PHARMA In Budget 2017: The move to eradicate certain Non Communicable Diseases, the proposal to set up two new AIIMS, additional post-graduate medical seats, proposed amendments in the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules and new rules for medical devices are welcome.
Shares of pharmaceutical companies slipped on 1 Febraury after the Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley proposed in budget to amend the drugs and cosmetics rules to ensure availability of drugs at reasonable prices and promote use of generic medicines.
NPPA Fixes Prices Of 33 Essential Drugs: The government has capped prices of 11 essential drugs while those of 22 such medicines have been revised, including those used for treatment of cancer, HIV, bacterial infections and acid reflux, among others.
US President Donald Trump Statements a worry for Indian Pharma? : US President Donald Trump said on 1 Feb that other countries have been taking advantage of the US by manufacturing generic drugs outside the country due to lower production cost. He said there is a need to make medical products locally in the US. He urged the US drug firms to come back and start manufacturing drugs in America rather than aboad. To sweeten the deal, he said that the government will ease tax rates to facilitate drug manufacturing in the country.
Union Cabinet Approved strategic sale of India’s first pharmaceutical company:Union Cabinet Approved strategic sale of Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals (BCPL). The Cabinet also approved the strategic sale of Hindustan Antibiotics (HAL).
The government will also sell surplus land of Bengal Chemicals and Hindustan Antibiotics and other two pharma companies, Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited and Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals. After meeting the liabilities, steps will be taken to close Indian Drugs & Pharmaceuticals Limited and Rajasthan Drugs & Pharmaceuticals.
Aurobindo Pharma To Buy Portugal’s Generis For Around Rs. 969 Crore : The company has inked a binding agreement through its wholly-owned subsidiary Agile Pharma BV Netherlands to acquire Generis Farmaceutica for a total consideration of 135 million euros
USFDA Makes 6 Observations At Natco Pharma’s Kothur Facility:Natco Pharma said it will provide due justifications and corrective action plan
South Korean firm Mezzion Pharma has filed a suit against Dr Reddy’s Laboratories in the US: alleging that the Indian company hid “significant deficiencies” and misrepresented compliance with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cGMP practices. Dr Reddy’s Laboratories has, however, said it is yet to receive any “legal papers”.
In 2016, more than 500 kg of tablets (pharmaceutical drugs) have been seized by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) that were suspected of being sent to USA and Europe. More than 4,000 illegal websites established in the US are reportedly found to be involved in selling of potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs to its consumers.
This unregulated trade has taken a firm root in India as a supplier and had lured many peddlers into this business after tying a knot with pharmacies.
Thane police crime branch has seized 760kg of suspected contraband drugsworth Rs 19 crore: Including psychotropic alprazolam, from the Ambernath unit of a pharmaceutical company. Four men have been arrested in the case, including two employees.
Gold coins offered by company to lure doctors at annual pediatricians Conference: Pharma firms may be banned from offering incentives to doctors to push their products, but at the annual conference of pediatricians being held in Bengaluru, a flyer carrying ‘Sankranti bonanza’ is doing the rounds, offering items like digital weighing scales, gold coins and stethoscope as gifts for doctors ordering vaccines in bulk for diseases like typhoid and rota virus.
Project, Translational Quantitative Systems Toxicology: To Improve the Understanding of the Safety of Medicines (TransQST). The project will focus specifically on off-target adverse reactions with a focus on the liver, kidneys, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems.TransQST is a five-year partnership between 10 academic institutions, three small and medium-sized enterprises, and eight pharmaceutical companies.The project will be led by AbbVie and co-coordinated by the University of Liverpool. The collaboration includes several other big pharma companies including Eli Lilly, Sanofi, AstraZeneca, GlaxoSmithKline, and Janssen.
