Takeda hires former Pfizer China executive as its new China GM; Wuxi NextCODE appoints its second COO in six months; Sosei appoints two VPs.

Brazil's new biodiversity research law is viewed as a step toward fostering biological innovation, but patent backlogs of 14 years still prove to be a major deterrent to conducting R&D in the country.

Vanda, Novartis settle Fanapt dispute; Genentech, Phylogica partner on antibiotics; Janssen licenses Sevion antibody platform; Pfizer accesses Philogen antibodies; Tiziana licenses Novimmune asset; and EpiVax applies Novozymes technology.

The wind is at America's back when it comes to attracting business investment to its shores – with data from AT Kearney's 2013 FDI Confidence Index showing the nation has surged past China, Brazil and India to become the country with the top foreign direct investment (FDI) prospects globally – marking the first time the US has held that spot since 2001, the White House pointed out on 20 May.