15-May-15 Australia is seeking closer business ties with China in areas such as medical devices, aged care, health information technology, clinical trials, hospital management, pharmaceuticals and health foods. But Australian companies will need to prepare themselves for strong competition as the Chinese government pushes hospitals to use more domestically made medical devices. [image: The Conversation_Lukas Coch / AAP]

13-May-15 China's State Council has published a plan to overhaul thousands of public county hospitals nationwide. A key reform is barring a 15% drug mark-up, which some say causes over-prescription of expensive imported drugs. An economist at the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing said hospitals will now have to raise prices on other services or lower quality levels. [image: Caixin Online]

13-May-15 In a bid to expand further into Southeast Asia, Pfizer has struck an agreement on the Laos market with distributor DKSH. Under the deal, DKSH will be the sole market expansion services provider for Pfizer's entire range of pharmaceutical products in Laos. The agreement is an extension of a successful collaboration that also includes Cambodia and Thailand. [image: Bio Spectrum]

01-May-15 Latin America's healthcare market is evolving in ways that present new opportunities for foreign firms willing to invest in the region. Four key themes driving changes are demographic shifts, chronic diseases, technology innovations and policy changes. Five key opportunities include rapid pharma sales growth, increasing dominance of generics, consolidation of pharmacies, over 16,000 hospitals, and unchallenged demand for imported med tech. [image: Global Health Intelligence]

06-May-15 China will lift price controls on most medicines starting from Jun-15, following which medicine prices will be decided by the market, the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC) has said. Only narcotics and some listed psychotropic drugs will continue to be controlled by the government, with ceiling retail prices. [image: AFP Photo / Anthony Wallace]