Thinking all about scale, China opens the world’s longest sea bridge linking the Pearl River Delta area with Hong Kong and Macao, and the newly-formed 'Bay Area' is already attracting drug makers to look further afield than the traditional Beijing and Shanghai locations.

Things have turned for the worse for Samsung BioLogics after a second review by financial authorities in South Korea over its accounting related to corporate control over Samsung Bioepis, resulting in fines, a recommendation for dismissal of its CEO, and a suspension in trading in its stock. The company is poised to face tough times ahead, although it reiterates it hasn’t violated any accounting rules and has vowed again to seek legal steps.

Retacrit – a biosimilar of Amgen's Epogen and J&J's Procrit – will launch at aggressive discounts to the original anemia products in a market where Amgen's already proven there's a tough fight for market share.

Glenmark has ended development of certain in-licensed complex generic assets including generic versions of Abraxane and Suboxone in view of the extremely competitive landscape in the US. The Indian firm says it would rather focus on products where it is an early entrant.

Despite suffering a setback at the hands of NICE, AstraZeneca's ambitious plans for Lynparza have been boosted by the FDA agreeing to speed up a review of the recent SOLO-1 data which took ESMO by storm last month.

European research-based pharma group proposes reconsideration of Japan’s revised pricing system, warning it is already affecting corporate R&D decisions and will stifle industry investment, innovation and patient access to new therapies if incentives are not improved.

It took NICE nearly three years to offer routine access to Lenvima for thyroid cancer but it has taken just three months from European approval to recommend the drug for advanced or unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma.

Lack of significant reduction on cardiovascular deaths or a composite of major events may have been due to enrollment of a healthier population relative to other studies, said investigators from the DECLARE-TIMI 58 outcomes study, which was reported at the AHA meeting.

Madrigal’s selective THR beta agonist continues to demonstrate hepatic fat-lowering abilities in 36-week data, along with lipid-lowering characteristics. The company hopes to initiate a Phase III study in early 2019.

Sweden's life science industry is a key component of the Scandinavian country's economy. New life science companies emerge there every year. Growing shipments to China and Japan by Swedish companies reflect the duo’s increasing importance as export markets, especially in relation to the US and the European Union. And while the UK has hitherto been regarded as a stepping stone to foreign markets, worries over what Brexit will mean for future business and opportunities is prompting players to increasingly look to the US to set up operations.