healing signs, member nations have rushed to the rescue. China has recently unveiled the details of its fourth batch of relief aid worth $ 82 million to help the African countries fight against the Ebola virus. The country’s spokesman of Ministry of Commerce said that the latest relief package included sending health experts to the Ebola epicenter, as well as sending medical equipment and relief materials. The Ministry also said that the country was planning to build a 100bed treatment center equipped with highly qualified personnel in Liberia. The country has also announced a donation of $6 million to the UN Ebola Response Multi-Partner Trust Fund to aid relief efforts. China also plans to spread awareness about the infectious disease in Africa and announced the launch of a program comprising of 12 training sessions for the Africans on public health and epidemic control.

Aussie firm grows human tendons in lab Australia based regenerative medicine company, Orthocell, has successfully grown human tendons in a laboratory. The research was conducted in collaboration between Orthocell, University of Western Australia, Curtain University, Griffith University and University of Auckland and with the support of Australian Research Council Linkage Grant. Prof. MH Zheng, chief scientific officer, Orthocell, said, “The secret to growing a human tendon graft outside the body, is to culture viable tendon cells and create the exact amount of stimulation to these cells, so that they feel at home and produce the necessary components to form tendon tissue. In the future this could represent a product to replace severely damaged tendons, complementing our exiting Ortho-ATI tendon repair product.”

News

He further said, “we have shown that we can grow and maintain potent and viable tendon cells in culture using the same patented cell growth technology behind Ortho-ATI. The Ortho-ATI technology is not simply relieving pain and improving function, it is facilitating the growth of new tendon tissue and this focused study demonstrates that achievement.” An MM Activ Publication

Pakistan has the highest rate of breast cancer It is estimated that one in every four women in Pakistan have breast cancer, a disease that claims the lives of 50,000 women every year. Recently, Pakistan Breast Cancer Trust had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations to generate widespread awareness about breast cancer in the country. At the press conference speakers expressed serious concerns over lack of accurate data about all kinds of cancers in the country and lack of awareness about the disease among people and doctors. Speaking to the participants, Ms Saira Afzal Tarar, National Health Services, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC), Minister of State, said, “Not a single penny has been released to any private or public hospital to conduct a survey or to gather data on cancer patients.” Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, vice-chancellor, Prof. Javed Akram, said that to facilitate earlier detection and screening of breast cancer, the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences has planned to introduce mobile mammography services for women living in far-flung areas of the country.

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BioHealth

Will social media be the next tool to reform healthcare? Recent findings published in the journal ‘Trends in Microbiology’ reveal that in addition to many potential healthcare benefits, social media could also be used an effective tool to curb deadly diseases like HIV and Ebola. Earlier government organizations and researchers had effectively used social media platforms to arrest and monitor the spread of infectious epidemics like influenza, dengue, malaria etc. Study author, Mr Sean Young, Center for Digital Behavior, University of California, said in a news release, “We know that mining social media will have huge potential benefits for many areas of medicine in the future, but we’re still in the early stages of testing how powerful these technologies will be.” Mr Young added that insights gleaned from social media could be used to help governments, public health departments, hospitals and caretakers monitor people’s health behaviors and to know where, when, and how we might be able to prevent HIV transmission.

Korea to nurture its medical tourism industry According to the nation’s top health official, the Korean government is keen to promote its medical tourism industry and aims to multiply the current number of medical tourists to 1 million by 2020. The nation’s health and welfare minister Mr Moon Hyungpyo said that the number of medical tourists is expected to reach 250,000 this year. Mr Hyung-pyo added that Middle Eastern countries, due to their poor health infrastructure offered huge opportunities to Korea. “About 120,000 people from the UAE and 200,000 from Saudi Arabia visit other countries annually to get medical treatment,” he added.

News

Revenue from medical tourism jumped to $368 million last year with 211,218 tourists opting medical services in Korea. He said that cosmetic surgery only accounted for 8.6 percent or 24,075 out of a total of 211,218 medical tourists, while internal medicine accounted for 68,453 cases or 24.4 percent,followed by 28,135 medical examinations and 25,101 for dermatological help.

Viral infection raises type I diabetes risk Researchers have concluded in a study that children who have contracted an enteroviral infection (EV) were 50 percent more likely to develop type I diabetes. According to reports, genetic susceptibility, immunity, and environmental factors play a major role in predisposing a person to type I diabetes. Researchers explained that though genetic factors were to be blamed for the onset of type I diabetes, the contribution of viral infections also could not be neglected. To investigate the link between EV infection and subsequent Type 1 diabetes the team conducted a nationwide population study. The results indicated that overall incidence of type I diabetes in EV infected children was almost double when compared to the non-EV infected group. The research team also found that the hazard ratio increased with age. 40 BioSpectrum

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An MM Activ Publication

BioHealth

Northeast India to become SE Asia’s healthcare hub

Key vulnerable populations to HIV must be reached urgently

Recently Integrated Ventures, a health consulting firm, had organized a healthcare conference to generate awareness among healthcare professionals and discuss the recent developments in the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers NABH in India.

On World AIDS Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) regional offices for South-East Asia and the Western Pacific are calling on Member States to recognize key populations most vulnerable to HIV that must be reached urgently. This implies that the communities most vulnerable to HIV are equal partners with governments in responding to the epidemic.

Speaking at the recent healthcare conference organized by Mr KK Kalra chief executive officer of (NABH), India, said that the north eastern part of the country had the potential to become a major healthcare hub for entire Southeast Asia. He said that if certain hurdles like manpower and fund allocation are sorted, the north eastern states could form a chain of health centers for the country thus boosting the economy. “I am quite happy with the presence of stakeholders. It shows they are committed to providing better services in this sector. The northeast has a lot of potential and, once the challenges are met, it can become one of the major healthcare centers in South East Asia,” Mr Kalra added.

Half a million people in China are battling HIV Ahead of the World AIDS Day, Mr Wang Guoqiang, vice director of the National Health and Family Planning Commission in China said that about half a million people living in the country are battling HIV. Highlighting that sexual transmission was a major route for HIV transmission among the population, Mr Wang cautioned that this sounded a state of a low pandemic situation for HIV in the country and unless adequate measures are taken, China may face serious HIV crisis situation

Nearly five million people were living with HIV in the Asia-Pacific region in 2013, about one-sixth of the global burden. The regional HIV burden is the second highest after Sub-Saharan Africa with an estimated 350,000 new HIV infections in 2013. “Although HIV numbers have fallen in some countries, the epidemic is rising quickly in many others and is concentrated in key populations,” said Dr Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director, Western Pacific. “Less than half of all HIV positive people across Asia and the Pacific are aware of their status and less than half of those who need anti-retroviral drugs are taking them. Closing the HIV testing and treatment gaps can improve support and access to lifesaving medicine for those in need. Otherwise, we may not aspire to the global goal of ending AIDS by 2030.” “We’ve seen that effective partnerships between health systems and key populations lead to greater access to HIV testing and lifesaving treatment, increased domestic resources for HIV/AIDS programmes and reduced stigma and discrimination,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, WHO regional director for Southeast Asia.

News

The Chinese Premier Mr Li Keqiang, said that the government would enhance funding and surveillance efforts to curb HIV. “Efforts should be made to strengthen HIV screening, focus on high risk groups, and seek breakthroughs in the development of new-generation vaccines and drugs to counter the virus,” he said. Mr Keqiang further mentioned that the government is planning to set up HIV prevention centers. An MM Activ Publication

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BioEvent

Singapore President’s

Science and Technology Awards Singapore President’s Science and Technology Awards (PSTA), the highest scientific honours in Singapore to recognize individuals and teams for their achievements in science and technology, was awarded to biomedical researchers by President Tony Tan Keng Yam.

resident’s Science and Technology Medal was presented to Professor John Wong Eu-Li, currently chief executive of the National University Health System (NUHS), Isabel Chan professor in Medical Sciences and senior vice president (Health Affairs) for the National University of Singapore (NUS), for his distinguished and sustained contributions to Singapore’s healthcare and biomedical sciences research. Professor Wong, one of the pioneers in Singapore’s push for the biomedical sciences, was instrumental in shaping policies, recruiting top scientists and working with Singapore’s economic agencies to attract pharmaceutical companies to Singapore. Prof. Wong has also championed translational clinical research and established the Cancer Therapeutics Research Group to bring together academic cancer centers from Singapore, Australia and across Asia to develop better treatments for cancers, which predominantly affect Asian populations. The group has demonstrated major differences in the expression and treatment of common cancers between Asian and Caucasian populations, with implications for screening, drug efficacy and toxicity. This concept of an “Asian Phenotype” has since been identified as one of Singapore’s niches in translational research. Prof. Wong has also brought together research, clinical care and education to advance health and the quality of health42 BioSpectrum

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An MM Activ Publication

BioEvent care in Singapore. His emphasis on the importance of multi-disciplinary collaboration and human capital development for Singapore’s healthcare and research landscape has resulted in the development of academic programs that encourage interaction across disciplines at NUS. On receiving the award, Prof. Wong said, “I am deeply honoured to receive this prestigious award on behalf of the whole academic medical community in Singapore who have built on what our predecessors have bequeathed us. Harnessing research to develop solutions for our healthcare challenges and equipping the next generation of professionals with the skills to address them will make this a better Singapore and enhance biomedical sciences as a key pillar of our economy.” President’s Technology Award was conferred of two teams, one comprising of Professor Wong Tien Yin from the Singapore National Eye Centre (SNEC), and Professor Wynne Hsu and Professor Lee Mong Li from NUS, in collaboration with the Singapore Eye Research Institute (SERI), and A*STAR’s Institute for Infocomm Research (I2R), for the development of a suite of novel eye image analysis technologies. This platform allows the doctors to detect and track the progression of three major eye diseases which cause blindness as well as to study the onset of systemic vascular diseases such as stroke, heart disease and diabetes. The platform uses advanced algorithms to enable automatic screening of retinal images and generation of medical reports at higher speeds and lower costs. These algorithms were validated through close collaboration with eye specialists and tested using an extensive retinal image database. The platform has since been adopted by six polyclinics, increasing productivity by replacing manual examination of retinal images for anomalies indicating disease. The technology has also been licensed and used by various universities, research institutes, hospitals and even in ophthalmic products. The other winning team was of Professor Subbu Venkatraman and Professor Freddy Boey of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), and Associate Professor Tina Wong from SERI. They were recognized for the develAn MM Activ Publication

opment of a platform for sustained release of glaucoma medication. Glaucoma is the leading cause of irreversible blindness globally, with Asians accounting for almost half of the world’s patient population. The platform utilises a single injection of nanomedicine for the delivery of medication for up to six months, effectively preventing blindness caused by patient non-compliance to the regimen of daily eye-drop treatment. The use of their innovative technology has been successfully tested through first phase in-man clinical trials. In addition, the team has also attracted interest from major pharmaceutical companies. The team has enriched Singapore’s innovation ecosystem by establishing a start-up to commercialise the technology. Congratulating the winners, Mrs Ow Foong Pheng, permanent secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry and chairman of the PSTA Main Selection Committee said, “This year’s winners demonstrate the high standard of research and talent that has enabled Singapore to be an innovation-driven economy. They have distinguished themselves in their ability to conduct excellent science and to translate their research into benefits for society and the economy.” Recognizing the excellence of budding scientists in Singapore, Young Scientist Awards were given to three young research scientists and engineers, one of whom belonging to biotechnology field. Assistant Professor Melissa Jane Fullwood, junior principal investigator, Cancer Science Institute of Singapore, National University of Singapore (NUS), received the award for her research on chromatin interactions in cancer. Dr Fullwood’s research focuses on the study of 3-Dimensional genomic organization, or chromatin interactions, in cancer. Cancer genome sequencing has revealed that many factors associated with epigenetic processes are mutated in cancers, and epigenetic processes have been targeted by specific drugs. One of the mechanisms by which the non-coding “dark matter” of the human genome could function is through long-range chromatin interactions with target genes. BS

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Amrita Tejasvi |

December 2014

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BioEvent

BioMalaysia and Bioeconomy Asia Pacific 2014 conference and exhibition, held in Kuala Lumpur on 19-20 November 2014, emphasized on Malaysia’s strategy to attract investment in bioscience sector and provide support to small and medium enterprises.

ollaboration with bio-based institutions and companies is one of the mediums to bring growth in the bioconomy of the country, stated Mr Nazli Kamal, CEO, BiotechCorp, and the organization closed deals worth $74 million (RM 250 million) during the conference. With an idea to foster partnership at domestic and international levels and to stregthen academic research, Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (MOSTI) and Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation (BiotechCorp) appealed to universities and research institutes to enhance their role as active players in commercialization activities, in addition to their traditional focus on education and fundamental research. The event, held in the University of Malaya Research Management and Innovation Complex, Kuala Lumpur, was jointly organized by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and Malaysian Biotechnol-

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Malaysia seeks investment in bioeconomy ogy Corporation (BiotechCorp). “Commercialization efforts are vital to invigorate the Malaysian bioeconomy. While robust investments in basic research remain critical, equally as important are investments and institutional reforms to commercialise new ideas from the laboratory into the marketplace,” commented Dr Ewon Ebin, minister of Science, Technology and Innovation. The signed collaborations include  Exchange of Service Agreement between BiotechCorp and Malaysia Debt Ventures for the Implementation of the Bioeconomy Transformation Program (BTP) Fund. BiotechCorp is appointing Malaysia Debt Ventures as the outsourced service partner to manage, process and administer the BTP facilities and to provide investment management.  Exchange of Build-Lease-Transfer (BLT) Agreement

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BioEvent

between Malaysian Bio-XCell and Verdezyne Malaysia. The BLT records the understanding and arrangement for the construction of the facility, the letting of the Verdezyne lot, the lease of the process equipment and the supply of central utilities facilities by Bio-XCell to Verdezyne.  Collaboration proposal between BiotechCorp and Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS) to strengthen and promoted coordination in Research and Development, investment, education, training, and business collaboration between the two parties.  Exchange of Collaboration and Partnership between BiotechCorp and Gas Malaysia to leverage on and realize the benefits of the complementary capabilities of each party in relation to the development of downstream application of biogas.  Exchange of Collaboration and Partnership between BiotechCorp and SIRIM to leverage on and realize the benefits of the complementary capabilities of each party in relation to the initiative to develop a polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) commercial facility using palm-based derivatives.  A Saudi based Al Jomaih Holdings is setting up a vaccine manufacturing facility in Malaysia through its Malaysian incorporated company AJ Biologics Sdn Bhd with a $35 million (RM120 million) investment. The National Biotechnology Policy (NBP) launched in 2005 provides an organized framework for the development and support of the biotech sector in Malayisa. The country’s bioeconomy is estimated to mark Gross National Income (GNI) nearly $15 billion (RM 48 billion) by the year 2020, the creation of 170,000 high-quality job opportunities, and the cumulative attraction of $16 billion (RM 50 billion) in investments. BS An MM Activ Publication

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BioEvent

LISTINGS

Event Name @ Place

2014 4th International Conference on Environment Science and Biotechnology (ICESB 2014) 27th to 28th December 2014 Phuket, Thailand www.icesb.org The 12th National Conference And Technology Exhibition On Indian Medical Devices & Plastics Disposables / Implants Industry 2015 09 Jan -10 Jan 2015 Ahmedabad, India www.imdiconferences.com

Mr Lim Chuan Poh, Chairman of A*STAR, A*STAR’s SBIC Executive Director, Prof Patrick J Cozzone and President of Bruker Biospin’s Preclinical Imaging Division, and Dr Wulf-Ingo Jung as Brukner opens Asia’s first pre-clinical imaging center in Singapore

The Microbiome Forum Asia 2015 19–20 January 2015; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia www.globalengage.co.uk/microbiomeasia.html

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THIS MONTH

saradha.mani@mmactiv.in

MEEGID XII: 12th International Conference on Molecular Epidemiology and Evolutionary Genetics of Infectious Diseases

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11–13 December 2014; Bangkok, Thailand

http://www.meegidconference.com/index.html The conference highlights the molecular evolution of all pathogens: viruses, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, parasites and prions. The conferences give access to latest research covering the evolutionary trends of infectious agents. MEEGID XII will give special emphasis to health problems of South East Asia through plenary lectures, specialized symposia, and poster sessions.

International Conference on Genome Informatics www.jsbi.org/giw2014

One of the longest running international conferences, in its 25th edition is collaborating with International Society for Computational Biology (ISCB). Taking place in Tokyo from Dec 15-17, the event focuses on advances and evolution of technology in varied fields of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Out of the large volume of papers submitted, nine will be published in a special issue. The event also has eminent speakers from the industry and academia speaking about the evolving trends in the field.

December 2014

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Broadcast events and conferences here @ less than $10 per day Reach more than 60,000 readers monthly

15–17 December 2014; Tokyo, Japan

46 BioSpectrum

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Contact Sasha Sivakumar Sales & Marketing - APAC Mobile +65 9386 3104 E-mail sasha.sivakumar@mmactiv.in

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BioPeople

Awards

NUHS chief gets Singapore President’s award Professor John Wong Eu-Li, currently chief executive of National University Health System (NUHS), Isabel Chan Professor in Medical Sciences and Senior Vice President (Health Affairs) for the National University of Singapore (NUS), has recieved President’s Science and Technology Medal for his distinguished and

sustained contributions to Singapore’s healthcare and biomedical sciences research. President’s Science and Technology Awards are the highest scientific honours in Singapore and serve to recognise exceptional individuals and teams for their achievements in science and technology, and acknowledge their outstanding contributions to the research and development (R&D) landscape. Professor Wong, one of the pioneers in Singapore’s push for the biomedical sciences, was instrumental in shaping policies, recruiting top scientists and working with Singapore’s economic agencies to attract pharmaceutical companies to Singapore.

A ppointments

Who’s presenting where Prof. Richard Haynes, the

University of Queensland, Australia@ ICESB 2014

Mr Brian Leedman,

Mr Shinya KURODA,

AusBiotech has announced the appointment of a new chairman and three new directors to its board. Ms Julie Phillips, is appointed as chairman, taking the mantle from long-serving chairman, Dr Deborah Rathjen, and the board welcomes Ms Serina Cucuzza, Mr Barry Thomas and Mr Serg Duchini as directors of AusBiotech

professor, Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry,Graduate School of Science, University of Tokyo @ GIW / ISCB-Asia 2014

Dr Sylvain Brisse,

branch chair, AusBiotech @ Ausbiotech2014

researcher Institut Pasteur, Paris@ MEEGID XII

Marked

Discoverer of the Taung Child Australian-born anatomist and paleoanthropologist, Raymond Arthur Dart (1893–1988), was a South African who grew up on a farm in Queensland. He attended University of Queensland before going to medical school in Sydney. He served as a doctor in World War I. It was while working as a professor of Anatomy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa that he discovered what he called the Australopithecus africanus (“southern ape of Africa”). The discovery was made during the examination of the fossil-bearing rocks blasted from a

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limestone quarry at Taung, a small town situated in the North West Province of South Africa. Among the debris, he found a skull cap which he identified as belonging to a child or Raymond Arthur Dart (February 4, 1893 someone young, hence it came to be November 22, 1988) known as Taung Child. In a paper published in the journal Nature, he argued that A. africanus represented a missing link between apes and humans since it combined humanlike teeth and upright posture with a small cranial capacity.

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December 2014

BioSpectrum 47

BioBuzz

Figure Facts  Diabetes is predicted to become the 7th leading cause of death in the world by the year 2030. Cardiovascular disease is responsible for between 50 percent and 80 percent of deaths in people with diabetes WHO

 Biotech medicines hold a 9 percent share of the EU pharmaceutical market

Stem cell to kill cancer

cientists at Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) have discovered a novel way to fight the deadly brain cancer with toxin-resistant stem cells. The research was led by Indian-origin Scientist Dr Khalid Shah. It could pave way for a new class of cancer treatment. In experiments on mice, the stem cells were genetically engineered to produce and secrete toxins which kill brain tumours, without killing normal cells or themselves. “A few years ago, we recognised that stem cells could be used to continuously deliver these therapeutic toxins to tumours in the brain, but first we needed to genetically engineer stem cells that could resist being killed themselves by the toxins,” said Dr Khalid Shah, lead author and director of the molecular neurotherapy and imaging lab at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. He added, “Now, we have toxin-resistant stem cells that can make and release cancer-killing drugs.”

First Person

During the tests, the main brain tumour was surgically removed before the stem cells were placed at the site of the tumour in a biodegradable gel to eradicate the remaining cancerous cells.

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europabio.org

 43 percent of physicians use mobile health technology for clinical purposes (Deloitte, 2013) Rockhealth

 DNA was first discovered in 1869 by Swiss Friedrich Mieschler. Immensseknowledge.blogspot.in

 Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people medindia.net

 On one square inch of human skin there are 20 million microscopic creatures Listverse.com

Factoid High beta-carotene intake may shoot up the risk for lung cancer in smokers; Increase in vitamin E intake may raise the risk of prostate cancer and a type of stroke - medindia.net

The value and utility of any experiment are determined by the fitness of the material to the purpose for which it is used, and thus in the case before us it cannot be immaterial what plants are subjected to experiment and in what manner such experiment is conducted Gregor Mendel, father of genetics

December 2014

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BioBuzz

Can Wikipedia predict disease outbreaks? According to study published in PLOS computational biology, global experts are now looking at Wikipedia as an effective weapon in combating and preventing global epidemics. The study said that the open source encyclopedia may help in predicting disease outbreaks.

if they could predict upsurges of diseases. Scientists noted that Wikipedia page views peaked 28 days before the actual outbreak.

Researchers from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the US have examined 14 infectious disease outbreaks and used Wikipedia traffic data to compare

Lead researcher, Ms Sara Del Valle from Los Alamos National Laboratory, said, “Wikipedia can act as a global forecasting system and change the way we respond to epidemics. People start searching disease-related information in Wikipedia, even before they seek medical attention.”

A virus can make you stupid? Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and the University of Nebraska, have identified a new algal virus known as ATCV-1 from throat swabs of healthy volunteers. This virus is found to impair mental thinking capacity, brain activity, learning and memory, thus making one ‘stupid’. Reportedly, the chance discovery took place when the scientists were conducting a study on throat microbes. The team led by Dr Robert Yolken said the virus was completely new and after various database checks, it was found to lessen mental capacity. Typically, ATCV-1 infects a species of green algae found in lakes and rivers, and has not previously been known to infect humans. However, when Dr Yolken’s team had conducted a screening of a group of 92 healthy volunteers to evaluate cognitive function, the virus was found to be present in 43.5 percent of them. Further study conducted on the volunteers found that 10 percent of the people performed worst on tests analyzing visual processing speeds.

T opic of the poll: Is gene therapy the answer for incurable diseases?

Yes

35%

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65%

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Book What’s for lunch? Author: Rita Date Price: $7 Review: What’s for Lunch, is an attempt to steer the Indian consumer towards, what has always been an integral part of our culture – home cooking. Recent times have seen the influence of the so called western food culture. This has brought in TV dinners and processed food into the households replacing the far healthier wholesome food that was the norm. This is a sad trend as India, with its varied cuisines has always offered a healthy wholesome meal made out of real, fresh ingredients. We were the original plant eaters, the greens which are now touted to be an essential part of the diet. Dinners were family affairs with people sitting at the table to eat. Obesity is a reality. It is an epidemic that India is just waking up to. The primary cause of obesity is the food we eat. Rita Date, nutritionist and a food journalist has tried to break down the composition of the food that we eat on a daily basis.

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BioComment

G ood news from Asia …

ecember, every year, is the time to pause for a moment and reflect upon what prevailed during the year and see if things are going to look bright for the industry. How good or bad was the year for the industry and all its stakeholders? Did it throw up surprises? What are some of the major developments to remember? Will the coming year be better than the outgoing year? There are many things that one would like to understand and BioSpectrum has in this issue covered a spectrum of key news stories of the year. This page will attempt to summarize the mood of the industry, across Asia-Pacific.

Srinivas Rao Chandan The author is Editor of BioSpectrum

srinivas.chandan@mmactiv.in

The two big markets for the lifesciences industry in Asia-Pacific, China and India, are on the churn. Both these nations towards the end of the year have tried to bestow confidence in the system. In India, at the start of 2014, the biggest concern was how to get the regulators out of their hibernation over some of the key issues in the biotech arena and address the concerns of the pharma industry. There has been a change of guard in India. A new government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi assumed office. Armed with a record electoral mandate, the Indian government is now set to remove many hurdles that are hampering India’s economic growth. Prime Minister Modi unveiled his landmark “Make in India” initiative in New Delhi on September 24. The official document of the government project has very clearly indicated support for large scale use of GM seeds in rice and vegetables as well as support biotech and the pharmaceutical industries. “The new government has been very supportive and for the first time in 10 years, I’ve seen some really positive steps taken. They realize that the pharma industry is the second largest industry in the country after IT and they are promoting it aggressively,” mentioned Mr Gaurav Rupani, managing Director, Parth Antibiotics. It has been a positive year for the lifesciences industry in China too. According to Deloitte, the central government spent an additional $125 billion in health care expenses above and beyond its planned expenditures over the past three years. Its spending this year has been close to $42 billion. According to Frost & Sullivan, the China healthcare IT market alone is expected to reach $3.97 billion by 2020. Further, the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission has urged domestic medical device makers to manufacture their own medical devices and diagnostics. China imports 74 percent of its medical devices and recently, a Chinese Class III medical device made by the company Lifetech Scientific has been approved for sale in the western markets. In 2014, China also drafted a guideline for biosimilars. There are four major issues that global lifescience companies faced in 2014 according to Deloitte. These included navigating health care reform; delivering innovation and value; complying with regulatory changes; and operating in a smaller and connected world. And it looks like many of the countries in this part of the geography have focused on regulatory aspects and the other there drivers will have to get kick-started in a big way. The next issue of BioSpectrum Asia will look into what is expected to happen in 2015 and we request you to share your views on the same. Happy season’s greetings! BS

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December 2014

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