The Pharma Dispatch is a hand-curated newsletter compiled weekly to go beyond the headlines and bring you the most interesting developments related to the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical research from around the world.

Drug prices in China

China is the world's second largest pharmaceutical market - worth $116.7bn in 2016 - but reforms giving provincial governments greater power on prices are hurting western drugmakers.

However, pharma companies are hoping that growing appetite for branded drugs will offset a plunge in prices.

As FT reports, companies are also pinning their hopes on draft regulations that could dramatically speed up the approval process for new medicines, which now can take up to five years longer in China than in Europe and the US. The regulations propose abolishing a requirement that overseas trials be at an advanced stage before the approval process in China starts.

Pharma's not so stingy with R&D

Many pharma critics argue that drug companies skimp on research while earning outsize revenues, but a new analysis by Richa Dixit and Frank David suggests that large drugmakers are generally committed to sustaining R&D, and many manage to grow research spending even in the face of both acute and longer-term revenue declines.

Financing & distribution of drug in the U.S.

The distribution and financing systems present in the U.S. pharmaceuticals market are illustrated in this figure --> Flow of Pharmaceutical Funds, Products, and Services

The flow of pharmaceutical products from manufacturers to distributors to retailers to patients evolved separately from the financing mechanisms for the same products.

Amazon considering pharmacy business

Amazon is hiring a business lead to figure out how the company can break into the multibillion-dollar pharmacy market. It's a $25 billion to $50 billion market opportunity for Amazon, but the company would also face challenges entering a regulated market.

Tracking flu via Twitter

The study of tweets alongside official data can predict the spread of seasonal flu and help health services stockpile drugs and better target campaigns.

Plant-based contraceptives

Certain plant extracts can help block fertilization by preventing human sperm from propelling themselves towards a woman's egg. Although research is at an early stage, scientists are encouraged that the active chemicals work at very low doses and without the side-effects of hormone-based contraceptives.

3-D printed ovaries

Experiments with "bio-prosthetic ovaries" made via 3-D printing have been successful in enabling infertile mice to become pregnant and give birth. Human implants could be five years away.

Understanding patient-centricity

The three forces behind the re-imagining of patient care:

1. Rapid technological advancement

2. Connected and empowered individuals

3. Disruption to traditional models

Thank You!

If you made it this far, thanks for reading. I’d love to hear which specific topics or sections you would like to know more about and in general, if you have any suggestions, please do write to me at: [email protected]