Page 7 - Medicines

Cough syrup case: Govt recommends cancellation of Marion Biotech's licence

The company Marion Biotech had supplied the cough syrups that reportedly caused the deaths of Children in Uzbekistan

Licenses of 6 cough syrup makers suspended for rule violations, Maha govt

The Maharashtra government told the state Legislative Assembly on Friday that the licenses of six manufacturers of cough syrups in the state have been suspended for not following the rules. Food and Drugs Administration Minister Sanjay Rathod made the statement while replying to a calling attention notice by Ashish Shelar (BJP) and others. Recently, a cough syrup made by a Noida-based firm was alleged to have caused the death of 18 children in Uzbekistan. Noida police on Friday said they had arrested three employees of the firm. Rathod said that the Maharashtra government had initiated inquiry against 84 out of 108 manufacturers of cough syrups in the state. Four of them were directed to stop production while the licences of six companies were suspended, he said. As many as 17 firms were served show-cause notices for violation of rules, the minister added. Shelar referred to the deaths of 66 children in Gambia allegedly because of cough syrups imported from India. But the ...

Irrational and prolonged use of medicines may damage kidneys: Experts

Inadequate knowledge and prolonged and irrational use of medicines can be fatal for the health of kidneys, experts said on Friday. As the number of people with kidney ailments rise steadily, experts said if timely attention is not given to the matter, it might assume an epidemic proportion. Experts from various states participated virtually at the 'Kidney Manthan 2.0' organised by AIMIL Pharmaceuticals. Dr Prabhu S, an internal medicine specialist from Bengaluru, spoke about drug induced renal disorders and their management. At the webinar, he said people usually keep on consuming medicines over an extended period of time without consulting doctors and without realising the threat it poses to them. Dr Sathya N Dornala, senior doctor from Swami Vivekananda Ayurvedic Hospital, New Delhi, dwelled in detail about several medicines that should not be taken over-the-counter (OTC) and added that patients should be careful while taking drugs as these can damage the kidneys. At the same

WHO-GCTM to help strengthen traditional medicine practices: Sonowal

The Global Center for Traditional Medicine of World Health Organisation (WHO-GCTM) will help member countries take measures in their respective countries to strengthen education and practices of traditional medicine, Union Minister Sarbnanda Sonowal said. Sonowal, the union minister of Ayush, inaugurating the first B2B Global Conference and Expo on Traditional Medicine under Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) here, said India has made the best use of available natural resources through Ayurveda and other traditional systems of medicine to provide healthcare to its people. India is focused on making best use of traditional medicine to achieve the goal of universal health coverage, he said. It is with this goal that the country has supported the establishment of the Global Center for Traditional Medicine of World Health Organisation (WHO-GCTM) at Jamnagar in Gujarat, Sonowal said. ''It will help member countries in taking measures in their respective countries to strengthen ...

Must ensure medical products produced here are of top quality: Mandaviya

"Within the federal democratic structure of the country, both the Centre and states are required to work together in harmony and synergy to ensure that we establish robust regulatory systems," he said

No link between use of ranitidine and cancer risk: Nature study

Ranitidine has been in existence for over four decades and has been on the WHO list of essential medicines for several years

Punjab govt to ask Centre to regulate prices of non-scheduled medicines

The Punjab government will soon write a letter to the Centre to bring the prices of non-scheduled medicines under control, according to a decision taken at a meeting convened by Vidhan Sabha Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan on Tuesday. The move is aimed at stopping the fleecing of the public due to the exorbitant rates of medicines, an official statement said. Sandhwan said that drug price fixing is the central government subject and "licensed loot of patients has been legalized in the current system". "Finding an immediate solution to this very sensitive issue of the people's lives is the need of the hour. The Union government should immediately look into this matter and amend the law so that patients' loot could be stopped at once," he said, as per the statement. During the meeting, MLAs, health experts, doctors and representatives of various NGOs spoke about the actual rate and maximum retail prices of the medicines, showing the difference in prices of up to 90 per cent along with

Zydus Lifesciences gets US health regulator nod for generic products

Zydus Lifesciences on Monday said it has received approval from the US health regulator to market generic medicines in the American market. The company has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to market Gabapentin tablets which are indicated for the management of postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). As per IQVIA MAT data, the medication had annual sales of USD 90 million in the US. The company said it also has received approval from the US health regulator for diabetes drug Canagliflozin and Metformin Hydrochloride tablets. As per IQVIA MAT data, Canagliflozin and Metformin Hydrochloride tablets had annual sales of USD 49.4 million in the US. Shares of the company on Monday ended 1.36 per cent down at Rs 464.15 apiece on the BSE.

Startup launches drone-delivery of medicines in Kolkata to beat traffic

Eight more places in West Bengal have been earmarked for the launch of drone delivery of medicines in the coming days

India's drug regulator serves show-cause notice to online pharmacies

Gives firms two days to respond to allegations that they flouted rules

Sun Pharma gets US health regulator nod to market generic medication

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries on Friday said its subsidiary has received approval from the US health regulator to market a generic medication used in the treatment of multiple myeloma. The company has received final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for the generic lenalidomide capsules in multiple strengths, Sun Pharma said in a statement. In June 2021, Sun Pharma entered into a settlement with Celgene Corporation (Celgene) to resolve the patent litigation regarding its generic lenalidomide capsules. Under the terms of this settlement, Celgene granted Sun Pharma a license to patents required to manufacture and sell certain limited quantities of generic lenalidomide capsules in the US, beginning sometime after March 2022. In addition, the license allows Sun Pharma to manufacture and sell an unlimited quantity of generic lenalidomide capsules in the US beginning January 31, 2026. Shares of Sun Pharma were trading 0.48 per cent down at Rs 1,002 apiece on the

WHO calls for action to protect children from contaminated medicines

In the wake of fatalities among children linked to cough syrups and medicines made by manufacturers based in India and Indonesia, the WHO has issued an "urgent call to action to countries to detect and respond to incidents of falsified medical products and protect children from contaminated medicines. The World Health Organisation (WHO) said that over the past four months, countries reported several incidents of over-the-counter cough syrups for children with confirmed or suspected contamination with high levels of diethylene glycol (DEG) and ethylene glycol (EG). The cases are from at least seven countries, associated with more than 300 fatalities in three of these countries, with most young children under the age of five. The WHO said the contaminants are toxic chemicals used as industrial solvents and antifreeze agents that can be fatal even in small amounts, and should never be found in medicines. WHO is releasing an urgent call to action to countries to prevent, detect and ...

Drug pricing regulator NPPA revises ceiling prices of 128 medicines

As per the notification, the ceiling price of one Amoxicillin capsule has been fixed at Rs 2.18; one tablet of Cetirizine at Rs 1.68

India to require Covid test for arrivals from China, 4 other Asian nations

Health Minister Mandaviya asks pharma firms to ensure adequate stock of Covid-19 drugs

Maha govt to set up corporation to procure medicines for govt hospitals

As the delay in procurement of medicines and medical equipment by the state-owned Haffkine Biopharmaceutical Corporation is creating shortages at government hospitals, the state government is planning to set up a new corporation for procurement, it told the Legislative Council here on Tuesday. Medical Education Minister Girish Mahajan gave the information while replying to a calling attention motion by the BJP's Pravin Datke. The Haffkine Corporation did not utilise Rs 650 crore out of the budgetary allocation Rs 1,500 crore this year. As a result, many government hospitals are running out of medicines and equipment, the minister said. To tide over the situation, the government has authorised hospitals to spend 30 per cent of their budget on the purchase of medicines and equipment against the usual 10 per cent allocation, Mahajan added. He also underlined the problems of human resource crunch at Haffkine and said its chairman was transferred 11 times in the past three years. A tot

China claims 'adequate' medical supplies for Covid amid reports of shortage

Amid a rise in Covid-19 cases, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that they have "expanded production capacity" of medical supplies amid reports of a shortage of fever and cold drugs

Gambia panel seeks Indian manufacturer's prosecution for cough syrup deaths

A parliamentary committee in The Gambia has recommended prosecution of an Indian manufacturer of cough syrups suspected of causing the deaths of at least 70 children in the West African country

Pakistan faces shortage of life-saving medicines including insulin: Report

Pakistan is facing a shortage of insulin for diabetes patients and the medical market in Karachi is getting worse, reported Pak vernacular media Daily Express

Maiden Pharma seeks to reopen Sonipat plant after DCGI clearance

Health ministry sources say no immediate plan to allow plant to re-open, it was closed for non-compliance with GMP, not for contamination issues

Odisha govt asks officials to intensify raids against spurious medicines

The Odisha government has asked the officials to intensify raids on stores selling spurious medicines in the state