Afrigen’s MD, Petro Terblanche, discusses the operational freedom that the WTO intellectual property waiver provides for its COVID-19 vaccine being developed under the wider WHO-backed mRNA technology transfer hub initiative. The executive doesn’t anticipate big pharma pushback but says the alliance will “test the system”, though others believe the waiver in its current form doesn’t count for much.

At a recent forum in Seoul, SK Group unveiled its biotech investment strategy and noted the next few years could present multiple major opportunities for Korean biotechs.

The market for new company creation in the biopharma sector remains healthy and poised to continue fostering the establishment of start-ups, based on a new In Vivo study of the strong initial investments that pharma and biotech companies receive.

Boehringer Ingelheim tackles infringement activity pertaining to Trajenta and Jardiance in India, at least for now, but more action appears to be in the wings. The private German group remains confident that Jardiance will retain its preferred treatment choice status in the country for type 2 diabetes - but can the blockbuster therapy shake up the heart failure segment as well?