CATEGORIES

CEPI prioritises Rift Valley fever vax

Sep 01, Norway-based Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has signed an implementing partner agreement with Integrum Scientific (US) as part of its ongoing efforts to combat Rift Valley fever (RVF)—one of its priority diseases with epidemic potential.

3D printing moulds healthcare innovations

Pharmaceuticals, bio-medicine, aviation, and automobiles industries have rapidly adopted 3D printing over the years, worldwide, to develop new solutions and prototypes. It is also helping many industries, healthcare, in particular, increase productivity. Despite all its advantages, 3D printing technology is currently posing a number of challenges in the market such as initial costs, limitation to the metals and plastics used for 3D printing, lack of policy standardisation, etc.

WHO Updates Guidelines For TB Detection

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued an update to its consolidated guidelines on the detection of tuberculosis (TB) and drug-resistant TB.

Is The 5G Health Scare Unfounded?

The introduction of the 5G network has been mired in numerous controversies. Governments across the globe, activists and telecom operators are embroiled in a bitter fight, filing lawsuits and protesting in large numbers. Although most of the available research on electromagnetic fields (EMF) reveals that there are no harmful effects from mobile radiation, some studies do reveal that it has the potential to damage the very structure of the DNA. Cancer, impaired reproductive health and numerous other disorders, including psychiatric, have been attributed to 5G. Will the implementation of the 5G network have serious health implications, or are these fears unfounded? We try to weigh-in the opposing sides.

Is Antibody Cocktail Offering The Right Mix?

Although the clinical outcomes, as well as clinical trials, have been very promising for patients treated with the antibody cocktail so far, the Delta plus variant is considered to be resistant to the monoclonal antibody (mAb) cocktail treatment.

“Our allergic rhinitis drug is technologically superior, masks bitterness and 52% cheaper”

Alok Malik, Group Vice President & Head, India Formulations, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Mumbai

Techade REDEFINING FUTURE OF life sciences industry

Digital transformation is the topmost priority for global corporations and in a highly connected world that will remain largely contactless for an extended period, there are shifts in business models, customer experience, operations, and employee experience. With technology adoption accelerating across sectors, 2021 is likely to put the spotlight on the emergence of growth verticals in the life sciences sector namely healthcare, pharma, medical devices, diagnostics etc. India is now standing at the cusp of a re-imagined decade of technology, commonly being referred to as ‘Techade’. While we anticipate a significantly better global economic growth this year as compared to 2020, we are also very much looking forward to the enhancement being brought to the Indian life sciences industry as it continues its transformation journey in this redefined techade.

Multifarious Cataract cures emerge

Being documented as India’s most significant cause of bilateral blindness that is for both eyes, cataract has become an economic and social burden that is increasing with the ageing population.

Zydus Introduces New Feature In Drug Packaging To Avoid Counterfeiting

Zydus Cadila has introduced a new feature called Zydus Verify in the packaging of its critical drugs to help patients ensure that the product is not fake or counterfeited.

Malaria, Dengue TB Play Second Fiddle To Covid - 19

Although India has worked relentlessly towards developing innovative testing solutions for COVID-19 throughout last year, the timely detection of a number of other infectious diseases has been sidelined. In India, the range and burden of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, malaria, filariasis, leprosy, HIV infection, typhoid, hepatitis etc., are enormous. In fact, inadequate containment of the vector has resulted in recurrent outbreaks of dengue fever and re-emergence of chikungunya virus disease and typhus fever. If India can develop more than 20 different diagnostic tests or devices in a single year to fight COVID-19, many more such innovations can be brought to effectively detect other infections looming in our country.

Pandemic Sets New Benchmarks For Early-Stage Healthcare Startups

The COVID-19 pandemic has been an enabler of this change as care-delivery models had to be quickly revamped to address two concerns – the diseases and the impacts of the virus on the treatment of other diseases. We aim to assess the qualitative and quantitative impact of COVID-19 and other macroeconomic events on the startup ecosystem over the last few years and try to understand the implications for the future.

Stride Ventures leads Rs 25 Cr debt round in MediBuddy

Stride Ventures, one of India’s leading venture debt funds, has led a debt round of Rs 25 crore in Bengaluru-based startup MediBuddy that helps its users consult specialist doctors, order medicines and book lab tests from the comfort of their homes.

‘‘We see growing interest of healthcare testing labs, Pharmaceutical QC and R&D labs in implementing next-gen lab automation solutions''

US-based Abbott Informatics, formerly known as STARLIMS, is one of the companies with a long and established presence in the space of lab automation. Taking pride in offering the world class technological solutions, the company has recently announced the launch of STARLIMS Quality Manufacturing Solution QM12.2 which is built on the latest STARLIMS Technology V12 platform, along with STARLIMS SDMS (Scientific Data Management System) V12.2. To find out more about the company’s automated offerings in India, BioSpectrum spoke to Pradeep Nagisetty, Regional Sales Manager - India & Sub Continent, Abbott Informatics - STARLIMS, Hyderabad.

‘Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis' remains a puzzle

LET'S TALK HEALTH & SCIENCE

India proposes BRICS Consortium to tackle NCDs as flagship programme

Experts deliberated on emerging issues in the various fields of Biotechnology and Biomedicine at the fourth BRICS Working Group meeting on the subject area.

LAB AUTOMATION - TRAVAILS IN INDIA

Whether it is the industry or academia, life sciences workers are gradually accepting the fact that lab data digitisation improves processes, simplifies workflows and makes research and development (R&D) more efficient. With increasing advances in machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI), digitisation in the research environment is set to become an integral part of every laboratory worldwide. But in emerging markets such as India, there are a large number of factors responsible for its slow adoption such as lack of skilled workforce, high maintenance and service costs, limited expertise, data security etc.

Govt pays Biological E Rs 1500 Cr for 30 Cr vaccines

Union Ministry of Health has finalised arrangements with Hyderabad-based vaccine manufacturer Biological E to reserve 30 crores of COVID-19 vaccine doses.

Biological E, Canadian firm to jointly manufacture mRNA vaccines in India

Canadian firm Providence Therapeutics Holdings Inc. and Hyderabad-based Biological E have announced the execution of a term sheet that sets forth the material terms for a definitive licensing and collaboration agreement.

BDR Pharma launches affordable drug to treat ovarian, prostate cancers

Mumbai-based BDR Pharmaceutical has launched BDPARIB (RUCAPARIB) to treat advanced ovarian and prostate cancers

Wipro Focuses On Transforming Vaccine Safety Assessment

Bengaluru -based IT firm Wipro has announced a partnership with Hyderabad-based Transcell Oncologics to transform vaccine safety assessment using augmented intelligence (AI).

Dr. Reddy's Launches Sputnik V Vaccine In India

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories announced that the first consignment of imported doses of the Sputnik V vaccine that landed in India on May 1, 2021, received regulatory clearance from the Central Drugs Laboratory, Kasauli, on May 13, 2021. As part of a limited pilot, the soft launch of the vaccine has commenced and the first dose of the vaccine was administered in Hyderabad on May 14, 2021.

Rare diseases policy outlines challenges sans solutions

There is no substantial data on the number of people suffering from rare diseases in India and the data that is available is from tertiary care hospitals. The lack of epidemiological data on rare diseases makes it a herculean task to determine the prevalence and burden of rare diseases, hence hampering the definition of rare diseases in the Indian context.

PSA launches community mental-health digital platform

The Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India Prof. K VijayRaghavan has virtually launched ‘MANAS’ App to promote wellbeing across age groups.

“India should have a vibrant clinical research community who can advise drug developers”

The Indian Society for Clinical Research (ISCR), an association of clinical research professionals, has announced the appointment of Dr Sanish Davis as its President for the term 202123.

Govt fast-tracks emergency approvals for foreign-made COVID-19 vaccines

The matter of augmenting the basket of vaccines available for fighting the pandemic as well as accelerating the pace and coverage of domestic vaccination programmes was discussed recently at the 23rd meeting of the National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19 (NEGVAC).

Premas Biotech, Oramed Announce Oral Covid-19 Vaccine Candidate

Gurugram based Premas Biotech has announced the development of an oral COVID-19 vaccine that has shown efficacy after a single dose, in conjunction with Jerusalem-based Oramed Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Is India's War On Covid-19 Losing Steam?

As the vaccination drive continues, India is faced with a shortage of vaccines considering the population of the country, which currently stands at a staggering 1,390,605,073, as per Worldometer elaboration of the latest United Nations data. The Indian government, to address this stark reality, has opened its doors to foreign vaccines and are fast-tracking their approval.

“Made in India products need an ecosystem for commercialisation of innovations”

Established in 1998, Ernakulam-based Agappe Diagnostics is one of the rapidly growing companies in the in vitro diagnostic (IVD) industry in India, having a wide range of products in the pre-analytical and analytical segment. Focused on research, design, and production of clinical chemistry reagents and instrument, Agappe has over 1000 distributors and holds a significant place in the global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) business. The company currently has a workforce of more than 600 employees spread across sectors such as R&D, manufacturing, sales, support and operations. In conversation with BioSpectrum, Thomas John, Managing Director, Agappe Diagnostics, Ernakulam shares his strategies and plans for the company’s growth in the long run.

Vocalising pain is a must

Women have unique health issues. In fact, some of the health issues that affect both men and women can affect women very differently.

“India should focus on innovating drugs and molecules to emerge as a global leader”

The Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India (OPPI) has elected S Sridhar as its next President for a period of two years, effective from February 15, 2021. He takes over from Sharad Tyagi, Former Managing Director, Boehringer Ingelheim India Pvt Ltd. Sridhar is currently serving as the Managing Director of Pfizer Limited and is heading Pfizer Inc’s commercial business in India. Sridhar has been a member of the Executive Committee of OPPI for the past six years and has also chaired its Finance and Taxation Work Group. He is a strong voice of healthcare transformation in the country and was the chair of FICCI’s Pharma Committee till recently. In conversation with BioSpectrum, S Sridhar talks about making a difference to patients, the industry and the country via this new role.