14-Dec-15 Chinese consumers spent RMB65 bn (USD10 bn) buying medicines, healthcare products and services on Alibaba’s Chinese retail sites in 2014, up 63% from a year earlier. In addition, sales of nursing care services grew 205% on Singles’ Day, while sales of health insurance increased 432% on Alibaba’s sites, including the huge Taobao and Tmall marketplaces. [image: International Supermarket News]

04-Dec-15 In a move aimed to improve the "sustainability of the health insurance system", Chinese political advisors have suggested cutting red tape to encourage domestic development of generic drugs but also establishing tougher standards to assess their quality. [image: Patty Chen / Reuters]

01-Dec-15 At a recent India-Africa summit, Prime Minister Modi discussed working together to improve public health with 54 African heads of state. For India, the main goal is to increase pharmaceutical exports to Africa, while African ministers are keen to copy India’s success in developing drug manufacturing, both to secure their own supplies and to give their economies a fillip. [image: Reuters]

09-Dec-15 Sanofi Pasteur has announced that the Mexican authorities have granted marketing authorization to Dengvaxia®, making it the first vaccine to be licensed in the world for the prevention of dengue. [image: See And Say]

01-Dec-15 When in May-15 Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev tasked the government with creating a program of pharmaceutical import substitution, foreign companies were worried. Today, 60% of the drugs approved by the Russian government are produced domestically. Under the new policy, this share should increase to 90% by 2018. [image: Getty Images]