Though the Chinese pharma market is massive, red tape, lack of patient rules and underinvestment have deterred investors and held back quality healthcare. A raft of new changes to approval processes, however, means the country is opening up. We investigate the implications.

We also consider what steps need to be taken to improve US adoption of biosimilars, profile TriNetX, a global health research network that provides anonymised, real-world patient data, find out more about a new method of manufacturing proteins outside of a cell, and ask whether a drug-based solution to America’s war with opioid addiction could be in the pipeline.

Finally, we investigate whether poor animal research studies are compromising human health, speak to the researchers behind a new drug combination for the treatment of hepatitis C, and review the findings of a survey on the pricing and reimbursement issues surrounding innovative new cell and gene therapies.