Page 2 - Medicines

Drug pricing regulator NPPA revises ceiling prices of 128 medicines

As per the notification, the ceiling price of one Amoxicillin capsule has been fixed at Rs 2.18; one tablet of Cetirizine at Rs 1.68

India to require Covid test for arrivals from China, 4 other Asian nations

Health Minister Mandaviya asks pharma firms to ensure adequate stock of Covid-19 drugs

Maha govt to set up corporation to procure medicines for govt hospitals

As the delay in procurement of medicines and medical equipment by the state-owned Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation is creating shortages at government hospitals, the state government is planning to set up a new corporation for procurement, it told the Legislative Council here on Tuesday. Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan gave the information while replying to a calling attention motion by the BJP's Pravin Datke. The Haffkine Corporation did not utilise Rs 650 crore out of the budgetary allocation Rs 1,500 crore this year. As a result, many government hospitals are running out of medicines and equipment, the minister said. To tide over the situation, the government has authorised hospitals to spend 30 per cent of their budget on the purchase of medicines and equipment against the usual 10 per cent allocation, Mahajan added. He also underlined the problems of human resource crunch at Haffkine and said its chairman was transferred 11 times in the past three years. A tot

China claims 'adequate' medical supplies for Covid amid reports of shortage

Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they have "expanded production capacity" of medical supplies amid reports of a shortage of fever and cold drugs

Gambia panel seeks Indian manufacturer's prosecution for cough syrup deaths

A parliamentary committee in The Gambia has recommended prosecution of an Indian manufacturer of cough syrups suspected of causing the deaths of at least 70 children in the West African country

Pakistan faces shortage of life-saving medicines including insulin: Report

Pakistan is facing a shortage of insulin for diabetes patients and the medical market in Karachi is getting worse, reported Pak vernacular media Daily Express

Maiden Pharma seeks to reopen Sonipat plant after DCGI clearance

Health ministry sources say no immediate plan to allow plant to re-open, it was closed for non-compliance with GMP, not for contamination issues

Odisha govt asks officials to intensify raids against spurious medicines

The Odisha government has asked the officials to intensify raids on stores selling spurious medicines in the state

Catching coronavirus again increases your risk of getting long Covid

There are still good reasons to avoid catching COVID again for one, your risk of long COVID goes up each time

Price war begins for Novartis cardiac drug as JB Pharma cuts rate by 50%

Novartis' blockbuster drug is set to lose patent in Jan; JB Pharma, one of the four marketers in India of generi versions, has slashed the price of its brand Azmarda to Rs 39.6 a tablet

Medical studies get tech edge with AI, machine learning, remote care

Since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, there has been a big change in the learning methods at the medical colleges and other similar institutions in the country.

Flu season starts, but demand for cough-cold meds remains weak

Impact in US among the worst in the past 10 years

Alzheimer's drug trial shown to slow cognitive decline, says report

A new drug, lecanemab, has been found to slow down cognitive decline in Alzheimer's patients, according to a study that could lead to new treatments for the neurodegenerative disease. The study results were presented at the 15th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer's Disease (CTAD) Conference in San Francisco, US, on November 29. The study is also published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Amyloid-clearing and cognitive decline-slowing drug lecanemab, which is poised for FDA approval early next year, will be a positive step in the treatment of Alzheimer's, the study said. Alzheimer's is a complex disease with multiple underlying causes tied to the biology of aging, therefore, the Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) has long held that a combination drug approach is needed, the study said. Alzheimer's Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF) is dedicated to rapidly accelerating the discovery of drugs to prevent, treat and cure Alzheimer's disease. "Today's results show that lecanema

Zuventus first in world to launch aviptadil for ARDS commercially

Discovered in 1970, the drug was tested on severe Covid-19 patients on DCGI's direction

Aurobindo unit, Evive Biotech ink pact to sell CIN treatment product in US

Aurobindo Pharma on Wednesday said its unit has entered into a licensing pact with Evive Biotech to commercialise Ryzneuta in the US market. The product, a novel dimeric G-CSF long-acting fusion protein without pegylation, is currently under late-stage review by the US Food and Drug Administration for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (CIN). In addition to the US health regulator, Evive's Marketing Authorization Application (MAA), and New Drug Application (NDA) for Ryzneuta are currently under review by European and Chinese regulators. Neutropenia is a common side-effect of chemotherapy and is a condition characterised by low levels of neutrophils, a type of white blood cell that fights infection. The licensing pact has been inked between Evive and Acrotech Biopharma (Acrotech), a New Jersey-based and wholly-owned subsidiary of Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc, Aurobindo Pharma said in a statement. As part of the agreement, Evive will be responsible for the ongoing development, manufacturi

Coronary stents may become more affordable, NPPA to decide price

The Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, a move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. The move is based on the recommendations by an expert committee constituted to review the inclusion of stents in the list based on requirement. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will now fix the price of coronary stents. On November 6, the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) had submitted its recommendation for inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories -- Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents. According to minutes of the SNCM meeting, vice chairman Dr Y K Gupta stated that coronary stents were earlier included in NLEM, 2015 through a separate notification based on the recommendations of an

Suven starts Phase 3 trial for first home-grown Alzheimer's drug

Clinical trial randomisation is the process of assigning patients by chance to groups that receive different treatments

Alembic Pharma gets USFDA nod for generic cancer treatment medication

Alembic Pharmaceuticals on Monday said it has received approval from the US health regulator to market Cyclophosphamide capsules, used in the treatment of different kinds of cancers, in the American market. The company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market its product which is a generic version of Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc product, Alembic Pharmaceuticals said in a statement. Cyclophosphamide capsules is an alkylating drug indicated for the treatment of malignant disease and minimal change nephrotic syndrome in pediatric patients. According to IQVIA, cyclophosphamide capsules, 25 mg and 50 mg, have an estimated market size of USD 8 million in the US for twelve months ending Sep 2022. Shares of the drug firm were trading 1.32 per cent down at Rs 630.35 apiece on the BSE.

Govt, pharma companies working on pricing mechanism for off-patent drugs

Experts say this will create a predictable pricing regime for both the consumer and manufacturer

Thousands of Iranians died of Covid-19 due to US sanctions: Official

The sanctions, preventing Iran from transferring money through financial channels, made it difficult for the country to import Covid-19 vaccines and the necessary medicine during that period