AUGUST , 2023 | THE HEALTH

Second-quarter revenue dropped to € 167.7 million ($ 184 million ) from € 3.2 billion a year earlier , as write-offs on Pfizer ’ s assets ate into profit share payments that BioNTech is entitled to receive from its US partner .

The quarterly net loss was € 190 million , down from a Covid-19-fuelled profit of € 1.67 billion a year earlier .

“ With some uncertainty on the revenue line , we are also carefully watching our spending by revisiting our cost base ,” said Finance Chief Jens Holstein , adding that BioNTech ’ s ambition to become a multi-product oncology and infectious disease company was unchanged .

The company said it cut its projected research and development ( R & D ) budget for this year to between € 2 and € 2.2 billion , down from between € 2.4 and € 2.6 billion previously forecast . R & D

ROYAL PHILIPS , a global leader in health technology , released the Asia Pacific ( APAC ) findings of its Future Health Index ( FHI ) 2023 report : Taking Healthcare Everywhere .

The eighth edition of the report , which surveyed nearly 3,000 respondents spanning healthcare leaders and young healthcare professionals in 14 countries , including Australia , Indonesia , and Singapore , shows that a new healthcare model is emerging in APAC .

This model uses technology and data to bring care closer to patients and deliver more efficiently and environmentally sustainable care , even as the sector grapples with unprecedented financial pressures and staff shortages .

Philips APAC Chief Executive Officer and Executive Vice President , Caroline Clarke , said : “ For decades , healthcare has been primarily delivered in centralised facilities like hospitals , but this latest report shows that APAC ’ s healthcare leaders are making bold changes as they navigate unprecedented staff and financial challenges .

“ The good news for patients is that this puts them first . We are seeing a shift towards a distributed model of care delivery in APAC that uses smart and connected digital health technologies and data to bring care closer to patients , at home or in the community , to where they are , anytime-anywhere .”

The FHI report reveals that

expenditures were € 1.54 billion last year .

To broaden its work on cancer treatments and vaccines against infections such as tuberculosis and shingles , the company has hired scientists , initiated more expensive late-stage trials and pursued a string of alliance deals .

BioNTech reaffirmed its outlook for Covid-19 vaccine revenues to reach about € 5 billion in 2023 , down from € 17.2 billion last year , expecting a renewed sales boost from an inoculation campaign in the fall .

It said it plans to start deliveries of updated shots targeting the XBB . 1.5 Omicron subvariant with partner Pfizer from September , provided they win regulatory approval .

Meanwhile , Pfizer is hitting a rough spot after its Covid-19 sales nosedived and while it waits for new drugs and recent deal-making to pay

INDIAN biopharmaceutical company Biocon Ltd is planning to list its biosimilars business , a significant contributor to the company ’ s total revenue , by the first half of 2025 , a top executive said .

Biocon Biologics , a fully integrated subsidiary of Biocon Ltd , focuses on making biosimilars , with key revenue-generating markets being the United States and Europe .

“ I would say it ( listing of the off . Adding to the straits : the loss of an estimated US $ 17 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade , when some of the company ’ s biggest sellers , like arthritis treatment Xeljanz , lose patent protection .

The New York-based company has talked up plans to increase revenue through a bevy of new drug approvals and their launches . It also has been using its Covid-19 cash to secure other products for its line-up . It forecasts more than US $ 10 billion in 2030 sales from its US $ 43 billion proposed deal to buy cancer-drug biotech Seagen , as it leans more into cancer drugs .

Executives also have other dials they can turn to tune up the company ’ s performance , such as cutting costs and some drug research programs .

Yet executing means Pfizer must overcome factors outside its control . The Federal Trade Commission is reviewing the agreement to buy Seagen , while drugs in late-stage development must pass testing and get green lights from the Food and Drug Administration .

embracing new care models will help the region ’ s healthcare leaders drive more efficient and sustainable working methods .

Two-thirds ( 66 per cent ) of healthcare leaders and younger healthcare professionals say that they are well equipped to work effectively with the new care delivery models , whilst 63 per cent believe care will be delivered in a more environmentally friendly and sustainable way . These beliefs score higher than the global average of 59 per cent and 57 per cent , respectively .

The research also reveals a positive impact on staff morale and retention . Most of the region ’ s healthcare professionals expect the new care delivery models to offer healthcare staff a better work-life balance ( 58 per cent ) and contribute to greater work satisfaction ( 56 per cent ) than traditional healthcare models .

Increased patient compliance and adherence to treatment ( 44 per cent ), improved patient education ( 36 per cent ), increased efficiency ( e . g shorter waiting times , more patients seen ), collaboration with local communities to improve population health and more technologically advanced healthcare ( all 35 per cent ) are also seen as significant benefits .

biologics business ) can happen any time after the second half of 2024 ... it is likely to happen in the first half of 2025 ,” Biocon Ltd CEO and Managing Director Siddharth Mittal told Reuters .

Last year , Biocon acquired US-based Viatris Inc ’ s biosimilar business . “ There are a couple of milestones ( to meet ) before we get to that stage ... we have to complete transition of all territories of Viatris to us , and we are

GLAXOSMITHKLINE ( GSK ) Nigeria said it plans to stop doing business after evaluating the options for moving to a third-party distribution model for its drugs and consumer healthcare goods .

GSK Nigeria , which has faced increased competition from local companies and imports from India and China , said its half-year sales had dropped to 7.75 billion naira ( US $ 9.82 million ), from 14.8 billion naira in the same period a year ago .

Its British parent company GSK , which has been in Nigeria since 1971 , said in 2018 that it would cut back its operations in Africa and adopt a distributor-led model instead of marketing medicines in 29 sub- Saharan African markets .

GSK Nigeria said it is working with advisers to agree next steps and plans to submit a scheme of arrangement to Nigeria ’ s Securities and Exchange Commission , which , if approved will see it return cash to shareholders except its parent GSK .

It also said the Haleon Group had informed it of plans to terminate a distribution agreement and to appoint a third-party distributor in Nigeria , which faces a cost-of-living crisis , rising business costs and a shrinking consumer base .

“ For the above reasons , and having , together with GSK UK , evaluated various other options , the Board of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc has concluded that there is no alternative but to cease operations ,” GSK Nigeria said in a statement .

Inflation in Africa ’ s largest economy , which has been in double digits since 2016 , reached 22.79 per cent in June and is set to rise further after new President Bola Tinubu scrapped a popular but costly subsidy on petrol and devalued the currency .

He hopes the reforms will kick-start growth and attract foreign investors which will help boost inflows into a country that has suffered chronic dollar shortages , making it difficult for companies to import raw materials .

looking at reducing the debt which was taken to fund the acquisition ,” Mittal said .

Biosimilars are copies of costlier complex biological drugs used to treat illnesses such as cancer , rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis .

According to research and analytics services firm IQVIA , the global biosimilar market value is expected to grow to an estimated US $ 75 billion by 2030 from US $ 17.9 billion in 2020 .