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Optimism in India, gloom in Germany

The Economist Intelligence Unit survey shows some substantial differences in attitude between healthcare professionals in the US, UK and Germany and their counterparts in India. The 138 Indian respondents to the survey report all manner of improvements in the standards of their country's healthcare services. In sharp contrast to their colleagues in the US, UK and Germany, nearly 60% of Indian respondents say that since 2006, patient satisfaction with levels of care has improved, as has citizens' overall wellness.

Lonza: Focus on quality

Lonza, a Swiss chemicals and biotechnology firm whose products feed into the pharmaceutical, healthcare and life sciences industries, built its first Asian plant in China 15 years ago. Since then, the firm’s production and R&D network in the region has grown consistently, says Michael Brown, vice president operations at Lonza Biologics in Singapore. Over the last ten years, Lonza has invested about CHF1bn (US$1.1bn) in Asia. Some 1,400 of its 11,000-strong global workforce are based in the region today.

AstraZeneca: Emphasis on innovation

AstraZeneca, a global biopharmaceutical company, saw Asia Pacific sales rise more than 7% in 2011 to reach US$6bn. Mark Mallon, the firm’s regional vice president of Asia Pacific and president of China, says Asia is “a fundamentally attractive, high growth region” for the pharmaceutical industry. Over the next few years, he expects the sector to experience strong double-digit growth in emerging markets such as China, Vietnam and India, and low single-digit growth in the more mature markets such as Australia, Japan and Taiwan.

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals: The benefits of longstanding presence

Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, an Indian pharmaceutical company with operations in specialty, generics and out-licensing, has seen sales increase from Rs6.04bn (US$138m at 2005 exchange rates) in 2004/05 to Rs29.5bn in 2010/11 (US$645.2m at 2010 exchange rates), or at a compound annual growth rate of nearly 31%. India and South-east Asia together contribute around 25-30% of its overall profits, and about 50% of its branded business income.

Fortune favors the brave

On the front page of its June 2012 edition, the Chinese journal Health News published a poem by Chen Zhu, the minister of health. It read, in part, “The wind and thunder moving health reform across the country herald glad tidings/.../The deep pool is nothing to be afraid of…Heroes dare to cross.” Unorthodox though it was for a strategy memo, it turns out that this call to action may contain good advice for companies.

BMS and ipilimumab: Co-operation with academia and other companies yields success

A new metastatic melanoma product, ipilimumab (sold as Yervoy), from Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS), has the potential to be a blockbuster. Malignant melanoma is increasing in frequency and this is the first new drug approved for the condition since 1998. Unlike previous treatments, it has been shown to increase life expectancy in patients by several months on average, and 28% are alive after two years, compared with just 14% using the previous treatment. Rather than the story of a single innovation, ipilimumab’s development shows how co-operation can yield a

Value and oncology: a different definition?

Oncology is the therapeutic area in which the value challenge is most acute. According to 41% of survey respondents and 50% of those from drug companies, it is the most difficult area in which to demonstrate value.

In search of value: Shire Pharmaceuticals changes its business model

A decade ago Shire Pharmaceuticals&; business model centred on the improvement and reformulation of existing drugs. The value of these products resulted from marginal improvements to existing forms of the drug or improved compliance through greater ease of use.

Canada's nurse navigators

Canada shares with Australia several characteristics, including population size, wealth and the healthcare challenges posed by geographical vastness. Northern Health, one of six regional health authorities in British Columbia, covers an area nearly the size of France with a population of only about 350,000 people. The challenge it faced was to simplify the steps in the breast cancer field to eradicate unnecessary delays. With limited resources, it is using an innovative mix of stakeholder engagement, technology and multidisciplinary care.

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