“They often make their worst drugs — with the lowest-quality ingredients and the most manufacturing shortcuts — for the least regulated markets, including India,” writes investigative journalist Katherine Eban in her book Bottle of Lies: The Inside Story of the Generic Boom (also subtitled as Ranbaxy and the Dark Side of Indian Pharma), an exposé […]
Indian pharma
Anti-rabies vaccine shortages continue
Shortages of the anti-rabies vaccine and other essential medicines continue to plague public hospitals across the country, with states turning to one another for assistance. So far, the onus for supply has been on Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Karnataka have also requested for supplies of essential medicines including the anti-rabies vaccine from the […]
Pharma fears over Jan Aushadhi
The Centre’s flagship access to medicines scheme may be a boon for patients. However, it is also stoking fears among Indian pharma. Forecasts estimate that drugmakers could see twenty percent of their sales disrupted by the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Jan Aushadhi Pari Yojana Kendra (PMBJPK), a health ministry campaign to make medicines more affordable for […]
Jan Aushadhi Diwas: What the Prime Minister said
Jan Aushadhi Diwas celebrations heralded the Centre’s scheme to expand access to medicines – and included a high-profile speech from Prime Minister Modi, in which he extolled the benefits of the initiative. Beneficiaries of the Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP) include both the poor and middle-class, the Prime Minister claimed during a video conference […]
Generic medicines: Centre pushes for cheaper drugs
In a bid to make generic medicines more eye-catching, the Central government is planning to introduce an innovative marketing strategy to increase their brand awareness among consumers. New Union Health Ministry plans would colour-code generic medicines to distinguish them from their more costly brand-name counterparts. This is in a bid to encourage consumers to make […]
Saridon gets ban reprieve from Supreme Court
A ban on painkiller Saridon has been lifted by the Supreme Court. The headache relief medicine was one of the 343 fixed dose combination (FDC) drugs banned in a notification by the Centre last year. FDCs are pharmaceutical products which contain two or more active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). Safety concerns drove the Centre’s decision to […]
Centre plans ban on combination medications: SC repeals some
The Supreme Court has reversed plans by the Centre to ban three of the 328 combination medications it announced plans to ban last week over safety concerns. Saridon, Piriton and Dart are the three products given a reprieve by the apex court. The ban will still apply to 325 of 343 fixed dose combination (FDC) medications whose […]
Centre lifts ban on sales of life-saving drug Oxytocin
The Centre has revoked its decision to ban retail sale of Oxytocin, a life saving drug for pregnant women in India after petitioners moved court. But tight restrictions remain in place. Oxytocin is a hormone drug used in the treatment of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH), the predominant cause of maternal mortality in India. Its misuse in […]
Indian biotech, vaccines and device industries get World Bank cash
Indian innovation will benefit from a US$125 million loan from the World Bank. This follows an agreement signed by the Indian government and the World Bank’s investment arm, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). The loan will target India’s biopharmaceutical and medical devices sectors through the ‘Innovate in India for Inclusiveness’ project, also […]
Indian pharma saves high-quality APIs for the first world. Indians get cheap Chinese imports.
India’s health sector and medical industry may see negative effects in the future stemming from an over reliance on imports of medicine and raw materials from China, claims the Indian Pharmaceutical Congress Association (IPCA), the apex organisation for Indian pharmacists. However, these Chinese raw materials are used in medicines destined for domestic consumption and for […]