The government of India seems to have realized a key fact in the fight against COVID-19: Allowing the virus to circulate freely — even if it doesn’t lead to deaths — is poor strategy when it comes to controlling the pandemic. Addressing a meeting of chief ministers today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the need […]
Modi Govt’s decision not to offer free COVID vaccines increases chances of repeated global pandemics in the future
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 […]
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’ […]
After showing signs of slowing down for three days, the number of new Coronavirus cases in India has shown a sharp jump on Wednesday, even as 30% of those tested in Delhi returned positive on that day. Delhi reported an all time record of 2,414 new cases on Wednesday, with experts pointing out that the […]
Kerala reported 62 new Coronavirus cases on Saturday, marking a record for daily additions since it started reporting COVID-19 from January. Out of the 62 new cases, 6 are cases of local transmission, 7 are local health workers, 31 are among people who returned from other states and the remaining are among people who came […]
With an addition of 127 cases so far today, the western Indian state of Gujarat has dislodged the national capital Delhi as the state with the second highest number of Coronavirus 2019 cases in India. The state, which also crossed the 2,000 patient milestone today, also has the highest death rate — along with Madhya […]
Malayalam Superstar Mohanlal expressed frustration at the high number of people who are refusing to heed government’s instructions on combating Coronavirus, and compared community clapping to magic that can destroy bacteria and viruses. “It won’t do to just say that we are not used to [such restrictions],” Mohanlal said in an interview with Malayalam channel […]
A UK national who had ‘escaped’ quarantine in Kerala after being suspected for COVID-19 infection was today identified on a flight from Kochi to Dubai, resulting in an indefinite delay in the flight. The passenger, who was staying at the ‘Tea County’ resort in the hill station of Munnar, was tested for Coronavirus COVID-19 on […]
Alembic Pharmaceuticals said it has received US FDA nod to sell three generic drugs and formulations in the US with a combined annual market size of over $600 million in the country. All three are based on the core ingredient Deferasirox, which is used to treat chronic drug overload due to blood transfusions in patients […]
Directors of diagnostic chain Thyrocare today said no to founder and chairman Arokiaswamy Velumani’s offer to buy out its latest venture aimed at democratising access to cancer diagnostic services. At present, cancer screening and diagnostic services are extremely expensive, and Velumani — the son of a landless farmer — has been working for some time […]
Union Health Ministry today announced that 18 out of 141 bats that were tested for Nipah Virus following last months’ outbreak in Kerala tested positive for the presence of Nipah virus as well as for relevant antibodies. About ten days ago, the ministry had said that the National Institute of Virology at Pune had found […]
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries today announced that it had licensed two of its products — for psoriasis and for dry eye — to China Medical System Holdings Ltd or CMS. CMS will pay Sun Pharma an initial upfront payment, regulatory and sales milestone payments, and royalties on net sales, the Indian pharma company said. The financial […]
Shares of Take Solutions, a provider of contract solutions to the healthcare sector, were up 6% after the company reported a sharp increase in revenue due to rupee depreciation and profits jumped due to a tax write-back and a jump in non-operating income. Sales at the company jumped 10.3% on quarter to Rs 516 cr […]
A total of 1,104 people have died during clinical trials of various drugs and procedures in India in the last three years, according to the ministry of health and family welfare. However, not everyone who died during clinical trials are found to have died from the procedure through subsequent examinations. Only the patients who are […]
The central government has denied that it has promised to set up an AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Kerala, the country’s most lucrative medical market. Asked whether the Government in 2015 had promised to set up an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in the State of Kerala, union minister for […]
Drug maker Cipla said it received final approval for selling a generic testosterone injection in the US. Cipla’s Testosterone Cypionate Injection 100mg /ml and 200mg /ml is an AO-rated generic equivalent version of Pharmacia and Upjohn’s Depo-Testosterone. Depo-Testosterone and its generic equivalents h ad US sales of approximately $191 M, according to IQVIA. The drug […]
Fortis Healthcare said it has cancelled its plan to demerge and list its diagnostics arm, SRL Ltd, and will withdraw the concerned application before the authorities. “The Scheme is currently pending for approval with the National Company Law Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench. Further, the entire process was expected to take 6-8 months, however, due to reasons […]
Indian pharmaceutical giant Cipla Ltd said it would sell Eli Lilly and Co’s insulin glargine in India. Insulin glargine is a long-acting basal insulin analogue, given once daily to help control the blood sugar level of those with diabetes. Unlike regular insulin shots — which have to be taken multiple times a day — basal insulin releases […]
Hospital chain Fortis Healthcare said it has set up a special committee to evaluate the bids submitted by various parties to invest money into the company. It said the company has received binding offers from the Manipal – TPG consortium and the Munjal & Burman family offices, while non-binding expressions of interest has been received […]
