PSM News

Mar 11,2024 New Delhi: Scientists have developed a new blood test that can accurately detect sleep-deprived drivers by using biomarkers that may help avoid road accidents in the future. The experts at Monash University in Australia, and the University of Birmingham, UK, noted that the level of sleep deprivation increases the risk of serious injury or fatality in critical situations. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, shows that the biomarker used in the test accurately predicted when the study volunteers had been awake for over 24 hours under controlled laboratory conditions. Future work could examine whether these biomarkers are evident in saliva or breath and lead to a roadside test. The test detected whether individuals had been awake for 24 hours with a 99.2 per cent probability of being correct when compared to well-rested samples, the researchers said. When a single sample was considered without the well-rested comparison (similar to a diagnostic blood test), it dropped to 89.1 per cent, which was still very high, they said. With about 20 per cent of road accidents worldwide caused by sleep deprivation, researchers hope the discovery may inform future tests to quickly and simply identify sleep-deprived drivers. The biomarker could also be developed for other situations where sleep deprivation may lead to catastrophic consequences, such as in safety-critical workplaces. “This is a really exciting discovery for sleep scientists, and could be transformative to the future management of health and safety relating to insufficient sleep,” said study senior author Clare Anderson who led the research while she was with Monash University. “While more work is required, this is a promising first step,” said Anderson, Professor at the University of Birmingham. The researchers noted that there is strong evidence that less than five hours of sleep is associated with unsafe driving. However, driving after being awake for 24 hours is at least comparable to more than double the Australian legal limit of alcohol performance-wise, they said. Source: Healthworld

Mar 12,2024 China is testing an AI assistant at seven hospitals in Beijing and other cities in coming months, one of many initiatives the government is backing to try and harness the technology. A Hong Kong-based agency under the Chinese Academy of Sciences on Monday introduced an AI model based on Meta Platform’s Llama 2.0. Researchers trained and fine-tuned the model with papers, medical journals and manuals to act as a surgery consultant of sorts for doctors, said Liu Hongbin, the center’s executive director. State organs are joining private Chinese firms in developing homegrown AI in the mold of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. The Chinese Academy of Sciences’ TaiChu model was among the first batch of services that won approval for public rollout in August. The technology is regarded as harboring the potential to revolutionize fields from diagnostics to personal consultations. The Hong Kong-based Center for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics employed about 100 graphics processor units to train its healthcare-focused model, split evenly between Nvidia Corp.’s A100 high-end chips and Huawei Technologies Co.’s Ascend 910B, researchers told reporters Monday. They hope the AI bot – dubbed the CARES Copilot 1.0 – will answer questions with citations based on more than a million academic records. It should also be able to process diagnostic data such as MRI, ultrasound or CT scans, as well as images, text and audio, they said. Bloomberg Source: Healthworld

Mar 12,2024 The Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP) on Monday announced its Revamped Pharmaceuticals Technology Upgradation Assistance (RPTUAS) scheme to help upgrade the technological capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry and ensure its alignment with global standards. The scheme will cover pharmaceutical units with turnover of less than Rs 500 crore for the last three years. These units will be eligible for incentive, subject to a maximum of Rs 1 crore. According to the pharma department, units with less than Rs 5 crore turnover will get an incentive of 20% of investment under eligible activities. The units with turnover ranging from Rs 50 crore to less than Rs 250 crore will get an incentive of 15% of investment, while for those with turnover ranging from Rs 250 crore to less than Rs 500 crore, it will be 10% of investment under eligible activities. The approval of the revised scheme follows a comprehensive review by the Scheme Steering Committee in light of the requirements of the revised Schedule-M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rule, 1945, the pharma department said. The new scheme has been expanded beyond micro, small and medium enterprises to include pharmaceutical manufacturing units with turnover of less than Rs 500 crore that require technology and quality upgradation. “Preference remains for MSMEs, supporting smaller players in achieving high-quality manufacturing standards,” the department said in a statement. The scheme proposed more flexible financing options, emphasising subsidies on reimbursement basis, over traditional credit-linked approach. “This flexibility is designed to diversify the financing options of the participating units, facilitating a more widespread adoption of the scheme,” it said. The scheme proposes to support a broader range of technological upgrades. The eligible activities include improvements such as HVAC systems, water and steam utilities, testing laboratories, stability chambers, clean room facilities, effluent treatment, waste management, etc. It also allows integration with state government schemes, enabling units to benefit from additional top-up assistance. “This collaborative approach aims to maximise support for the pharmaceutical industry in their technology upgradation efforts,” it said. Source: Pharma

Mar 11,2024 AstraZeneca Pharma India, the local unit of British-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca on Monday said it has entered into exclusive pact with Mankind Pharma to distribute former’s anti-asthma inhaled corticosteroid drug Symbicort in India. AstraZeneca will retain the intellectual property rights to Symbicort – the combination of budesonide and formoterol fumarate dihydrate, and will continue to be the marketing authorisation holder (MAH) and import license. ET has last week reported that AstraZeneca has been looking to partner with India pharma companies to expand the reach of their products. Symbicort is one of the top-selling products for AstraZeneca globally with sales of around $2.4 billion in 2023. “The partnership with Mankind Pharma presents an opportunity to accelerate access and maximize the potential of our asthma drug as well as the turbuhaler which is a simple device, efficient in consistently delivering a higher proportion of respirable particles than the other devices,” said Sanjeev Panchal, country president and MD, AstraZeneca India. “As much as we are excited to bring innovative medicine to India fast, we are equally invested in improving access strategically in the country,” Panchal added. Mankind Pharma is the fourth largest company in the domestic branded formulation segment, with an expansive distribution network including close to 16,000 field force and more than 13,000 stockists across India, “Symbicort’s dual mechanism of action and ease of use in a single inhaler can greatly help patients manage these conditions and improve their quality of life. Through our field forces’ extensive outreach, we hope to strengthen access across urban and rural markets,” said Atish Majumdar, senior president – sales & marketing, Mankind Pharma. India is contributing 13% to the global asthma burden and a disproportionate 43% of the global asthma deaths. Globally AstraZeneca is an established drug maker in respiratory care with focus on inhalation and biologics. Source: Economic Times

Mar 12,2024 NEW DELHI: As Covid-19 cases rise in the country, the network of laboratories set up to monitor genomic variations of the coronavirus in India will hold a meeting on Friday. “By Friday we will come to know about the overall situation and the proportion of other existing sub-variants,” said a member of Insacog on the condition of anonymity. Parts of North India have been seeing an increase in Covid-19 numbers for the last few days. Last week, Delhi recorded 63 new Covid-19 cases, the capital’s highest daily total since May of last year. The last time the daily number of Covid-19 cases in Delhi exceeded 50 was in May 2023. Sandeep Budhiraja, group medical director, Max Healthcare, said there has been an increase in both flu and Covid cases. However, the respite is that the disease is “generally mild.” “Only a few hospitalisations have been seen so far,” he told ET. States like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar have also been seeing an uptick in the number of cases. The cases saw a rise in December, the highest day count from the country was 841 on December 30. However, this time the northern part of India seems to be witnessing a rise. According to the Insacog member, JN.1 sub-variant had become the dominant Covid-19 variant in India in January and continued to be dominant, accounting for more than 60% of the coronavirus cases in the country. JN.1 surpassed XBB, which was the dominant variant for a long period in the country. The cases in UP rose to 36 during the fortnight from February 4-19 and 164 during February 19-March 5. Likewise, the number of cases detected in Bihar have also gone up tremendously. Another Insacog member said there was nothing to worry as such occasional surges are expected. “The pattern of the disease has remained the same. Suddenly it rises, and then the numbers go down. The good news is that there is nothing unusual seen in terms of severity or hospitalisation. Source: Healthworld