Drugs

One killed as US strikes another alleged drug-smuggling boat in Pacific

The US military said Monday that it had conducted another strike against a boat it said was smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean, killing one person. In a social media post, US Southern Command said, Intelligence confirmed the low-profile vessel was transiting along known narco-trafficking routes in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations. Southern Command provided no evidence that the vessel was engaged in drug smuggling. A video posted by US Southern Command shows splashes of water near one side of the boat. After a second salvo, the rear of the boat catches fire. More splashes engulf the craft and the fire grows. In the final second of the video, the vessel can be seen adrift with a large patch of fire alongside it. Earlier videos of US boat strikes showed vessels suddenly exploding, suggesting missile strikes. Some strike videos even had visible rocket-like projectiles coming down on the boats. The Trump administration has said the strikes we

Yudh Nashian Virudh: Punjab Police raids 494 drug hotspots in statewide ops

The Punjab government has also constituted a 5-member Cabinet Sub-Committee, led by Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, to monitor the war on drugs

Respiratory drug sales surge in November as air quality continues to worsen

Rising pollution levels in November have led to a sharp jump in respiratory medicine sales, with asthma and allergy treatments seeing strong demand

Doctor who sold ketamine to actor Matthew Perry gets 2.5 years in prison

A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the "Friends" star's overdose death has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence plus two years of probation to 44-year-old Dr. Salvador Plasencia in a federal courtroom in Los Angeles on Wednesday. Plasencia was the first to be sentenced of the five defendants who have pleaded guilty in connection with Perry's death at age 54 in 2023. Plasencia admitted to illegally selling large amounts of ketamine to Perry, though he did not supply the dose that authorities say killed the actor. The doctor admitted to taking advantage of Perry, knowing he was a struggling addict. Plasencia texted another doctor that Perry was a "moron" who could be exploited for money, according to court filings.

Doctor to be sentenced for selling Matthew Perry ketamine before his death

A doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the Friends star's overdose death is set to be the first of five people sentenced in the case on Wednesday. Perry's family and possibly others affected by his death will have a chance to make a statement in federal court in Los Angeles before the sentencing of Dr Salvador Plasencia. Prosecutors are asking US District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett to sentence Plasencia, 44, to three years in prison after a plea agreement where the doctor admitted to illegally selling Perry large amounts of ketamine. He was not accused of selling the actor the dose that investigators say killed him on October 28, 2023. Perry had been taking the surgical anesthetic ketamine legally as a treatment for depression. But when his regular doctor wouldn't provide it in the amounts he wanted, he turned to Plasencia, who admitted to illegally selling to Perry despite knowing he was a struggling addict. He texted another doctor

Gujarat 'sinking' amid rising drugs, illegal liquor menace: Rahul Gandhi

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday flagged the issues of "rising menace of drugs and illegal liquor" and the plight of farmers in Gujarat, and claimed that the state is "sinking" despite a double-engine government being in place. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said that during the Congress party's ongoing 'Jan Aakrosh Yatra' in Gujarat, people, especially women, have repeatedly stated that the "rising menace of drugs, illegal liquor, and crime" has deepened the sense of insecurity in their lives. "Gujarat is the land of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel, where traditions of truth, morality, and justice have prevailed, but over the past few years, the future of the state's youth is being pushed toward the dark world of drugs and crime," Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi. Women are taking to the streets in large numbers because criminals are receiving protection from those in power, while they themselves are met only with neglect, he claimed. "Gujarat is asking why i

Datanomics: Injecting drug users remain at highest HIV risk in India

India marks World AIDS Day with HIV prevalence at 0.2%, highest among injecting drug users, even as Mizoram continues to report rates far above the national average

Comprehensive strategy a must to tackle drug abuse, says PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said tackling drug abuse requires a "whole-of-government" approach that integrates enforcement, rehabilitation, and community-level intervention. He also stressed the urgent need to transform public perception of police, particularly among the youth, by enhancing professionalism and sensitivity, and strengthening urban and tourist policing. Addressing the 60th All India Conference of Director Generals/Inspector Generals of Police at the Indian Institute of Management Raipur on the concluding day, the prime minister called for regular monitoring of banned organisations, holistic development of areas freed from Left Wing Extremism, and the adoption of innovative models to strengthen coastal security. He called for strengthening urban policing, revitalising tourist police units, and increasing public awareness about the newly-enacted Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, and Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, which replaced the ...

Rising demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs reshaping diagnostics market

As GLP-1-based weight-loss and diabetes therapies gain popularity, India's diagnostics market is seeing a sharp rise in metabolic testing

Case filed against 28 drug dealers in Varanasi for smuggling spurious syrup

A case has been registered against 28 drug dealers, including a father-son duo, in Varanasi for allegedly smuggling codeine-laced cough syrup for intoxication, police said on Monday. They said that an investigation by the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department revealed that Shubham Jaiswal, a resident of Prahlad Ghat, Varanasi, and his father, Bholanath Prasad, supplied large quantities of the banned adulterated syrup to 26 Varanasi-based businessmen from their Ranchi-based firm, Shaili Traders. Subsequently, a case was registered on Saturday based on a complaint lodged by Drug Inspector Junab Ali in Varanasi, police said. In the complaint, the drug inspector mentioned that, following the discovery that Shaili Traders had been selling large quantities of codeine-laced cough syrup in various districts of Uttar Pradesh, including Varanasi, the 26 Varanasi-based firms were inspected, and several were found to be closed. Calls to the numbers available on the firms' portals were

Japan battles rise of 'zombie cigarettes' as etomidate drug crisis deepens

Japan is confronting a fast-evolving drug crisis as etomidate-laced 'zombie cigarettes' spread among young users, triggering arrests and trafficking probes

US military's 20th strike on alleged drug-running boat kills 4 in Caribbean

The U.S. military's 20th strike on a boat accused of transporting drugs has killed four people in the Caribbean Sea, a Pentagon official said Friday, coming as the Trump administration escalates its campaign in South American waters. The latest strike happened Monday, according to the official, who wasn't authorized to discuss the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. It brings the death toll from the strikes that began in September to 80, with the Mexican Navy suspending its search for a survivor of a strike in late October after four days. The attack, which occurred the same day that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced two strikes had been carried out on Sunday, comes as the Trump administration expands the U.S. military's already large presence in the region by bringing in the USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier. The nation's most advanced warship is expected to arrive in the coming days after traveling from the Mediterranean Sea. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on ...

Servier India launches subsidised biomarker tests for rare cancers

Servier India has tied up with MedGenome and Reliance-backed Strand Life Sciences to offer low-cost IDH1 and IDH2 biomarker testing for rare cancers like AML and CCA across India

Eli Lilly's Mounjaro tops India pharma charts with ₹100 crore sales in Oct

Mounjaro is part of a new generation of weight-loss and diabetes drugs that target metabolic hormones. Introduced in March, it was launched ahead of rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy

Trump admin's 17th strike on alleged drug boat kills 3 in Caribbean water

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced another deadly US strike on a boat he said was trafficking narcotics in the Caribbean Sea. The attack Thursday killed three people aboard the vessel, Hegseth said, bringing the death toll from the Trump administration's campaign in South American waters up to at least 69 people in at least 17 strikes. Hegseth posted a 20-second video of the strike on social media and wrote, As we've said before, vessel strikes on narco-terrorists will continue until their ... poisoning of the American people stops. He claimed the vessel was operated by a Designated Terrorist Organisation. President Donald Trump has justified the strikes by saying the United States is in armed conflict with drug cartels and claiming the boats are operated by foreign terror organisations. The administration has not provided evidence or more details. Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed a small group of congressional leaders Wednesday on the growing ..

Centre brings draft rules to debar drugmakers who provide fake information

The health ministry proposes new provisions under the Drugs Rules, 1945, allowing regulators to bar applicants who submit fake or misleading data for approvals

India advances anti-dumping probe into TB drug imports from China, Thailand

The DGTR, in a statement on Monday, named Lupin as the domestic industry participant and Chinese producer Wuhan Wuyao Pharmaceuticals Co. Ltd among the foreign respondents

Glenmark Pharma to launch Ropivacaine Hydrochloride Injection USP in US

The product is approved as bioequivalent and therapeutically equivalent to the reference listed drug, Naropin Injection, marketed by Fresenius Kabi USA LLC

Biocon gets Health Canada nod for biosimilars Yesintek, Yesintek IV

Biocon Ltd on Thursday said its arm Biocon Biologics Ltd has received an approval from Health Canada for chronic autoimmune conditions treatment medications Yesintek and Yesintek IV. The notice of compliance (NOC) granted by Health Canada is for Yesintek (ustekinumab injection) and Yesintek IV (ustekinumab for injection, solution for intravenous infusion), Biocon Ltd said in a regulatory filing. Yesintek and Yesintek IV are biosimilars to Stelara (ustekinumab injection) and Stelara IV (ustekinumab for injection, solution for intravenous infusion), respectively. The approval was granted on October 17, paving the way for Canadian commercial availability in mid-October, the company said. "Health Canada's approval of Yesintek marks a significant milestone in our mission to expand global access to high-quality biosimilars," Biocon Biologics CEO & Managing Director Shreehas Tambe said. He further said, "Building on our successful US launch, this approval strengthens our presence in ...

Govt to bring law for strict quality checks, monitoring of drugs, cosmetics

Amid growing demand for stricter compliance with safety and quality control norms for medical products, the Centre is framing a law to strengthen the legal framework for drug quality testing and market surveillance, along with regulation of medical devices and cosmetics. One of the major reasons behind the drafting of the law is the repeated complaints and concerns flagged by health regulators across the globe, including the WHO, over serious quality lapses by Indian drug manufacturers. The draft of the 'Drugs, Medical Devices and Cosmetics Act 2025', which the government aims to introduce in the upcoming Winter session of Parliament, was presented by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Dr Rajeev Raghuvanshi at a high-level meeting of the Union health ministry held on Tuesday, the sources said. The meeting was chaired by Union Health Minister J P Nadda. During the meeting, senior officials from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) and the Central Drugs Standard Control