To some extent Academic Health Science Centres [AHSCs] are caught between the research push and market pull. If they prioritise technology transfer, they opt for a research push approach that emphasises the availability of technologies or innovations for market-based actors… Read More »Innovation and Academic Health Science Centres
How can I be sure the medicine I take is genuine? Counterfeit medicines are a global problem, with trade in the billions of dollars. The World Health Organization estimates 8-10% of all drugs supplied globally are counterfeit. Counterfeits are a… Read More »Smart anti-counterfeiting: it is all in the system’s design
Healthcare systems are often seen as requiring an economy of scale. This in part is a function of how prevalent diseases are, such that in some small countries they would have one case in 2 years, rather than one case… Read More »Small might be smarter, think hive mind for innovation
This is a summary of some emerging and salient issues related to the UK departure from the EU. Workforce It is estimated that the UK recruits 7000 nurses and 2000 doctors annually from the EU. The UK is currently unable… Read More »Live short and don’t prosper: post-Brexit healthcare and life sciences
While folks have been quick to jump on the results of the referendum as evidence of democracy at work, (and perhaps that is partly true), a few days later we see the consequences. Economic challenges anew, social discontent in the… Read More »Patience and the political process
Continuing the theme of looking at life sciences, healthcare implications for the UK exiting the EU. The NHS, the UK’s public healthcare system, procures medicines in many cases through the benefits of the single market. While it is not clear… Read More »“I told you so”: post-Brexit access to medicines and medical device technologies
The British public in the Referendum on the EU has voted for the UK to relinguish membership in the EU. This, in time, will be seen as a mistake for various reasons and of course it will take some time… Read More »UK out of EU: healthcare implications
It is in the interests of the Commission to play countries off against each other in order to demonstrate the inescapable logic of the “European project”. The Commission suffers from the so-called “secretariat problem”: it is not a member state… Read More »Does the European Commission ‘game’ the member states?
With the release of the latest analysis from the King’s Fund (here), heightened attention is being paid to NHS performance. It may only be a coincidence that an election is looming in which the NHS may be an election puppet.… Read More »When underperformance is policy
Political manifestos that promise to spend more money are failing to grapple with the powerful underlying forces at work in healthcare. Indeed, they may be ignoring these in order to score (cheap?) political points with voters. There is clear evidence… Read More »Political football