All articles by Allie Nawrat

Collaboration not competition: is big pharma and big tech a recipe for success?

Big tech’s growing interest in the healthcare sector has largely been seen to put it on a collision course with big pharma. However, there are early signs of a culture of collaboration emerging between big tech and big pharma, which has only been accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Allie Nawrat asks what this new era of collaboration between big tech and big pharma could mean for healthcare.

Public benefit: could the PBC model help pharma balance profits and patients?

Pharma’s public reputation is far from positive. Could switching from being a traditional for-profit corporation to a public benefit corporation (PBC) model enable pharma companies to prioritise the needs of the patients over the demands of shareholders? Allie Nawrat talks to three PBCs working in the space – Phlow, MAPS and Veeva – about their experience and whether this model could be applied more widely across the sector.

Q&A: staving off AMR disaster with Ineos and the University of Oxford

The University of Oxford has teamed up with manufacturing company Ineos to open up a £100m institute focused on AMR research. The Ineos Oxford Institute (IOI) will focus on overcoming the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, particularly in agriculture. Allie Nawrat talks to IOI chairman David Sweetnam about how the institute will ensure the world is prepared for the next public health emergency.

Exploring the Covid-19 vaccine IP waiver proposal at the WTO

India and South Africa have started discussions at the WTO about whether an IP waiver for Covid-19 vaccines could help resolve the urgent issues blocking access to these products. But will waiving IP rights of vaccine manufacturers resolve the access challenges? What are the other possible solutions for more equitable vaccine access to end the pandemic?

Coronavirus company news summary – the EC approves J&J’s Covid-19 vaccine – Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine found to be 97% effective after two doses in Israeli real-world study

EMA approves fourth Covid-19 vaccine, J&J’s single-shot candidate

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended conditional marketing authorisation for Johnson & Johnson (J&J) subsidiary Janssen’s Covid-19 vaccine.

Denmark suspends AZ/Oxford Covid-19 vaccination amid blood clot concerns

The Danish National Board of Health has temporarily paused the roll-out of the AstraZeneca/Oxford Covid-19 vaccine.

Exscientia raises $100m Series C funding to develop fully autonomous drug design

Exscientia has raised $100m in its second Series C in the past nine months. The round was led by BlackRock, but included existing investors: Novo Holdings and Evotec, among others. Exscientia plans to use the funding to advance its technology platforms towards autonomous drug design.

Coronavirus company news summary – Moderna starts studying modified vaccines targeting variants – CEPI to support VBI’s variant vaccine development

UK denies EU accusations of Covid-19 vaccine export bans

The UK and the European Union (EU) are embroiled in a public diplomatic row about Covid-19 vaccine exports.