Canada’s 2013 budget for the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), announced in April, remained level at about CAD 1 billion ($970 million).The Canada Foundation for Innovation, which matches costs for high-end lab equipment, was designated CAD 500 million for five years. Funding will continue for prominent centers like TRIUMF, Canadian Light Source and […]

Last month, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) published its update to its 2006 guidance document for biosimilars: “Guidelines on similar biological medicinal products containing biotechnology-derived proteins as active substance: quality issues.” The update elaborates on the flexibility that manufacturers have, noting that the impact of a different formulation or container system on safety and efficacy […]

Booz & Co.’s 2012 China Innovation Survey consisted of more than 100 executives at Chinese firms and multinational companies (MNCs) in the industry, automotive, health/life sciences, consumer goods, and chemical and energy sectors. Of surveyed MNCs, 45% “perceive Chinese competitors as equally or more innovative than themselves.” The two areas in which MNCs rated Chinese […]

In April, Russia approved a plan for the country’s biotechnology industry from 2012 through 2020, with the goal of its bioeconomy’s volume totaling 1% of GDP by 2020 and 3% of GDP by 2030. The plan specifies a RUB 1.2 trillion ($39 billion) investment in the sector over the next eight years, of which 32%, […]

In April, Turkey’s Minister of Science, Industry and Technology Nihat Ergün announced a TRY 1 billion ($540.4 million) plan to create 81 science centers in the country. The Project on the Establishment of Science Centers aims to create centers in all metropolitan cities within two years and in every city within five years. The High […]