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EDITOR'S EMULSION
Warm Greetings!
Welcome to yet another exciting month and a most pleasant Reading of our newsletter.
Please do not hesitate to mail your comments on this edition to help us further improve so please feel free to get in touch with us. You may find our previous issues on our website jagograhakjago.com or in the NEWS ARCHIVE section of every issue of The Prescription, in case you’ve missed any of them. You may also look us up on Facebook.
Stay Healthy. Stay Protected.
Pyush Misra
Editor-in-Chief
DOSE OF THE DAY
"In a country with the size of the population like India, herd immunity cannot be a strategic choice or option. It can only be an outcome, and that too at a very high cost as it means lakhs of people would have to be infected, get hospitalised and many would die in the process. Herd immunity can be achieved through immunisation but that is in the future. Are we approaching herd immunity? The health ministry believes it still far away and in the future. For now, we have to follow COVID-appropriate behaviour like wearing masks, avoiding gatherings, following hand hygiene and maintaining 'do gaz ki doori (maintaining distance of two yards)."
Mr Rajesh Bhushan
Union Health Secretary
Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MOHFW)
Government of India
Sponsor
Patient Safety Capsules
India To Unveil New Pharma R&D Policy
ew Delhi, 5 Aug 2020: Close on heels of announcing schemes to achieve self-reliance in bulk drugs to avert overdependence on China, the Indian government will shortly unveil a new Research and Development policy that seeks to incentivise the scientists on the monetisation of their innovations.
Senior Bureaucrat Rajesh Bhushan Takes Charge As Health Secretary
New Delhi, 1 Aug 2020: Senior bureaucrat Rajesh Bhushan took charge as the Union health secretary on Friday. He will succeed Preeti Sudan, who was given a three-month extension in April and demitted office on Friday. "Rajesh Bhushan, IAS (Bihar:1987) took charge as Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on superannuation of Preeti Sudan, at Nirman Bhawan today," the health ministry said.
Drug Laws & Policy Injections
Telangana Govt Seeks Clarity On Covid-19 VaccineHYDERABAD, 7 AUG 2020: State government urged the Centre to formulate clear guidelines on development and licensing of Covid-19 vaccine besides decentralising the authority to fast-track testing and approvals.
Plea In Delhi HC To Classify Masks And Sanitisers As Essential Commodities New Delhi, 7 Aug 2020: A plea has been moved in Delhi High court that seeks direction to Central government to classify masks and sanitizers as Essential Commodities under Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and to regulate its prices.
HC Dismisses PIL Seeking Ban On CoronilNainital, 8 Aug 2020: The Uttarakhand high court (HC), on Friday, dismissed the Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking ban on Coronil, the medicine that yoga guru Baba Ramdev had claimed to be a treatment for coronavirus.
DGFT Extends Date For Ling Applications For Export Of PPE Medical Coveralls Till Aug 8New Delhi, 7 Aug 2020: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has extended till August 8 the deadline for filing online applications to avail the current month's export quota for PPE medical coveralls for COVID-19.
Delhi HC Directs Action Against Illegal Health Service AggregatorsNew Delhi, 6 Aug 2020: The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Centre and the Delhi government to act against the online health service aggregators who are operating illegally or in violation of the law and collecting diagnostic samples including Covid-19.
Centre Plans On Tweaking Drug Policy That Exempts Foreign Medicines From Price ControlNEW DELHI, 6 AUG 2020: The government plans to tweak a provision that allows new medicines developed by foreign companies to be exempt from price control for five years after criticism that it goes against the Make in India policy and discourages local drug manufacturers.
Pharma Injections
AP To Strengthen Drug Control AuthorityHyderabad, 7 August 2020: Andhra Pradesh will strengthen the State’s drug control authority to weed out fake medicines. The Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy directed the officials concerned to better equip the labs and to set up vigilance and intelligence.
Telangana Govt Bars RMPs From Treating Covid PatientsHYDERABAD, 6 AUG 2020: The state government has asked registered medical practitioners (RMPs) not to give treatment to patients coming with Covid-19 symptoms. Health minister Eatala Rajender asked them to send patients having high fever, cold, throat pain and cough to the nearest primary health centre, area, mandal and district headquarters hospitals.
Big Boost For Patanjali! COVID-19 Immunity Booster ‘Coronil’ In Huge Demand, Says Baba Ramdev New Delhi, 5 Aug 2020: Patanjali Ayurved is witnessing demand of around 10 lakh packs daily for its controversial COVID-19 immunity booster medicine Coronil, according to Yoga Guru Ramdev. The Haridwar-based company is struggling to meet the demand as it is able to supply only around one lakh packs, Ramdev said on Wednesday.
NPPA Asks SDCs To Ensure Smooth Production, Supply Of Clofazimine Mumbai, 6 Aug 2020: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has asked all state drug controllers (SDCs) to ensure smooth production and supply of clofazimine across the country used in the treatment of multi drug resistant (MDR) TB.
Beware Of Fake Anti-Covid Drug Ads, Warn Experts New Delhi, 4 Aug 2020: With India crossing 18 lakh cases in seven months, fake drugs to fight the coronavirus abound in the market, their advertisements cover all spaces of social media platforms leading health experts to caution public against claims of these immunity-boosting products.
RIL Eyeing Netmeds Deal, EPharmacy In For Consolidation Mumbai, 4 Aug 2020: India's online pharmacy space is expected to see a wave of consolidation, triggered by Reliance Industries' reported acquisition of Chennai-based Netmeds, with global investors also lining up to back the winners in the fast-growing sector.
Drug Dopes
Haryana: One Held With 100 Vials Of Buprenorphine And Avil Inj In AmbalaAMBALA, 9 AUG 2020: Ambala police arrested an accused after recovering 100 narcotic vials under limits of Sector 9, Ambala City police station on Saturday late at night. 
Four Booked For Selling Fake N95 MasksAhmedabad, 10 Aug 2020: Bapunagar police on Sunday booked four persons in Odhav for selling fake N95 masks. Officials of the company, 3M India, approached the police that duplicate N95 masks of their company are being sold in the city.
Telangana: Man Held For Illegally Selling Cough Syrup To Minors, Vagabonds Hyderabad, 8 Aug 2020: A man, who allegedly sold cough syrup to minors and vagabonds illegally, was apprehended by the sleuths of Commissioner's Task Force, Central Zone Team of Hyderabad and drug inspector in Hyderabad on Thursday, said the police.
Probe Teams In Kala Amb, Ambala Over ‘Toxic’ Syrup Chandigarh, 7 August 2020: Teams of the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI) and Haryana’s Drug Control Department conducted investigations at Ambala and Kala Amb in Himachal Pradesh today following a complaint that a two-year-old girl had suffered renal failure after consuming a cough syrup containing diethylene glycol (DEG), a toxic chemical.
Cops Probing Paint Store Owner’s Hand In Spurious Sanitiser Case Ludhiana, 5 Aug 2020: A day after a Ludhiana-based paint store owner, Rajeev Joshi, was arrested for supplying methanol (methyl alcohol), which triggered the hooch tragedy that killed over 100 people, police are probing whether he had connections with the manufacturers of spurious sanitisers too.
Regular Use Of Sanitisers, Soaps Can Cause Eczema: Study ReportPATNA, 5 AUG 2020: A team of medical researchers, including one from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences-Patna (AIIMS-P), has claimed in a study that frequent use of soaps or sanitisers for handwash to keep away the Covid-19 infection may lead to hand eczema.
National Injections
MoH Approves Manufacture Of 471 Cocktail Drugs Related To Vitamins, Minerals, Micronutrients New Delhi, 4 Aug 2020: Ministry of Health has declared more than 450 fixed dose combination (FDCs) medicines related to vitamins and minerals as “rational”, ThePrint has learnt.
96 Per Cent Of 60,000 Ventilators Being Procured Are Indigenous: MoHNew Delhi, 5 Aug 2020: The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday said about 96 per cent of the 60,000 ventilators being procured by the government are indigenous and most of them have been sponsored by the PMCARES fund. Health Ministry Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said 60,000 ventilators are being procured and 18,000 have already been supplied to the states and union territories.
Industry Hails CDSCO’s Sugam Portal In Expediting Licensing Process Mumbai, 4 Aug 2020: The pharmaceutical industry in the country has hailed the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)’s online Sugam portal in expediting licensing process for ease of doing business as it has given more than one lakh approvals to manufacturers related to drugs and medical devices in the past five years since its inception.
Export Of Desi Ventilators Allowed As Death Rate Dips NEW DELHI, 2 AUG 2020: The group of ministers (GOM) on Covid-19 has agreed to the proposal of the ministry of health and family welfare to allow the export of made-in-India ventilators.
Tocilizumab & Remdesivir Jabs Only After Consultation With Medical Colleges: Govt Jaipur, 2 Aug 2020: Now, no district hospital in the state can administer Tocilizumab and Remdesivir injections to Covid-19 patients on their own. They will have to consult the senior doctors of the designated medical colleges across the state and will also have to follow certain protocol and parameters to assess if a patient could be given these injections. The medical and health department took the decision on Friday to streamline the availability and usage of both the injections.
Pharma Exports Grow 7% In Q1 Hyderabad, 31 July 2020: India’s pharma exports rose more than 7% year-on-year to $5,412.12 million in the quarter ended June 30, a growth that came in the backdrop of the lockdown for COVID-19 and associated challenges, especially on the logistics front.
Global Injections
DEA Launches Campaign Against Fake Meds Production KitSpringfeild, 4 Aug 2020: The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has kicked off an outreach programme targeting online retailers who are facilitating the production of fake prescription drugs.
Hydrochlorothiazide Linked To Increased Skin Cancer Risk In Older AustraliansSydeney, 4 Aug 2020: Hydrochlorothiazide – one of the most prescribed high blood pressure drugs in Australia – has shown links to increased risks of developing skin cancer among older Australians,
US FDA Authorizes First Tests For Measuring COVID-19 Antibody Amounts
Maryland, 3 Aug 2020: The FDA authorized its first serology tests designed to estimate the numbers of coronavirus antibodies in a person’s bloodstream, instead of simply providing a positive or negative result on whether they are present.
Most Patients Who Recovered In Wuhan Suffer Lung Damage
Beijing, 6 Aug 2020: Ninety per cent of a sample group of coronavirus-recovered patients from a prominent hospital in China’s Wuhan city where the pandemic broke out have reported lung damage and five per cent of them are again in quarantine after testing positive for the virus, according to a media report on Wednesday.
Russia Set To Supply Three Anti-COVID Drugs To India
Mumbai, 28 July 2020: Russia is set to supply three indigenously developed anti-COVID drugs including favipiravir, olokizumab and levilimab to India following positive results of the medicines in COVID-19 patients.
Govt Permits Monthly Export Of 4 Crore 2/3 Ply Surgical Masks
Mumbai, 29 July 2020: The Central government has permitted the export of four crore surgical masks and 20 lakh medical goggles every month in the wake of their huge demand due to COVID-19 pandemic.
PSAIIF PILL
Annada Sankar Das Appointed As Drugs Controller
Bhubaneswar, 28 July 2020: In compliance with the direction of Orissa High Court, Annada Sankar Das, working as OSD in Health & Family Welfare Dept, has been posted as Drugs Controller, Odisha with immediate effect.
MoH Asks DGCI To Ensure Equitable Distribution Of Remdesivir, Tocilizumab Drugs
New Delhi, 29 July 2020: The Union health ministry has asked the Drugs Controller General of India to ensure equitable distribution of Remdesivir and Tocilizumab drugs, which have been included as "investigational therapies" in the national treatment protocols for COVID-19, across the country. The aim is to ensure that their availability is not skewed and does not remain confined to metropolitan areas, an official said.
Frequently Asked Questions
FSSAI Recommends Eating These Foods To Boost Immunity
New Delhi, 25 July 2020: Experts have repeatedly stressed on the need to boost immunity amid the coronavirus pandemic, to keep the virus and other illnesses at bay. And one of the ways to achieve that is by eating healthy, immunity-boosting foods. Read More>>>
SUBSCRIBER'S SYMPTOM
DGFT Lays Out Procedure For Exports Of Surgical Masks, Medical Goggles, Diagnostic Kits
New Delhi, 31 July 2020: Online applications led by eporters only from August 5 to 8 will be considered for getting licences or permission by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) for shipments of 2- and 3-ply surgical masks, medical goggles and diagnostic kits, according to trade notices of the DGFT. This is part of the procedure laid out by the Directorate for exporters to le applications to seek licence for shipments of these goods.
Blog Addicts
Dr Manas Prabhu, MD It is always a great pleasure reading the articles published in this newsletter. Keeping the reader engrossed with current pertinent topics is really welcoming.
Ms Monica Tyagi, IT ProfessionalAlways look forward to the newsletter editions every month for an interesting read. Great work!
Ms Delnaz Gandhi, Professional
"The Prescription" is a much awaited dose for my monthly consumption of important pharma developments and news. Well done!
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