Patient Safety Capsules
India's Pharma Market Rebounds In April, Clocks 51.5% Sales Growth
Mumbai, 7 May 2021: The domestic pharmaceuticals market has seen a rebound in April, with sales growing 51.5 per cent over last year, thanks to the low base of April 2020 and a pick-up in demand for Covid-19 drugs. When compared to the domestic sales of April 2019, the growth is around 37 per cent. However, com-pared to the previous month (March), the growth is 18.4 per cent.
DCGI Clears The Way For Import Of Covid-19 Vaccines Into India
New Delhi, 5 May 2021: India’s drug regulator has cleared the way for import of Covid-19 vaccines into India. According to the drug regulator any private entity can procure the vaccine from the importer for its use if the vaccine to be imported is approved by the drug regulatory authority and import license has been ob-tained from it.
Drug Laws & Policy Injections
No Judicial Interference Needed In Covid-19 Vaccine Policy: Centre Tells SCNew Delhi, 10 May 2021: In a late night affidavit submitted in the Supreme Court, the Centre defended its Covid vaccination policy, which has been criticised for differential pricing, shortage of doses, and slow rollout.
DTAB Dismisses Proposal To Mandate Requirements Of Medicine Labels In Hindi Or Local Languages Along With English Mumbai, 10 May 2021: The Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) has dismissed the proposal to mandate the requirements of medicine labels in Hindi or local languages along with English.
Court Junks Order To Release Seized O2 Concentrators For Use By PoliceNew Delhi, 9 May 2021: A Sessions Court in Delhi on Saturday has set aside a magistrate Court order that directed to put to use seized 12 oxygen concentrators either by Delhi Police Officials and the Judicial Officers and their families.
Centre Issues Advisory On Management Of Mucormycosis Fungal Infection In COVID-19 PatientsNew Delhi, 10 May 2021: Mucormycosis, a fungal infection being found in COVID-19 patients with uncontrolled diabetes and pro-longed intensive care unit (ICU) stay, may turn fatal if uncared for, the Centre said on Sunday. In an advi-sory, it also said the fungal infection mainly affects people who are on medication that reduces their ability to fight environmental pathogens.
Several Hospitals Come Under Taxman’s ProbeNew Delhi, 8 May 2021: The income tax department is probing allegations of hospitals forcing patients to make advance payments in cash amid the acute second wave of Covid-19.
Anti-Covid Drug Developed By DRDO Cleared For Emergency UseNew Delhi, 8 May 2021: A drug to treat coronavirus patients, developed by the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Or-ganisation), has been approved for emergency use by the country's top drugs controller as India battles the second wave of the pandemic that is killing thousands every day.
Pharma Injections
At Rs 700-Rs 1,500, Price Of Covid Vaccine In India’s Private Sector Among Cost-liestMUMBAI, 10 MAY 2021: From Rs 250, the cost of vaccines in the private sector has shot up by up to six times. It now ranges from Rs 700-900 for Covishield manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII) and Rs 1,250-1,500 for Covaxin manufactured by Bharat Biotech (BB). The CoWIN website shows that the bulk of private sector vaccination right now is by four big corporate hospital groups — Apollo, Max, Fortis and Manipal.
Centre Issues Company-Wise Supply Plan Of Remdesivir To States, UTsNEW DELHI, 8 MAY 2021: A company-wise supply plan of Remdesivir, a key drug used in the treatment of Covid-19 patients, has been issued to states and union territories, informed the central government.
CID Cracks Remdesivir Black-Marketing Ring Ranchi, 8 May 2021: The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police has unearthed the network involved in the misappropriation of allotted Remdesivir injections and its black marketing in Ranchi district.
HC Notice To Centre, Raj On Different Vaccine Prices Jodhpur, 8 May 2021: Rajasthan High Court has sought reply from the Centre on variable price structure of vaccines for Central and state governments and private hospitals.
Delhi HC Asks Centre To Hold Meeting With Roche To Ensure Immediate Supply Of Tocilizumab New Delhi, 8 May 2021: In view of the "acute shortage" of Tocilizumab which is prescribed to a large number of COVID-19 pa-tients, the Delhi High Court has directed the Union Health Ministry and Department of Pharmaceuticals to hold a meeting with Roche India, which sells the drug here, to esnure immediate supplies of the medicine.
Allocation Of Remdesivir Made Up To May 16 To Ensure Adequate Availability: Sadananda Gowda NEW DELHI, 7 MAY 2021: To ensure smooth supply of remdesivir used in the treatment of COVID-19 across the country, the alloca-tion of the antiviral drug to the states and union territories has been made up to May 16, Union Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister Sadananda Gowda said on Friday.
Drug Dopes
Patanjali's Coronil Out Of Stock Even Though IMA Calls It ‘Unscientific Product’ For COVID-19 Treatment: ReportDelhi, 4 May 2021: Amid a deadly second wave of COVID-19, Patanjali's Coronil tablets are flying off the shelves though medical professionals have refuted its claims of efficacy. 
NPPA Caps Retail Prices Of 42 FormulationsMumbai, 4 May 2021: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) has fixed retail prices of 42 formulations and ceiling price of 1 formulation under Drugs Prices Control Order (DPCO) - 2013 based on the decision of 86th authority meeting dated April 28, 2021.
SII Endorses Receiving Rs 1,732 Cr For 11 Crore Doses Of Covishield Vaccine NEW DELHI, 3 MAY 2021: Serum Institute of India (SII) on Monday endorsed the government statement that 100 per cent advance of Rs 1,732.50 crore has been released to the company on April 28 for 11 crore doses of the Covishield vaccine for May, June and July.
SC Asks Centre To Consider Fixing Ceiling Price For Drugs New Delhi, 3 May 2021: The Supreme Court on Sunday asked the Centre to consider fixing ceiling price for drugs like Favipiravir, Tociluzumab, among others, used for treatment of COVID-19 patients as they are being sold at exorbiant rates.
Beware Of ‘Covipri’, The Fake Remdesivir Injection Circulating On Social Media New Delhi, 3 May 2021: At a time people are desperately looking for treatment against Covid-19, an injection named “Covipri” is circulating on social media, with many referring to it as the Remdesivir injection.
Hyderabad: Bharat Biotech In Talks With Global MNCs To Make CovaxinHYDERABAD, 2 MAY 2021: After sealing a deal with Indian Immunologicals Ltd (IIL) for manufacturing its indigenous Covid-19 vac-cine Covaxin, Bharat Biotech is now in parleys with global pharma giants for manufacturing the desi vac-cine.
National Injections
‘Remdesivir Can Raise Sugar Levels': Use Injection Judiciously, Warn Doctors JAIPUR, 7 MAY 2021: Amid the rush for Remdesivir injection, the core team of Covid care and management again urged doc-tors to prescribe it judiciously as in several cases it led to a spike of sugar levels among patients.
Kerala Model: How The State Got More Out Of Its Vaccine VialsKOCHI, 6 MAY 2021: On May 1, central government data on Covid vaccine revealed that Kerala and Andhra Pradesh were the only two states that had actually consumed more vaccine doses than they had received.
CDL Likely To Release First Batch Of Sputnik V Next Week After Quality Tests New Delhi, 5 May 2021: The Central Drugs Laboratory (CDL) — the country’s apex drug testing lab — is likely to clear a batch of the Russian Covid-19 vaccine, Sputnik V, within a week, ThePrint has learnt.
Drop IGST On Import Of Oxygen Concentrators, Delhi HC Tells Centre New Delhi, 6 May 2021: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the finance ministry to consider exempting oxygen concentrators imported by individuals for personal use from integrated goods and services tax.
Gujarat Technological University Develops Methodology To Check Adulteration In Remdesivir In 5 Mins Ahmedabad, 5 May 2021: The Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has developed a system to check presence of spurious ele-ments in remdesivir injections. Two pharmacy students, Malay Pandya and Nisarg Patel, under supervi-sion of faculty member Dr Kashyap Thummar, have developed a high-pressure liquid chromatography method to detect adulteration, if any, and submit report within five minutes.
'Paper Sensor’ Developed By IIT Madras Could Help Detect & Monitor Antimicrobial Pollutants New Delhi, 4 May 2021: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, along with researchers based in the United Kingdom, have developed a paper-based sensor which can detect antimicrobial pollutants, particularly those which cause antimicrobial resistance in water bodies.
Global Injections
Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Linked With Fewer Asymptomatic Infections: StudyNew Delhi, 7 May 2021: People who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at a US hospital had dramatically lower symptomatic and asymptomatic infections compared with their unvaccinated peers, according to a study.
After Pilot, Afghan Medicines Tracing System Goes NationalKabul, 6 May 2021: The Afghanistan government has decided to expand the use of a blockchain-powered medicines tracea-bility platform, after successful pilot testing.
5 Australian Blood Clot Cases Linked To AstraZeneca Vax
Canberra, 6 May 2021: The patients comprised two men in their 70s, one in 60s, and two women in their 50s and 60s, reports Xinhua news agency.
Roche Receives Emergency Use Approval In India For Its Investigational Antibody Cocktail Used In The Treatment Of Covid-19
Mumbai, 5 May 2021: Roche India today announced that the Central Drugs Standards Control Organisation (CDSCO) has pro-vided an Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) for Roche’s antibody cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) in India. This approval was based on the data that have been filed for the EUA in the United States, and the scientific opinion of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) in the European Union.
SII To Invest Rs 2,400 Crore In Britain As Part Of India-UK Initiative
LONDON, 4 MAY 2021: The UK and Indian governments will announce their first enhanced trade partnership on Tuesday as a precursor to a free trade agreement when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Indian PM Narendra Modi hold a virtual meeting.
WHO Publishes New Guidance To Promote Strong, Efficient And Sustainable Regulatory Systems
Geneva, 29 April 2021: The World Health Organization, (WHO) has recently published two documents that will be critical for countries’ regulatory system strengthening activities, including regulatory cooperation, convergence and transparency.
PSAIIF PILL
Duty Exemption For Diagnostic Kits Imports
New Delhi, 30 April 2021: To boost the testing apparatus for COVID-19 across the country and ease the availability of oxygen con-centrators, the government on Friday notified a customs duty exemption for diagnostic kits imports and altered the foreign trade policy.
Jaishankar Talks To Blinken Over Medical Oxygen & API Supplies
NEW DELHI, 1 MAY 2021: As the government scrambles to battle the worst Covid surge in the world, external affairs minister S Jai-shankar held “exhaustive” conversation on Friday with his US counterpart Anthony Blinken. The Jaishan-kar-Blinken talks covered supply issues for medical oxygen, key pharma ingredients for drugs and thera-peutics and unclogging the vaccine supply chain.
Frequently Asked Questions
Govt Explores Possibility Of Producing Covaxin Abroad ?
New Delhi, 1 May 2021: Centre is exploring the possibility of offering the locally developed coronavirus vaccine, Covaxin that has been jointly developed by Bharat Biotech and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), for production abroad through a technology transfer between commercial entities amid supply crunch, according to government officials aware of the development. Read More>>>
SUBSCRIBER'S SYMPTOM
India Urges China To Clear Bottlenecks On Key Pharma Raw-Material
Hyderabad, 29 April 2021: Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), the country’s nodal agency for exports of pharmaceuticals, on Thursday appealed to the Indian Ambassador in China to immediately intervene in clearing bottlenecks on import of key raw materials from China amid serious supply chain disruptions.
Blog Addicts
Ms Hansa Mehta, Professional The Prescription has articles that make very good reading. Excellent presentation. Well done.
Dr Vivek Vir Singh, MDThe Newsletter has extremely useful information for readers. Great reading, please continue.
Mr Prem Atari, Pharma Expert
Good newsletter which brings an array of Pharma News for the avid Prescription newsletter. Keep up the good work.
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