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EDITOR'S EMULSION
Warm Greetings!
Welcome to yet another exciting month and pleasant reading of our newsletter.
With exports and investments on the slide, the Centre is considering a five-year extension of tax benefits for units in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) by extending the sunset clause beyond March 31, 2020 to boost investor sentiment.
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
We can extend ‘Make in India’ to ‘Innovate in India’. Our scientists and universities should also be incentivized so that we attract the brightest minds to carry out cutting-edge research. We need a strong intellectual property (IP) framework that respects and protects IP rights, encourages research and helps commercialize innovation to translate research output into products of value. Pro-innovation policies in India will help to advance the development of innovative medicines and offer new hope to Indian patients
Prof Nirmal K. Ganguly
Advisor WHO India, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute and President, Jawaharlal Institute of Post Graduate Medical Education and Research in India.
Sponsor
PSM India Capsules
Domestic Pharma Mkt Grows 11.5% In Jul-Sept
Mumbai, 11 Oct 2019: The organised domestic pharma market grew in double digits last month, resulting in one of the best quarters in over a year, with 11.5% growth across July-September, buoyed by higher volumes (3.2%) and price growth (5.5%). The robust monsoon seems to have helped in reviving growth during the quarter ended September, with all key therapies exhibiting double-digit expansion, data from pharma research firm AIOCD Awacs showed. Earlier this year, the market seemed to be slowing down with the previous six quarters registering muted single-digit growth, pulled down by multiple factors including increase in use of low-cost generics, and lower sales in acute segment.
Ministers’ Group To Regularise E-Pharmacies
New Delhi, 9 Oct 2019: A group of ministers comprising Amit Shah (home) and Rajnath Singh (defence) will look into legalising online drug sales after the Modi government failed to push through the measure by its targeted deadline, ThePrint has learnt.
Drug Laws & Policy Injections
MoH Approves Proposal To Deploy Police Force At State DC DepartmentsMumbai, 12 Oct 2019: The Union health ministry has approved a proposal from the Drug Consultative Committee (DCC) to provide security to the state drug regulators engaged in the enforcement activities of Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act, 1940 and rules made thereunder.
CDSCO Issues Guidelines On Performance Evaluation Of IVDs For Grant Of Manufacturing And Import Licenses Mumbai, 14 Oct 2019: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has issued guidelines on performance evaluation of In-Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) medical devices for grant of manufacturing and import licenses as per new Medical Device (MD) Rules, 2017 which is effective from January 1, 2018.
New Definition Of Med Devices To Include Nebulisers, SyringesNEW DELHI, 14 OCT 2019: The health ministry is set to notify a new definition of medical devices which will expand the span of regulation to cover all such products, including diagnostic equipment, nebulisers, syringes as well as stents and other implants.
Nebulizers, BP Monitors, Digital Thermometers To Need BIS Certificate From 1 JanNEW DELHI, 14 OCT 2019: The government will now regulate quality and performance standards of commonly used medical devices such as nebulizers, blood pressure monitors, digital thermometers and glucometers, effective 1 January 1, 2020.
Ultrasound Equipment Notified Under D&C ActMumbai, 21 Oct 2019: The Union health ministry has notified ultrasound equipment under the Drugs and Cosmetics (D&C) Act to regulate its import, manufacture and sale. As per the notification dated October 16, 2019, “The Central Government, in pursuance of sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of section 3 of the D&C Act, 1940 has notified Ultrasound equipment intended for external or internal use in human beings as drug with effect from November 1, 2020.”
Committee Formed To Regulate Gyms In GhaziabadGhaziabad, 19 Oct 2019: A committee headed by a city magistrate has been constituted to regulate gymnasiums across the district, an official said on Saturday. At a meeting held with gym owners in the collectorate, District Magistrate Ajay Shankar Pandey said the committee will ensure that norms and standards are set for gymnasiums. The committee will also comprise a district sports officer and a government doctor.
Pharma Injections
NIM, Patanjali Join Hands, To Look For Medicinal PlantsUttarkashi, 22 Oct 2019: After conducting several training camps and successful mountaineering expeditions, the Nehru Institute of Mountaineering (NIM) has now set its eyes on finding rare medicinal plants and other flora and fauna in the Himalayan region.
India Can Reduce Its Life-Saving Plasma DeficiencyKOCHI, 20 OCT 2019: Blood transfusion services (blood banks) have the dual responsibility of providing both a sufficient blood supply and ensuring the quality and safety of blood for patients. Blood, being a perishable entity, has to be constantly replenished.
Online Pharmacies To Grow To $3.7 Billion By 2022: CLSA NEW DELHI, 18 OCT 2019: E-pharmacies are likely to grow seven times to $3.7 billion by CY22 as they aim to grab a large pie of the highly fragmented Indian market, according to a research note by foreign brokerage, CLSA.
CDSCO Invites Suggestions To Improve Sugam Portal Mumbai, 18 Oct 2019: In order to promote digital India and ease of doing business, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has asked for suggestions from the stakeholders to improve Sugam portal for effective online processing of applications. CDSCO under its e-Governance initiative had rolled out online services for filing of applications through Sugam portal in 2016 for import licensing and registration purpose and offers online licensing services for drugs, cosmetics and biologicals, among others.
DCGI Steps Up Monitoring Of Ranitidine New Delhi, 14 Oct 2019: India's drug regulatory authority has ordered lifting samples of heartburn drug ranitidine, after the US regulator red-flagged presence of a cancer-causing impurity in some products. The Drug Controller General of India has written to state drug controllers, asking them to draw samples from major manufacturers of ranitidine and send those to Central Drug Laboratory (CDL) in Kolkata to test for the impurity Nnitrosodimethylamine (NDMA).
Maha Health Director To Keep A Tab On Antibiotics Prescriptions Pune, 15 Oct 2019: While antibiotic resistance is on the rise globally, the director of Maharashtra health services has issued a statewide circular to contain the threat of antibiotic overuse in the state. According to the new directive, weekly audit reports of prescriptions will be conducted. The circular makes it mandatory for the reports to be maintained at institutional levels and submitted to the director’s office. Through the move, medical practitioners are also expected to help the officials to monitor the line of treatment and screening tests. The programme, which is obligatory on all public health department-run health establishments, will also be extended to private institutes, said the health officials.
Drug Dopes
Food Regulator Must Champion Public Health And Not Be Industry CheerleaderChandigarh, 12 Oct 2019: The way the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is cosying up to the very food industry it is supposed to regulate, it would appear it has forgotten that it is not a promotional agency but a legally mandated regulator. The FSSAI is supposed to establish food safety standards and enforce them as per law, acting as the custodian of public health, just like the Food and Drug Administration in the US. 
Drug Sales Reveal Our Lifestyle WoesNEW DELHI, 22 OCT 2019: Anti-infectives along with medicines for cardiac diseases, diabetes, gastro-intestinal and respiratory problems garnered the highest sales in the Indian pharmaceutical market in last one year, pointing to a rapidly growing burden of lifestyle-related ailments.
Telangana Seeks Rs 3,418 Cr For Hyderabad Pharma City Hyderabad, 20 Oct 2019: The Telangana government has urged the Centre to provide financial assistance of Rs.3,418 crore for Hyderabad Pharma City proposed to be developed near here.
Drug Racket Busted, 1.3 Lakh Tablets Seized Chennai, 18 Oct 2019 (PTI) : The DRI has arrested three people for their alleged involvement in trying to smuggle to the United States over 1 lakh banned tablets, including potency-increasing drugs, in the guise of herbal and wellness products.
Medlife Hits Rs 100 Core Revenue Milestone In September NEW DELHI, 19 OCT 2019: Health-tech company Medlife, which owns and operates the eponymous online pharmacy platform, has hit Rs 100 crore in revenue for September, according to a senior company executive, and is also on track to break even on a unit economics basis over the next 6-8 months.
Crime Branch Arrests Five Fake Doctors From Nagpada And BycullaMumbai, 18 Oct 2019: The Mumbai Crime branch arrested five fake doctors from Byculla and Nagpada on Wednesday for practising without any medical degree.
National Injections
Par Panel To Examine Regulation, Control Of Medical Devices New Delhi, 20 Oct 2019: A parliamentary panel has decided to examine regulation and control of medical devices in the country to ensure that they meet certain standards of quality and efficacy. The decision has come at a time when the government has proposed to regulate all the medical devices.
Medical Seat Scam In Karnataka May Have Links Across IndiaBENGALURU, 16 OCT 2019: The multi-crore medical seat scam unearthed in Karnataka by the income-tax sleuths last week could well be a pan-India scandal involving deemed and private medical colleges, students and medical entrance coaching centres.
CDSCO Mandates Licensing Authorities To Get PERs Of 19 Specified IVD Tests Mumbai, 17 Oct 2019: The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) has mandated Central and State licensing authorities to get performance evaluation reports (PERs) of 19 specified In-vitro Diagnostic (IVD) tests for grant of import and manufacturing licenses.
Transition Time Of 6 Months To Implement New Medical Device Rules, 2017 Mumbai, 15 Oct 2019: The Union health ministry has approved a transition time of 6 months to implement provisions of new Medical Device Rules (MDR), 2017 for the purpose of switching inventory of labelling or packaging from old license to new license.
Certificate Of Al Shifa Hospital MD Fake: MCI KOCHI, 13 OCT 2019: The Medical Council of India (MCI) has said that Shajahan Yoosaf Sahib, who ran Al Shifa Hospital for piles at Edappally, is not a 'registered medical practitioner.'
Your Crocin And Betadine May Be Spurious -- Misleading News doing rounds New Delhi, 11 Oct 2019: Government-sponsored studies—thrice in over 15 years—show just three per cent of medicines in the Indian market are of substandard quality or counterfeit. But various reports, which Outlook couldn’t verify, peg this figure between 25 and 40 per cent. In a 2015 report, ASSOCHAM said 25 per cent of medicines sold in India are either fake or of inferior quality, the majority counterfeiting popular over-the-counter drugs sold under generic names such as Crocin and Betadine.
Global Injections
Pfizer Launches ‘Catfish’ Counterfeit Medicines CampaignLondon, 15 Oct 2019: Pfizer has announced the launch of a UK-wide campaign dubbed “Don’t be catfished by counterfeit medicines”.
Indian-Origin Doctors Link Pentosan Polysulphate Sodium To Retinal DamageSan Francisco, 13 Oct 2019: A team of Indian-origin doctors in the US has found that a drug widely prescribed for a bladder condition for decades globally, now appears to be toxic to the retina.
Study Finds A Way To Treat Liver Disease
Washington D.C, 11 Oct 2019: Patients fighting liver disease could be helped by the discovery of cells that cause liver scarring in their body, researchers have found. Scientists have identified new sub-types of cells that, when they interact, accelerate the scarring process in diseased livers.
Researchers Reveal How Bacteria Causing Hospital Infections Resist Antibiotics
London, 2 Oct 2019: Researchers in the UK have discovered one of the important mechanisms by which bacteria causing hospital-borne illnesses are becoming resistant to antibiotics, an advance that may help in designing new drugs. The researchers at Imperial College London have found that one mechanism by which infectious bacteria resist drug treatment was to shut out tiny doors on their cell walls that allow the entry of certain chemicals - including antibiotics.
Microbes Likely To Play Role In Triggering Heart Attack: Study
Washington D.C., 2 Oct 2019: According to a recent study presented at ESC Congress 2019 together with the World Congress of Cardiology, certain microorganisms in the body may contribute to a heart attack.
How Typhoid Toxin Drives Cell Ageing Decoded
London, 10 Oct 2019: Scientists have decoded how the toxin produced by the deadly typhoid bacterium hijacks an infected cell's natural DNA repair mechanism, and accelerates its ageing -- an advance that may help develop strategies to combat the killer disease.
PSM PILL
Man Sentenced To Over A Decade In Jail For Selling The Counterfeit Pill That Killed Jaydon Rogers
October 21, 2019 : Salt Lake City, Utah reported that a federal judge sentenced Adam Patrick Hemmelgarn to 128 months in prison in September. Hemmelgarn had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and was one of three individuals originally indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for their roles in the overdose death of 20-year-old Jaydon Rogers in March of 2018.
Multiple California Counties Warn Parents About Deadly Fake Pills After The Deaths Of Two Teens In Santa Clara County
October 17, 2019 : On September 30th, the Public Health Department of Santa Clara County, California updated a public health warning they had issued September 10th about deadly counterfeit 30mg oxycodone pills. The initial warning described “tablets visually appear to be the pharmaceutically manufactured version—they are circular in shape, light blue to light green in color, and have an ‘M’ inside a square stamped on one side and a ‘30’ stamped on the other side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Fast facts on green tea
Green tea has been used in traditional Indian and Chinese medicine and there are many different types of green tea available, green tea may help prevent a range of ailments including cancer
Green tea health benefits
1) Green tea and cancer prevention
2) Green tea has heart health benefits
3) Green tea can lower cholesterol
4) Stroke risk and green tea
5) Green tea for type 2 diabetes
6) Green tea and weight loss
7) Green tea reduces inflammatory skin diseases
8) Working memory and the effects of green tea
9) Green tea prevents Alzheimer's
SUBSCRIBER'S SYMPTOM
WHO Bats For Easing Generic Drugs Norms
New Delhi, 24 Oct 2019: In a major push to generic medicines, WHO has partnered with International Generics and Biosimilars Medicines Association (IGBA) to formulate policies to reduce the burden of clinical trials and relax other regulatory requirements besides speeding up registration for generic drugs.
Blog Addicts
Ms Padma Roy, Professional Excellent articles that make very good reading. Well done
Mr Soumya Sahni, MDThe Prescription is very well presented with extremely useful information for readers.
Ms Roma Francis, Pharma Expert
Good newsletter which brings an in depth understanding of news events in the Pharma world both nationally and globally. Keep up the good work.
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