The Prescription: Partnership For Safe Medicines India

The Prescription: 17th January 2017 Issue

Editor’s Emulsion PSM INDIA Capsules Drug Laws & Policy Injections Pharma Injections DRUG DOPES National Injections Global Injections PSM Pill DOSE OF THE DAY FAQ Subscriber's Symptom UpComing Events Laughter Dose Blog Addict Contact Us

News Archive

EDITOR'S EMULSION

Pooja Khaitan

Greetings!

Welcome to our 2nd issue of our newsletter of 2017!

New year brings new surprises and this new year the central government has launched the Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritwa Yojana (PMSMY) with the aim to provide free ante-natal care packages and free checkups for pregnant women on the ninth of every month by a health specialist across the country. Read more about it in this issue of PSM-India Capsules.

Ministry of Health & Family Welfare is going to organise measles-rubella vaccination campaign from Feb 7-24 while a 4-year-old boy, who was declared brain dead by doctors, saves the lives of five; more on the newly discovered 79th organ inside the human body and a thumb imprint is just enough for detecting jaundice are some of the articles to watch out from National and Pharma Injection. Read More>>>

If you have any suggestions, comments or queries, please email me at pooja@jagograhakjago.com.
You may find our previous issues on 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 under Partnership for Safe Medicines India

"Call PSM India toll free helpline 1800 - 11- 4424, to bring cases of spurious medicines or any kind of adverse drug reaction to the notice of the authorities.
Please visit our website jagograhakjago.com if you wish to learn about us .
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Happy Reading !
Stay Safe. Stay Healthy !

Pooja Khaitan
Chief Editor , The PRESCRIPTION Partnership for Safe Medicines India.

DOSE OF THE DAY

“Access to high-quality medical products is a matter of life and death for everyone. The coming together of the Region’s regulatory agencies marks a watershed moment that will ensure medical products produced and sold in the Region do exactly what they are supposed to. This will benefit the vulnerable in particular, who are often pushed into poverty when paying for low-quality or unsafe products. It will also enhance our ability to effectively tackle health security threats such as antimicrobial resistance and tuberculosis, which are exacerbated by ineffective drugs that breed resistance."

Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh
Director, WHO South-East Asia Region

PSM India Capsules

Government's 'PMSMY' Initiative for Pregnant Women

The Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritwa Yojana (PMSMY) offers a free medical checkup for early detection and ante-natal care for pregnant women across the country and popularly referred to as ‘I pledge for 9’. The focus of this PMSMY initiative is to provide complete care on antenatal care every month. In February 2015, a Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s report under the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 5 revealed that the Maternity Mortality Rate (MMR) in India was to come down from 560 per 100,000 in 1990 to 140 per 100,000 in 2015.

Drug Laws & Policy Injections

NPPA fails to fix ceiling prices of coronary stents due to insufficient data Mumbai, December 2016: Mumbai, January, 2017: The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which has initiated the exercise of determination of ceiling price of coronary stents, is literally struggling to fix the ceiling prices of coronary stents as it could not compile sufficient data from the market for fixing the prices. Following a notification issued by the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) bringing coronary stents as part of Schedule-I of DPCO, 2013 vide S.O. 4100(E) dated 21.12.2016, the NPPA had initiated the process of determination of ceiling price of coronary stents.

DCGI to set up registry of legitimate online pharmacies to ensure compliance of norms and patient safety Mumbai, January, 2017: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) is currently reviewing a study that would allow optimum use of innovation and technology in online pharmacy by preparing a registry of legitimate online players following which the system of online pharmacy will be governed under a centralised portal as per the provisions of the law. Online pharmacy is currently governed by Information Technology Act, 2000 and Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Government to scan drug stocks with doctorsNew Delhi, Jan 2017: Drug-controlling department has received many complaints regarding the misuse of drugs by doctors. The department now wants to make sure it's not easy for doctors to misuse the medicines given to the patients. Now, it won't be easy for doctors to misuse the medicines given to them for their inward patients. With the drug-controlling department receiving a sea of complaints regarding the misuse of drugs by doctors, the department is going to review the exemption given to them in order to curb the misuse.

Maharashtra to create 'Corporation' to purchase drugs and equipment'sMumbai, Jan 2017: Following the accusations of the corruption charges in made by opposition party in the assembly in purchasing medicines, the state health department has proposed to create a separate Corporation (Mahamandal) exclusively for the purchasing medicines and medical equipment's needed for various government departments. Health minister Dr Deepak Sawant said that if all goes well, the new corporation would be activated by March 2017. In April 2016, the Health minister Dr Deepak Sawant was accused of allegedly Rs 297 crore drug scam while purchasing drugs for public health system.

USFDA issues ANDA Submissions 'Refuse-to-Receive Standards'Bengaluru, Dec 2016: USFDA has issued a guidance intended to assist applicants preparing to submit FDA abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs) and prior approval supplements (PASs) to ANDAs for which the applicant is seeking approval of a new strength of the drug product. The guidance highlights deficiencies that may cause FDA to refuse to receive (RTR) an ANDA.

Health ministry to mandate upgradation of Schedule M units to WHO-GMP levelMumbai, January, 2017: The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) has submitted a proposal to the Union health ministry to mandate upgradation of Schedule M units across the country to WHO-GMP level under the purview of Drug Rules towards good manufacturing practices adopted globally.

Pharma Injections

Meet 'mesentery' - The newly discovered 79th organ hiding in your body!New Delhi, Jan 2017: Think of it as a new year present from scientists and say hello to your newest organ! Yes, strange as it may sound, scientists have discovered a new organ inside the human body, which has been hiding there all this time. Known as mesentery, it resides in our digestive system and has been evading everyone forever, till now. Initially believed to be just a few fragmented structures in the digestive system, scientists have now confirmed that it is, in fact, a continuous organ.

Hostile Cervical Mucus behind 20% of women infertility: ExpertsJan 2016: Hostile Cervical Mucus, a condition in which the male sperms are unable to survive due to the hostile cervical conditions of the female during intercourse, accounts for 20 per cent of female infertility, according to IVF experts. According to them, the reason behind the cervical mucus may also be triggered due to lack of balanced nutrition rich diets and lack of water intake.

A thumb imprint is enough to help detect jaundice Chennai, Jan 2017: Now, a thumb imprint is all that is required for detecting hyperbilirubinemia, a condition in which the amount of bilirubin in the blood is in excess and turns the sclera of the eye, urine and even the skin yellow. Hyperbilirubinemia is commonly seen in people with jaundice and newborns; a person is said to have jaundice when the bilirubin concentration in the blood typically exceeds 12 ppm in adults and 50 ppm in a newborn.

New regimen of drugs for TB/HIV patients launched PUDUCHERRY, JAN 2017: A new daily regimen of Fixed Dose Combinations (FDC) for TB/HIV patients was launched at the Indira Gandhi Medical College, Kathirkamam. This follows the Central TB Division deciding to adopt FDC with daily regimen wherein all the four ATT drugs are combined and packed in a single tablet to reduce the number of pills intake and to improve the patient compliance.

Bill Gates Invests 140 Million dollar In Groundbreaking New Technology For HIV Cure JAN 2017: Microsoft founder Bill Gates' charity foundation has invested USD 140 million in the development of HIV-preventing drug implants that could revolutionise the treatment of the life-threatening infection. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is providing this funding for the groundbreaking new technology which could revolutionise HIV prevention.

Drug Dopes

Updated LIST OF NEW DRUGS APPROVED FROM 01-01-2016 TILL DATE BY NEW DRUGS DIVISION, CDSCO, FDA Bhawan, New Delhi List of New Drug Approved by FDA

Indian companies grab 34 percent of total US FDA approvals during 2016 Mumbai, Jan 2017: Indian pharmaceutical companies have registered strong presence in highly regulated markets like US and Europe with rising investment in research and development (R&D) activities during last couple of years. The Investments in R&D activities helped them to secure higher number of approvals from regulatory bodies in the world. During the year 2016, Indian companies secured highest number of approvals during last decade.

Drug control neglected, fake medicines flooding State GUWAHATI, JAN 2017: Collection of medicine samples from markets for testing by the Drugs Control Cell under Health department has been greatly hampered because of fund shortage. In the State budget, no extra fund has been earmarked in the current fiscal for collection of medicine samples from markets.

Karnataka DC dept finds 44 drugs as not-of-standard quality during surprise inspection drives Bengaluru, January, 2017: The Karnataka drugs control department has detected a slew of drugs that are not-of-standard quality which are in the market. The drugs were picked up at random by the department’s enforcement team during their surprise checks at pharmacy outlets across the state.

Gujarat FDCA to cancel licenses of 2 stockists for running inter-state spurious drug racket Mumbai, January, 2017: Gujarat Food and Drug Administration (FDCA) is planning to cancel licenses of two Ahmedabad based wholesalers SR Enterprises and Shraddha Healthcare for marketing spurious drugs as a part of huge inter-state drug racket spanning Delhi, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra following state regulator’s seizure of antibiotics worth over Rs. 51 Lakh in Ahmedabad alone.

National Injections

MoHFW to organize measles-rubella vaccination campaign from Feb 7th to Feb 24th January 2017: In line with the September 2013 commitment with other WHO-SEAR countries to eliminate measles and control rubella/ congenital rubella syndrome by 2020, India’s Ministry of Health & Family Welfare introduced rubella vaccine in its Universal Immunization Programmed as a Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine.

4-year-old boy becomes cadaveric organ donor; saves lives of five New Delhi, Jan 2017: Cadaveric organ donation has gradually caught momentum in a world where people were earlier blinded by emotions and superstitions engraved in their religious and karmic beliefs.

Kerala to have 600 Jan Aushadhi stores by end of 2017 Chennai, January, 2017: Pradhan Mantri Jan Aushadhi Scheme (PMJAS), the direct market intervention scheme of the Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), will have a ubiquitous presence in Kerala during the next two months with the opening of 170 JAS stores in January and February in all the districts.

Santacruz blood bank violates safety norms Mumbai, Jan 2017: The blood bank at the civic-run VN Desai Hospital at Santacruz (East) has violated safety norms and compromised donors' health, revealed a Right to Information (RTI) query and a report prepared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department.

Maharashtra cabinet clears way for Rs 137 crore FDA upgrade MUMBAI, JAN 2017: The cabinet on Tuesday approved the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposal for an upgrade, paving the way for a huge inflow of funds to strengthen the state's drug regulatory mechanism. It is likely to receive grants to the tune of Rs 55 crore from the state and another Rs 82 crore from the Centre to build infrastructure and set up laboratories.

Global Injections

Zika virus proteins causing birth and neurological defects identified New York, Jan 2017: Researchers have identified seven proteins linked to Zika virus that believed to cause conditions, including birth defects such as microcephaly and neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre syndrome.

Taking omega-3 supplements during pregnancy reduces risk of asthma in children Toronto, Jan 2017: A new study has revealed that women taking certain Omega-3 fatty acid supplements during pregnancy can reduce the risk of developing asthma in children by almost one third.

Vaccine shows promise in fight against breast cancer

New York, Jan 2017: An experimental vaccine is safe and effectively stimulates the immune system leading to regression of early-stage breast cancer, show results of a clinical trial. The researchers created the vaccine from immune cells called dendritic cells that are harvested from each individual patient to create a personalized vaccine.

This new retinal imaging technique could detect onset of vision lossNew York, Jan 2017: A new non-invasive retinal imaging technique has been developed by researchers that could prevent vision loss in diseases like glaucoma.

Bird flu found in swans, two poultry farms in Czech RepublicPrague, Jan 2017: Bird flu has been found in swans and at two small poultry farms in the southeast of the Czech Republic, Agriculture Minister Marian Jurecka said on Wednesday.

US woman gives birth to twin girls in two different years!San Diego, Jan 2017: The twins were born 4 minutes apart at a San Diego hospital — just before and after the New Year, making their birth date a year apart.

New drug approvals fall to six-year low in 2016London, Jan 2017: Last year turned out to be a disappointing one for new drug approvals with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearing just 22 new medicines for sale, the lowest number since 2010 and sharply down on 2015's tally of 45.

PSM PILL

Letter to the US congress regarding drug ‘importation’ proposals

Dear Senators and Representatives,
In December of 2015 we released the attached letter warning Congress of the dangers to American patients from counterfeit drugs brought into America through “importation” proposals. As you consider the budget this year, we wanted to bring to your attention several recent tragic events that show the negative consequences of such policies.

Frequently Asked Questions Q1. What is Sinusitis?
Sinusitis is an inflammation or swelling of the tissue lining the sinuses. Healthy sinuses are filled with air. But when they become blocked and filled with fluid, germs can grow and cause an infection.

Conditions that can cause sinus blockage include:

The common cold
Allergic rhinitis, which is swelling of the lining of the nose
Small growths in the lining of the nose called nasal polyps
A deviated septum, which is a shift in the nasal cavity. Read More>>>

SUBSCRIBER'S SYMPTOM

Sinus infection? Try these essential oils for quick relief!

Article contributed by one of our Subscriber: Dr. Sonali Jha, Otolaryngologists, Lucknow

Sinusitis, Sinus infection or Rhino-sinusitis, is a common condition that refers to inflammation of the sinuses and around the cavities of the nasal passages. It is usually caused by common cold, infection, allergies and chemical or particulate irritation of the sinuses.

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Blog Addicts

Ms. Shagupha, Media personnel, says: The last issue of PSM-India Newsletter was the best I have read! Good work, Exceptional!

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Disclaimer : Our newsletter endeavors to compile patient safety information from various sources . PSM India may not be held responsible for any article published in The Prescription.