The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has shocked many of us. But perhaps the most shocked were those in the European Commission who are responsible for the provision of pharmaceuticals to the populous. In a roadmap plan for a new piece of legislation, the Commission lays out a comprehensive approach to regulating pharmaceuticals and free trade, based on the lessons learned from the pandemic.

On 23 June, the European Commission published the Innovation Scoreboard for 2020, the ranking of EU countries’ research and innovation performance. Results are broadly in line with those of previous years, with the Union as a whole strengthening its innovation capacity compared to the beginning of the decade, but continuing to lose positions to the major global competitors.

The Eastern European countries (especially the Baltic countries) have accelerated their growth and begun to reduce the internal European R&I divide. In contrast, Italy – although showing a positive trend during the decade – has confirmed its structural weaknesses in research and innovation, a factor that has been widely known for years. This is all further material for reflection, both at national and European levels, in view of the definition of the Recovery Plan proposed by the Commission at the end of May.

In the last 20 years, FDI in the world has grown faster than both exports and production, and has thus contributed strongly to the globalization. This report analyzes the impact of FDI on Swedish business.

The extent to which follow-on pharmaceutical innovations should be protectable by patents is hotly debated amongst the public health and IP community in Geneva. But are fears that follow-on patents simply extend indefinitely, or “evergreening,” medicine patents justified?