News, June 2014
PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY ISSUE DISCUSSED AT THE EUROPEAN BUSINESS SUMMIT 2014
Europe’s pharmaceutical industry employs around 700,000 people and stands for 17% of Europe’s investments in research and development. The industry is trying to increase the EU’s industrial GDP target and the EU should make this goal a priority to keep a sustainable environment for the industry, as representatives stated at the European Business Summit 2014 on Thursday 15 May.
CHINESE PRIVATE HEALTHCARE SECTOR AS AN EXPERIMENTAL FIELD
Murali Gangadharan, Head of Research at PriceWaterhouseCoopers in Shanghai, said that China, due to the lacks in public hospitals’ services, is looking at the healthcare sector as an industry, while – in the past - it was considered as a social sector.
CHINA RAISING ITS SUBSIDIES FOR HEALTH COVERAGE TO HELP RURAL AREAS HIT BY HEALTHCARE EXPENDITURES
Chinese government is keen to enhance its social safety net through raising subsidies for basic medical coverage for all. Those subsidies will be increased by 40 yuan to 320 yuan this year and will be allocated among residents in both rural and urban areas, as the Chinese Ministry of Finance said.
PROFESSOR DANIEL MCFADDEN ARGUES THAT IT IS IMPORTANT TO IMPROVE THE PUBLIC HEALTHCARE SECTOR IN CHINA
Daniel McFadden, presidential professor of Health Economics and Policy at the University of Southern California, argues that Chinese healthcare reform can improve the country’s economy. The government has recently published a guideline to support the healthcare reform this year, in order to improve 31 health fields.
IMPROVING PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY IN AFRICA: A WAY TO REMOVE FINANCIAL BARRIERS TO MEDICINES
Africa’s pharmaceutical industry is rapidly growing, as its broader economy. This growth is driven by a small number of countries: South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, some Eastern African countries and North Africa. Other emerging countries around the world are showing their capacities in the pharmaceutical sector: during the last years, China’s pharmaceutical industry has grown 20%, Russia’s 14%, India’s 11% and Brazil’s 7%.
GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY: MORE EFFORTS HAVE TO BE DONE BY GOVERNMENTS AND BUSINESSES IN ORDER TO ENHANCE THE SITUATION
During the last years, due to globalization, countries have seen several health threats, which have been lethal for a lot of people. The best way to face those threats is improving the global health security’s framework, which has to be more coordinated and prepared to address global health’s challenges.
PROPOSALS AND CONCERNS ON THE CHINESE ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH ISSUE: DOES CHINA NEED TO DRAW A NEW LAW?
Lu Zhongmei, one of the authors of the China Environmental Development Report, has strongly stressed the importance to establish a new environmental health law in China in order to secure the rights to compensation for victims of pollution.