COLUMN: Free COVID vaccine is no charity for the poor
Modi Govt’s decision not to offer free COVID vaccines increases chances of repeated global pandemics in the future
Category: HEALTHCARE
Dr Reddy’s gets nod to start supplying Sputnik V
Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd said it received permission from India’s drug regulator to import and supply the Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine in India. Like the other two vaccines approved in India, the nod for Sputnik V is also an ’emergency use authorization’, meaning that it cannot be sold to anyone and everyone, but […]
Only 2.4% of railway’s COVID coaches were used
Indian Railways converted 5,601 railway coaches into emergency COVID-19 isolation wards to deal with an expected surge in critical COVID-19 cases, but only 135 of these were ever put to use, data from the ministry of railways reveals. Indian Railways spent a total of 38.30 cr — or about 68,380 per coach — to equip […]
Gufic Lifesciences gets nod for injectables unit merger
Gufic Lifesciences Ltd, one of the oldest pharma companies in India, today said it has won the last pending regulatory approval for the amalgamation of its injectables unit with itself. It said it won approval from National Company Law Tribunal Mumbai for the merger last week. Since the transaction has a date of Jan 1, […]
Glenmark cuts kidney cancer drug cost by 96%
India-based pharmaceuticals maker Glenmark Pharma has launched a generic version of a popular kidney cancer drug priced 96% lower than the branded version in India. Pfizer is the innovator of Sunitinib. Glenmark said its drug is launched at a price that is approximately 96% lower than the MRP of the innovator brand. Glenmark’s prices are […]
Alembic JV’s new drug is first US FDA-approved NCE designed by Indians
Alembic Pharmaceuticals said a new chemical developed by one of its joint ventures has become the first new chemical entity designed by Indian scientists to win approval from the US Food & Drug Administration. Umbralisib, created by its 50% JV Rhizen Pharma, is an anti-cancer drug that works by inhibiting phosphoinositide 3 kinase (PI3K) delta […]
Metropolis Healthcare buys Hitech Diagnostic for Rs 511 cr
Mumbai-based diagnostic services provider Metropolis Healthcare today announced that it has agreed to buy Chennai-based Hitech Diagnostic Center for a cash consideration of Rs 511 cr. Hitech promoters will invest in Metropolis as part of the deal. Metropolis did not specify the price at which it would allot the 4.95 lakh shares that it will […]
Glenmark launches diabetes drug in India at 65% lower price
Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd said it has launched a new diabetes drug in India at a price that is around 65% cheaper than those of competing offerings. The new drug is a combination of a Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter Inhibitor (SGLT2i) and a Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 inhibitor. “Glenmark’s Remo V and Remozen V are priced at Rs. […]
Biocon, Lupin launch new drugs in USA
Bicon Ltd and Lupin Ltd, two India-based pharmaceutical manufacturers, launched two drugs in the US, separately. Bangalore-based Biocon launched an immunosuppressant, while Lupin launched a pain relief drug. Biocon’s drug is called Tacrolimus, and it is a calcineurin inhibitor. The company said the drug is used in organ transplant patients to reduce the body’s ability […]
Indoco Remedies wins big order from Germany for uric acid tablets
Pharmaceuticals manufacturer Indoco Remedies has won a major contract to supply Allopurinol, used to bring down uric acid in the blood, from Germany. The two-year contract will generate around Rs 70 cr per year for the company. “This is Indoco’s first own label product in Europe,” said Managing Director Aditi Kare Panandikar. “Germany is totally […]
Zydus’ cytokine inhibitor moves into clinical trial
Pharmaceutical manufacturer Zydus Cadila said it received permission to initiate clinical trials for ZYIL1, an oral small molecule NLRP3 inhibitor, as an anti-inflammatory agent. The molecule is being explored for treating a variety of inflammation-related conditions, including Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), auto-immune diseases, inflammatory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, gastro-intestinal diseases (inflammatory bowel disease), […]
Laurus Labs buys Bangalore-based biotech firm Richcore for Rs 247 cr
Indian drugmaker Laurus Labs said it signed a definitive agreement to acquire a majority stake in a Bangalore-based, fast-growing biotech company, Richcore Lifesciences, for Rs 246.67 cr. Richcore has advanced R&D and manufacturing facilities to develop and manufacture biotech products critical for manufacturing biological drugs. Richcore also helps its global customers to develop and scale-up […]
Tech Mahindra invests $3 mn in fast-growing US tele-medicine startup
Tech Mahindra, one of India’s to six IT service providers, said it has invested $3 million, around Rs 23 cr, in a fast-growing tele-medicine start-up based in Plano, Texas. The Indian company, which gets a 6% stake in exchange for the investment, has an option of raising its stake to 14% by January 2021 by […]
Vaishali Pharma enters US market
Mumbai-based pharmaceuticals manufacturer Vaishali Pharma said it has entered the US market by launching its orthopaedic belts and similar products. The company is among the smaller sized pharmaceutical manufacturers in India, with annual sales in the range of around Rs 40 cr. Established in 1989, it manufactures and supplies bulk drugs, pharmaceutical ingredients, formulations, surgical […]
Dr Lal PathLabs says only 0.5% of records leaked
Dr Lal PathLabs, one of India’s top diagnostic chains, today clarified that the leak of patient data reported in the media involved only 1 in 200 patient records held by the company and did not involve any “material information loss”. “There was a misconfiguration in one of our minor web application where temporary records were […]
Thyrocare Q2 revenue up 37% on COVID-19 testing
Thyrocare, one of India’s leading diagnostic services providers, said its revenue has jumped substantially in the July-September quarter owing to strong demand for COVID-19 testing. A day after competitor Metropolis Healthcare reported a 25% year-on-year jump for the three months, Thyrocare reported a growth of 37% in its revenue. Sequentially, Metropolis’ September quarter revenue nearly […]
Metropolis Healthcare revenue gets a COVID-19 boost
Metropolis Healthcare, one of India’s biggest diagnostic services providers, said it has seen a sharp up-tick in its revenue this year, benefiting from increased demand for COVID-19 testing. As of September 2020, said the company, its total revenue is 40% higher than the same month of 2019. Within this, the non-COVID services/revenue has achieved ‘normalcy’ […]
COVID-19 testing charge capped at Rs 1,600 in UP
The Uttar Pradesh government has capped the maximum price chargeable by private laboratories for testing for COVID-19 at Rs 1,600 with effect from tomorrow, Sep 11. Earlier, the maximum rate was Rs 2,500. The 900-rupee reduction has been made keeping in mind the higher availability of testing COVID-19 testing kits in the country and with […]
COVID-19 herd immunity not an option for India – Center
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare today ruled out achieving herd immunity — developed as a result of a large portion of the population getting infected — as a workable strategy for India in its fight against COVID-19. Rajesh Bhushan, officer on special duty at the ministry, said the government cannot have a strategy based […]
Lupin gets USFDA nod for diabetes drug
Pharma major Lupin Limited (Lupin) said it has received tentative approval from US FDA for Empagliflozin and Linagliptin tablets used to control blood sugar levels. The approval is for selling combinations of 10 mg+5 mg and 25 mg+5 mg of the drugs. In these dosages, the tablets have annual sales of around 242 million in […]