Patient Safety Capsules
Prolonged Use Of Steroids Is Risky
CHANDIGARH, 22 MARCH 2021: If you are on steroids for asthma, rheumatic arthritis, inflammatory disease or other autoimmune diseases and have not stopped them since long, you are at risk of Cushing’s syndrome. This can eventually affect your bones and all the organs, caution PGI doctors.
Bacteria May Aid Anti-Cancer Immune Response
Israel, 22 March 2021: Cancer immunotherapy may get a boost from an unexpected direction: bacteria residing within tumor cells. In a new study published in Nature, researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science and their collaborators have discovered that the immune system "sees" these bacteria and shown they can be harnessed to provoke an immune reaction against the tumor.
Drug Laws & Policy Injections
Criminal Case Against Patanjali On CoronilPune, 18 March 2021: In the first criminal case against Baba Ramdev in Maharashtra, a Pune-based final-year law student has filed a private complaint in the court of chief judicial magistrate first class in Junnar, alleging that the yoga guru “is cheating people by propagating Patanjali Ayurved’s drug coronil as a cure for coronavirus disease”.
DCGI Issues Notice To Sub-Committee On Irrational FDCs To Hear Manufacturers Mumbai, 25 March 2021: The Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has issued notice to sub-committee on irrational fixed dose combinations (FDCs) to hear manufacturers from April 19, 2012 to May 7, 2021.
Parliament Passes National Commission For Allied, Healthcare Professions BillNew Delhi, 24 March 2021: The Lok Sabha on March 24 cleared the National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professionals Bill, 2021, which seeks to set up a commission to regulate the allied healthcare sector, standardise training and qualifications across the country. The Rajya Sabha passed the Bill on March 16.
High Court Seeks Report From TSDCA On Medical Shops Across TelanganaHyderabad, 24 March 2021: The Telangana High Court has sought a detailed report from the Telangana State Drug Control Administration of (TSDCA) and has directed it to reveal as to how many number of pharmacy stores and medical shops have been granted permission and how many of the pharmacy stores in the state are running without license or with expired license.
SC Launches E- Copying Software To Ease Contactless Delivery Of Attested Copies Of JudgmentsNew Delhi, 17 March 2021: On Tuesday, the Supreme Court has launched the online e-copying software to ease doorstep and contactless delivery of attested copies of the judgments. Consequently, it will not be necessary for participants to physically come to the counter of the Registry to apply and acquire such copies.
Dispensing Medicines In Blister Packs Under Direct Supervision Medical Officer Would Not Contravene Section 42: Kerala HCERNAKULAM, 20 MARCH 2021: The Kerala High Court recently upheld two DHS directives allowing Junior Nurses and persons supervised by Medical Officers in Public Health Centre Sub-Centres to distribute drugs. A trade union of pharmacists had alleged that the authorisation violated the Pharmacy Act, 1948 which allowed only pharmacists to dispense drugs.
Pharma Injections
Scientists At CSIR-CSIO Develop UV Ducts, Air Sampling TechniquesChandigarh, 23 March 2021: To help prevent spread of the coronavirus at public places in India, scientists at CSIO Chandigarh have invented UV ducts that can kill the virus in the air along with air sampling and viral load testing techniques that can check the viral load in the air.
Market Survey Finds Sale Of Dermatology Products Decreased Drastically During Last One YearChennai, 22 March 2021: A market research survey has found that the Covid-19 pandemic has drastically impacted on sales of pharmaceutical and cosmetic products in the area of dermatology and the number of patients in medical derma and trichology, a branch of medical and cosmetic study and practice about hair and scalp, has also decreased largely during the pandemic period.
Govt Forms Panel To Study Business Of AYUSH Products, Therapies In India New Delhi, 21 March 2021: The Central government has formed a panel to assess the market size of AYUSH products in India, ThePrint learnt. “Until now, the government has no clue about the size of the Indian market for AYUSH products and therapies.
18% GST Applicable On Odomos: AAAR Lucknow, 18 March 2021: The Uttar Pradesh Appellate Authority of Advance Ruling (AAAR) while upholding the AAR’s ruling held that 18% GST is applicable on Odomos.
NPPA Brings 80 Plus Medicines Under Price Regulation New Delhi, 20 March 2021: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) NPPA fixes the price of 81 medicines including off-patent anti-diabetic drugs allowing due benefits of patent expiry to the patients.
Prices Of Medicines To Go Up A Tad; Companies Seek 20% Jump MUMBAI, 20 MARCH 2021: Prices of essential medicines including painkillers, anti-infectives, cardiac and antibiotics could go up marginally from April, with the government allowing drug makers an increase in line with the change in the annual Wholesale Price Index (WPI).
Drug Dopes
DOP To Overhaul Regulatory Norms To Expedite Approval Process And Promote InnovationBengaluru, 25 March 2021: The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) is contemplating an overhaul of regulatory norms to expedite the approval process and promote innovation. Efforts are on to move towards a system of ‘single window’ on the one hand and a ‘deemed approval’ process. In order to enable the industry move towards being self-reliant, the productivity linked incentive (PLI) schemes version I and II were announced. 
Syndicate Of Psychotropic Drugs Busted, 15 ArrestedLUDHIANA, 20 MARCH 2021: The city police on Friday claimed to have busted an interstate drug syndicate supplying illegal psychotropic drugs, with the arrest of 15 persons. As many as 66,99,719 intoxicating tablets, capsules, injections, syrups, worth Rs 54 crore in illegal drug market, were seized from a godown in Meerut, in one of the biggest crackdowns on drug cartels.
BIS Has Taken The Initiative To Formulate International Standards For AYUSH Products New Delhi, 19 March 2021: The Ministry of AYUSH has established Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine and Homoeopathy (PCIM&H). The Pharmacopoeia Commission has published 645 standards of Ayurveda Single drugs, 202 compound Ayurveda Drug, 298 Unani single drug & 150 Unani Compound drug, 139 Siddha drugs & 1117 Homoeopathic Drugs standards are published in the form of respective Pharmacopoeias.
Worried Over Cocktail Drugs Flooding Market, Drug Price Regulator & ICMR Team Up To Check Usage New Delhi, 18 March 2021: The Modi government plans to increase monitoring of the usage of cocktail drugs in the country. To that end, the drug price watchdog, the National Pharmaceuticals Pricing Authority (NPPA), will work with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) to study the usage and prescription of fixed dose combination (FDCs) medicines in the country.
Gujarat FDCA Refers 626 Cases Of Ceiling Price Violations To NPPA From January 1, 2020 Till Date Mumbai, 18 March 2021: The Gujarat Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) has referred a total of 626 cases to the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) for violation of ceiling prices from January 1, 2020 till date out of which 202 cases were reported during Covid-19 lockdown period.
IMA Says Coronil Has No Regulatory Approval, Patanjali Hits BackNew Delhi, 20 March 2021: Another controversy has taken form for Patanjali Ayurved's Coronil, which was launched in June last year and was first advertised as a cure for the coronavirus infection but later licensed as an "immunity booster" after controversy erupted on its trial data and composition.
National Injections
IPC Issues Notices For Omission Of Monographs Of Certain Drugs From IP Mumbai, 15 March 2021: The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) has issued notices to the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), State Licensing Authorities (SLAs), government analysts and drug testing laboratories towards omission of monographs of lorcaserin hydrochloride hemihydrate and lorcaserin tablets from the Indian Pharmacopoeia (IP).
Bioneemtec Looks At Manufacturing Key Starting Materials To Reduce Reliance On ChinaChennai, 13 March 2021: Bio-technology startup, Bioneemtec India has begun looking at manufacturing Key Starting Materials (KSM) through its newly launched Flow Pump facility with its in-house technology that will ensure a fast conversion rate and reduce the production cost without any environmental hazardous by-products or residues.
112 Research Studies In The Country Are Being Conducted On AYUSH Interventions As Prophylactic Interventions New Delhi, 9 March 2021: Ministry of AYUSH has formed an Inter-disciplinary AYUSH R&D Task Force chaired by Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan and having representation from scientists including Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Biotechnology(DBT), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and AYUSH Institutions.
Karnataka: Govt Must End Its Control Over Vaccine, Say Experts BENGALURU, 17 MARCH 2021: The central government should ideally relinquish control over Covid-19 vaccine distribution and introduce teh drug on the open market, believes Dr MK Sudarshan, head of the state’s Covid-19 technical advisory committee.
Need To Change Covaxin Composition Not Felt Yet Due To Vaccine's Good Efficacy Against Mutant Variants: Govt New Delhi, 20 March 2021: The need to change the composition of Covaxin has not been felt yet in view of good efficacy of the vaccine against mutant variants, the government told Lok Sabha Friday.
Covaxin Researchers To Study Infection Rate In Volunteers After Vaccination Chennai, 14 March 2021: The trials included volunteers aged above 18 years, who are now being followed up to check the immune response over next few months. “We have to keep a track of the volunteers and if any of them catches COVID-19 infection, the time duration since the time of vaccination needs to be noted.
Global Injections
25 And 100 ΜHz Ultrasound Vibrations Has Potential To Damage Coronavirus: StudyNew York, 19 March 2021: Coronavirus may be vulnerable to ultrasound vibrations, within the frequencies used in medical diagnostic imaging, said researchers.
Clofazimine May Help Fight COVID-19Hong Kong, 21 March 2021: SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes COVID-19, is not the only zoonotic coronavirus. In fact, it is the third to have emerged since the turn of the century. It was preceded by severe respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and MERS in 2012.
Oxford University Covid-19 Lab Suffers Cyberattack
London, 26 Feb 2021: Oxford University has confirmed that one of its laboratories involved in Covid-19 research suffered cyberattack after an investigation by Forbes suggested that hackers were showing off access to a number of systems.
Zydus Cadila Reduces Price Of Generic Covid-19 Drug To Rs 899 Per Vial
New Delhi, 24 March 2021: Drug firm Zydus Cadila on Wednesday said it has significantly reduced the price of its generic version of Remdesivir, which the company sells under the brand name 'Remdac', to ₹ 899 for a 100 mg vial.
10,000 Strips Of Nitrosun-10 Seized From A Medical Store, Owner Held
Jamshedpur, 23 March 2021: Acting on a tip off from a drug-peddler, a team of drug inspectors and police recovered huge quantity of narcotic drugs from a medical store on Dimna Road under Ulidih police station area in Mango on Monday.
Nurse Gets Corona, Husband Wants Rs 10L To Take Her Back
Ahmedabad, 22 March 2021: When people are hailing the heroism of frontline workers in the pandemic, a nurse who contracted the coronavirus was told by her husband to cough up Rs 10 lakh to continue staying with him.
PSAIIF PILL
ICMR To Study How Long Vaccines Will Give Protection
New Delhi, 16 March 2021: India’s top health research body is all set to study how long Covid-19 vaccine will protect those who are vaccinated and from transmitting the virus to others. The National Institute of Research in TB under the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has started reviewing a cohort that has received the vaccine to understand the effectiveness of the vaccine.
AstraZeneca Finds No Evidence Of Increased Blood Clot Risk From Vaccine
LONDON, 16 MARCH 2021: AstraZeneca said on Sunday a review of safety data of people vaccinated with its Covid-19 vaccine has shown no evidence of an increased risk of blood clots.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Govt Recommended Revision In Second Dose Interval For Covishield ?
New Delhi, 22 March 2021: The central government on Monday wrote a letter to chief secretaries of states and administrators of union territories, asking them to increase the interval between the two doses of Covishield, one of the two Covid-19 vaccines being given across the country as part of nationwide inoculation drive. Read More>>>
SUBSCRIBER'S SYMPTOM
Better Covid Vaccines Are Coming, WHO’s Chief Scientist Says
Geneva, 15 March 2021: New Covid-19 vaccines, including ones that don’t require needles and can be stored at room temperature, may be ready for use later this year or next year, the World Health Organization’s top scientist said.
Blog Addicts
Mr Hemant K, Professional Excellent articles being published every edition. Very enjoyable.
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Mr Sandeepand Tripathi, MBBS
Presented very beautifully and aptly captures important developments in the Pharma space.
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