BOGOTA, Colombia – A Costa Rican designer developed a system to create tailor-made molds to treat patients diagnosed with microtia, a congenital deformity, in which the external ear is not fully developed. "This is a very basic concept, and it really amazes me that it has not been implemented before," Andrés Quiros, the product designer behind the invention, told BioWorld MedTech.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Last month, Anvisa, Brazil's health surveillance agency, approved a proposal that makes it mandatory for the agency to monitor the prices of medical implants, a category that, in Brazil, includes orthoses, prostheses and special materials. Is this the beginning of a price capping era for medical devices in the Latin American giant?

HONG KONG – South Korean biopharmaceutical company Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., based in Incheon, will expand into the Brazilian market with Brenzys (etanercept), having recently signed a marketing agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Health. The drug is now available through the country's public health system, Sistema Único de Saùde (SUS).

HONG KONG – South Korean biopharmaceutical company Samsung Bioepis Co. Ltd., based in Incheon, will expand into the Brazilian market with Brenzys (etanercept), having recently signed a marketing agreement with Brazil's Ministry of Health. The drug is now available through the country's public health system, Sistema Único de Saùde (SUS).

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Latin America is rife with opportunities to undertake clinical trials, but regulatory adjustments are needed for companies to fully take advantage of them. As the largest market in the region, Brazil, for one, is in dire need of those adjustments, said experts gathered in Sao Paolo last week for the annual BIO Latin America conference.

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Pharmacovigilance is emerging as a key concern for the development and distribution of biosimilars in Latin America. Experts gathered this week for the BIO Latin America conference focused on the issue and highlighted what they see as a key concern, one that is holding back the spread of that new class of drugs throughout the region.

SAO PAULO, Brazil – Latin America is following the lead of other developed markets by ramping up its focus on personalized medicine, but there are challenges, including the higher costs of those medicines and a lack of regulations.

BOGOTA, Colombia – Argentina, hit by a challenging economic crisis, is struggling to supply vaccines to its population. The most recent shortages affect Menveo, a vaccine produced by Glaxosmithkline plc for preventing meningococcal disease.

HONG KONG – To improve public health care in Brazil, Bioneer Corp., a South Korean biotech, and Brazilian government-run Institute of Technology on Imunobiologicals (Bio-Manguinhos) will focus on business development and R&D of in vitro diagnostics and new drugs.