Tag Archives: pharmacy

German phamarcies see higher sales amid coronavirus pandemic | News | DW | Instant News

October 22, 2020 NewsDesk

The German economy has taken a hit from the coronavirus pandemic, but it may come as no surprise that its pharmacy trade is not only unaffected by the pandemic, it appears to be driven by it.

Figures from Germany’s government statistics agency Destatis show that the turnover at the country’s roughly 21,000 pharmacy stores rose 3% in the first nine months of 2020, compared with the same period the previous year.

The report said the coronavirus pandemic has helped contribute to increased sales at pharmacies throughout the year.

It said that in March 2020, when Germany closed many shops to stop the spread of the virus, pharmacies enjoyed the highest monthly turnover since 1994. The data also showed there had been an 18.5% increase in sales compared to the previous March.

Pharmacies are of course among the businesses deemed “systemically relevant” allowed to continue operating throughout Germany.

People still eat, smoke – and maybe panic buying one more time?

However, food, beverage and tobacco product retailers posted a higher gain than pharmacies, experiencing a 5.1% increase in the first nine months of this year compared to last year. The over-the-counter retailer overall fared better than might have been expected, with turnover only down 0.2% compared to 2019 levels.

COVID-19 has changed the buying habits of Germans in other ways, said Destatis. In mid-March this year, there were clear cases of stockpiling of certain essential items.

When the pandemic first hit Europe, Germans were buying more toilet paper, soap, and paste for disinfecting than usual, often emptying supermarket shelves.

The latest figures show another increase in sales of these products as the second wave started, albeit on a smaller scale so far.

For the week starting October 12, sales of toilet paper were 89.9% higher than average in the months before the pandemic, while sales of disinfectant gel were up 72.5%. Soap was up nearly two-thirds (62.3%), flour sales were up by more than a quarter (28.4%) and yeast sales were more than a third (34.8%).

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Germany

Biden looks to Germany for answers on how to deal with high US drug prices: analysts | Instant News

October 21, 2020 NewsDesk

With US elections only two weeks away, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden is offering clues about how his administration will approach drug prices – and he’s looking to Germany.

Under Biden’s plan, the government will set up a group to assess the “fair” value of drugs, as has been done by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review in the US. Other governments have their own drug rating agencies, but ICER is not a US government group. Biden made the proposal late Sunday, Bernstein analyst Ronny Gal wrote in a note to clients.

The German system uses a data-driven agency – the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) – and national drug price negotiations to determine drug prices, Gal noted. The Biden plan will allow the government to negotiate a “top price” that applies to all payers. This applies to both new and existing drugs, but there are uncertainties.

The first ignorance is whether the ceiling price will be the final price, or whether a negotiated discount will apply to lower the price, Gal wrote. Other details that haven’t been released are the timing of implementation and whether there will be Congressional involvement in pricing or a way for the company to appeal through the courts.

However, the most important thing that is not known is the government’s final decision on the quality-adjusted life year standard (QALY). Currently, the ICER model includes a QALY figure of up to $ 150,000 per year, but countries in Europe and elsewhere use much lower figures, such as £ 30,000 ($ 38,873) in the UK.

“As long as the US maintains the price gap in QALY vs Europe as roughly the current rate, the gap between US and European prices will be largely maintained – some drugs will be better, others worse,” Gal wrote. “However, there will be no wholesale rating for the lower US prices.”

The system would “move away from free market pricing for drugs” but “be much better” than President Donald Trump’s international price index model, he added. The proposal, announced in September, calls for the US to tie Medicare drug prices to much lower costs in other developed countries. The biopharma industry retaliated strongly, with key leaders calling it “frivolous” or saying “just dumbfounded” for making proposals amid the pandemic.

Apart from his international price index, Trump has proposed imports, new discounts on certain drugs, and eliminating rebates.

Overall, Gal notes that Biden’s plan is only “starting position” and, from an industry perspective, “could of course be worse.” Democrats in the House have signed Speaker Nancy Pelosi plan which called for negotiating Medicare drug prices and more, but the bill did not get a vote in the Senate. Earlier in the Democratic Party’s main campaign, the candidates called for various proposals, such as violating several profitable pharmaceutical patents.

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Brazil

MGC Pharmaceuticals: FIRST HIGH THC PRODUCTS SHIPPED DIRECTLY TO BRAZIL PATIENTS | Instant News

October 12, 2020 NewsDesk

12 October 2020 ASX Code: MXC

MGC Pharma shipped the first high THC formulation direct to

patients in Brazil through the ONIX online platform

Main Highlights:

MGC Pharma completes initial delivery of its Mercury Pharma line, which includes high THC products, direct to patients in Brazil through a supply and distribution agreement with ONIX
A major operational and commercial achievement as MGC Pharma is now the first company globally to ever supply high THC formulations directly to patients in Brazil under the country’s Compassionate Use Program.
Brazil is a market of strategic importance with a population of over 210 million1 people and pharmaceutical market value of ~ A $ 24 billion1 year
Potential to immediately develop new sales of materials and cash flow channels – new patients registering daily in Brazil for MGC Pharma products within weeks of first successful delivery
ONIX is actively recruiting doctors in Brazil and aims to have more than 1,000 doctors with the ability to prescribe cannabinoid products with mid-2021 – significantly broadens the market opportunities for MGC Pharma to supply its formulations

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC, ‘MGC Pharma’ or ‘Company’), a European based biopharma company that specializes in production and development phytocannabinoid derivativespharmaceuticals, is pleased to announce that it has completed the first shipment of its Pharmaceutical Mercury line which includes a high THC ratio product direct to patients in Brazil through binding supply and distribution agreements with Based in BrazilONIX Empreendimentos e Participações (‘ONIX’), (see ASX release March 3, 2020).

In a major operational milestone, MGC Pharma has become the first company globally to deliver high THC formulations directly to a patient’s door in Brazil, without the need to visit a pharmacy.

MGC Pharma has delivered Mercury Pharma (MP) branded products directly to patients according to the Brazilian Compassion Use Program after receiving the patient prescription given by the ONIX referral doctor. ONIX currently has more than 100 referral doctors in Brazil who can prescribe cannabinoid products under its Compassion Use Program and aims to have more than 300 referral doctors by the end of calendar 2020 and more than 1,000 by mid-2021. A complete line of Mercury Pharmaceuticals is now available. in Brazil which, based on the years experience of the Company’s medical team, covers a product range from pure CBD (MP100) through different ratios (1:30, 1: 1, 7: 1, 15: 1) to pure THC product MP252.

Brazil – Access to Large Target Markets Underway for MGC Pharma

The existing pharmaceutical drug market in Brazil represents a geography of strategic importance for MGC Pharmacy as Brazil has a population of more than 210 million people1. The National Health Expenditure in Brazil is estimated at A $ 267b1 with total expenditures on drugs estimated at A $ 24 billion1 every year. According to Interfarma (Pharmaceutical Research Industry Association), the Brazilian pharmaceutical market is expected to grow from A $ 59.9 billion in 2019 to A $ 66 billion in 2023.3 , through sales of approximately 238 million units3.

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In addition, there are 10,000 patients in Brazil who are currently registered with the Brazilian local authority, ANVISA, to receive cannabinoid products directly who are suffering from various medical conditions. Only 350 doctors out of more than 500,000 doctors across Brazil are currently authorized to prescribe cannabinoid products. This is expected to change due to the number of initiatives used by ONIX.

ONIX

ONIX is a company based in Brazil that helps companies doing business in the region. It develops its business under the ONIXCANN brand and is a well-established distributor of phytocannabinoid-based products in Brazil that connects doctors and patients. ONIXCANN has an innovative digital and telemedicine platform called CANTERAMED which connects potential patients with relevant medical professionals. CANTERAMED is a complete digital wellness platform that facilitates safe and legal access to phytocannabinoid products and to guide doctors and patients about available treatments.

ONIX has established a partnership with one of the major Universities in Brazil, Anima Educação, and has developed a post-graduation course consisting of 12 nano degree courses of 30 hours each designed to train experienced doctors on CBD and THC products and authorize them to prescribe cannabinoid products.

ONIX has launched the second generation of CANTERAMED platform to help doctors better serve their patients. The CANTERAMED platform has facilitated doctors’ practice with its protocol for using MGC Pharma products and registering treatment results. CANTERAMED includes a telemedicine platform that connects patients with trained doctors to prescribe MGC Pharma products.

ONIX is currently also visiting doctors with a traditional pharmaceutical model who educates doctors about products and aims to have more than 1,000 doctors with the ability to prescribe cannabinoid products to patients by mid-2021.

This initiative is expected to continue to drive market awareness and penetration of cannabinoid products for eligible patients in Brazil.

Roby Zomer, Co-founder and Managing Director of MGC Pharma, comments: “I am very pleased to announce that we have successfully shipped our Mercury Pharma THC product range to Brazil. This is a great achievement as no other company has delivered high THC formulations directly to patients in Brazil before. We have worked closely with our Brazilian partner ONIX and remain confident that Brazil will become a very large strategic and commercially important region for us in the future. Feedback to date from patients in Brazil has been very positive and we see a rapidly increasing demand for our Mercury Pharmaceutical products. “

Marcelo Galvão, Founder of ONIX, comments: “We are very pleased to announce this. It has always been an important part of our strategy to bring high THC products to Brazil. There are more than 30,000 patients currently using homemade oils in Brazil and these patients are in desperate need of a quality product as we do now. take it with the Mercury Pharma Line. ”

–Ends–

Authorized for release by the Board, for more information please contact:

PR / IR advisor – Media & Capital Partners	MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd.
Melissa Hamilton (PR) +61 417 750274	Roby Summer
Rod Hinchcliffe (IR) +61412277377	CEO & Managing Director
[email protected]	+61 8 6382 3390
[email protected]	[email protected]

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About MGC Pharma

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: MXC) is a European-based bio-pharmaceutical company that develops and supplies affordable standard phytocannabinoid-derived medicines to patients globally. The Company’s founders are key figures in the global medical cannabis industry and its core business strategy is to develop and supply high quality phytocannabinoid-derived pharmaceuticals for the growing demand in the medical market in Europe, North America and Australasia. MGC Pharma has a strong product offering targeting two widespread medical conditions – epilepsy and dementia – and has further products in the path of development.

Using the ‘Nature to Medicine’ strategy, MGC Pharma has partnered with renowned institutions and academics to optimize the cultivation and development of targeted phytocannabinoid-derived medicinal products prior to production in the Company’s EU-GMP Certified manufacturing facilities.

MGC Pharma has a number of research collaborations with world-renowned academic institutions, and includes recent research highlighting the positive impact of using a specific phytocannabinoid formulation developed by MGC Pharma in the treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive and thus far therapeutically resistant primary brain tumor.

MGC Pharma has a growing patient base in Australia, UK, Brazil and Ireland and has a global distribution footprint through an extensive network of commercial partners which means it is ready to supply the global market.

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This is an excerpt from the original content. To continue reading, access the original document here.

Rejection

MGC Pharmaceuticals Ltd. publish this content on 11 October 2020 and take full responsibility for the information contained therein. Distributed by the Public, unedited and unaltered, at October 11 2020 21:54:08 UTC

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Oxford Biomedica has UK approval for its 4th manufacturing suite to increase production of COVID-19 | Instant News

October 6, 2020 NewsDesk

Among contract manufacturers ordered into the race for a COVID-19 vaccine, Oxford Biomedica has established close ties with AstraZeneca given its preferred location. Now, the company is one step closer to going full speed with UK approval for a new production line.

The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency has given the green light to Oxford Biomedica’s fourth production suite at the Oxbox facility in Oxford, UK, which will soon be used to produce the viral vectors used in AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, the company said.

Along with the third manufacturing suite approved last month, Oxford Biomedica has added 1,000 liters of production capacity for virus vectors with equipment provided through a five-year pact with the UK’s Center for Vaccine Manufacturing and Innovation (VMIC) signed in June.

The company’s Oxbox facility will ultimately contain six manufacturing suites – four dedicated to virus vector production and two for final completion, Oxford Biomedica said in a release. The first two suites received British approval in May.

Given its proximity to the University of Oxford, Oxford Biomedica has developed into a growing partner for AstraZeneca, which develops and commercializes an adenovirus-based COVID-19 injection, which is named AZD1222.

In September, AstraZeneca agreed pay Oxford Biomedica is providing initial funding of $ 20 million to reserve 1,000 liters of production capacity for AZD1222 for at least 18 months.

The three-year manufacturing deal – with an optional second 18-month reservation – extends the initial pact signed in May between two British companies for just one year and a capacity of 200 liters. Oxford Biomedica will set aside room for vaccines in three production rooms at Oxbox until 2021.

In June, Oxford Biomedica signed a five-year agreement with VMIC to build an Oxbox CDMO facility to help produce doses of AZD1222.

As part of their deal, VMIC agreed to supply manufacturing equipment for two suites at Oxbox, while VMIC will receive “training and technical assistance” for its staff to scale up production of viral vector vaccines at its new facility at the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus in Oxford scheduled to open on mid-2021.

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Valneva’s niche vaccine player, UK joins R&D and manufacturing agreements | Instant News

July 20, 2020 NewsDesk

COVID-19 pioneers have signed an agreement with the government and other parties to supply vaccines if their program is successful, and now the niche player Valneva is involved.

Valneva said on Monday reached an agreement in principle with the British government to supply up to 100 million vaccine candidate doses, which will be produced in Scotland. Inactivated whole virus vaccine, the candidate uses the same platform as Ixiaro, the Valneva vaccine that is FDA-approved for protection against Japanese encephalitis.

Under the agreement, the British government is expected to help fund clinical studies, and partners discuss funding for expansion to the Valneva site in Scotland, biotech said. For its part, Valneva plans to invest in the Scottish site and other factories in Sweden.

The agreement “recognizes the strong track record and capabilities we have built in the past fifteen years both in the UK and beyond,” CEO Thomas Lingelbach said in a statement. The company anticipates “making vaccines to support the need for COVID-19 prevention outside the UK,” he added.

Valneva launched the COVID-19 vaccine program in April, but it hasn’t made as many headlines as the forefront of competitions such as Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson. The company, based in France, has partnered with Dynavax to explore the biotech aids together with its vaccine candidates.

Besides Ixiaro, Valneva also markets a cholera vaccine called Dukoral. Company the word his business model “is based on valuable commercial and R&D assets in important high-value niches.”

Valneva plans to enter human testing later this year and may print approval in the second half of 2021. The timeline will put the company behind expectations for some of the fastest programs in the COVID-19 vaccine race. Some companies are pushing for testing later this month or this fall, with the hope of starting commercial vaccinations by the end of 2020 or early 2021.

The announcement of the Valneva agreement came the same day as partners Pfizer and BioNTech signed an agreement to supply 30 million doses of their candidates to the United Kingdom over the next 2 years. England has separately reached agreement with AstraZeneca for 30 million doses.

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People still eat, smoke – and maybe panic buying one more time?

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