Letter from Publisher

Dear Readers,

Alzheimer’s is an escalating global health crisis. In 2020, the WHO noted over 50 million people had dementia worldwide 60 per cent of them lived in low- to middleincome countries. The Asia Pacific region bears a hefty burden with dementia care costs at $180 billion, straining healthcare in populous economies. As we mark World Alzheimer’s Day on September 21, our content team has researched on the status of disease and new treatment options available in the APAC region. There is good news on the treatment front. The first drug to target the disease’s progression rather than merely addressing its symptoms is approved now. The US drug regulator has approved LEQEMBI (lecanemab-irmb), Alzheimer’s drug by Eisai and Biogen in July 2023. This is very important development which has infused excitement and hope into the field of Alzheimer’s drug development, known for frequent failures. In previous issue our team explored and presented to you Taiwan’s biomedicine sector. In this issue the team has looked into another import Asian country’s healthcare related sector, i.e. South Korea’s booming medical Artificial Intelligence market. When it comes to AI in life sciences, China and the USA dominate the field. However, South Korea has been steadily catching up. Home to renowned tech giants such as Samsung and LG Electronics, South Korea is positioning itself as a significant player in the medical AI domain. The country is making remarkable strides in developing AI software tailored for medical imaging, diagnostics, drug development and healthcare. Another feature delves into South Korea’s booming medical AI market. Regulatory in any area of healthcare is important. Considering that we have published an expert article on ‘Regulatory Landscape of In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) Across Asia’. IVF market in the APAC is expected to grow at 17.1 per cent in a decade taking it to $46216.8 million by 2031 from $9373 million in 2021. Like regulatory, equally important is drug discovery. Total global pharma R&D budget is $247 billion expected to grow steadily to $285 billion by 2028. Failure rate is 90 per cent. On this backdrop it is significant to publish an expert article is on ‘Understanding Medicinal Drug Delivery Using Dry Powder Inhalers (DPIs)’. I am sure that all this is going to make an interesting reading. As usual, you will enjoy the issue. Happy reading.