Maulik Pathak &Amp; Sohini Das

Stories by Maulik Pathak &Amp; Sohini Das

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Why Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal have lower Covid mortality rates than India

Rediff.com   16 May 2022

An analysis of WHO data shows that most of the countries with an older cohort of population and higher in the development index had a lower excess mortality rate than India.

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Covid cases are being detected by accident

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2022

'A patient visits for any other treatment, but a routine Covid test finds him to be positive.' 'Not only are they, but their whole family is also coming out to be positive.'

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Indian pharma cos get a shot in the arm in $12-bn Australian drug market

Rediff.com   29 Apr 2022

Indian drug firms get a shot in the arm in the $12 bn Australian drug market as the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), Australia agrees to accelerate the drug approval process in that country for Indian players who already have an approved plant and product from one of the stringent regulatory authorities like US, EU or Canada. From current sales of $340 mn, the Indian firms can see a significant upside in sales; felt Dinesh Dua, former chairman of the Pharmaceutical Exports Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), and the MD of Nectar Lifesciences. He highlighted that only 12 percent of the Australian drug market is generic, as against 80-90 per cent in the US or EU. Of this $1.5 bn generic drug market in India, Indian companies have a small share.

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Why WHO suspended supply of Covaxin through UN agencies

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources close to the development said the company had no further supply commitments to the WHO, and therefore, there was no suspension of any upcoming orders, reports Sohini Das.

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Serum, Bharat Biotech halt Covid vaccine production as demand slips

Rediff.com   4 Apr 2022

Sources indicated that there were no fresh orders from the Government of India, and their supply commitments have ended as of March 31, reports Sohini Das.

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Hospital chain plans to put expectant parents on cloud nine

Rediff.com   1 Apr 2022

No expecting mother ever needs to travel for more than 30 minutes to reach one of their hospitals, believes the Cloudnine group.

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

India's pharma cos hit by 'China-made disruptions'

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2022

With intermittent disruptions in the supply chain of raw materials from China, the Indian pharma industry has braced itself with bigger inventory. Even smaller drug makers are now carrying a month of buffer stock of key raw materials, said industry insiders. The lockdown in various Chinese provinces, including Shanghai, is likely to delay shipments by two weeks to a month, said domestic players. Shipments are critical for the Indian drug industry, which imports 70 per cent of its raw material from China.

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

India Inc braces for fallout of Russia-Ukraine crisis

Rediff.com   23 Feb 2022

Stocks of Indian companies with exposure to Europe fell on Tuesday amid concerns about the impact on their sales in case the Russia-Ukraine crisis worsens and the US and its allies impose economic sanctions on Russia. While top conglomerates, including Reliance Industries, the Tata group, and Aditya Birla Group, said they did not have any significant exposure to Russia, executives of some of the oil and gas, pharmaceutical, and tea companies said they were monitoring the situation closely as they earned substantial income from the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered troops into two breakaway regions of eastern Ukraine after announcing that Russia would recognise their independence.

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Number of Covid symptomatic kids jump, post-recovery issues a concern

Rediff.com   14 Jan 2022

While the infection has been mild in most reported cases, those below two years of age are showing signs of acute infection.

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

'We have to ensure vaccines work against new variants'

Rediff.com   11 Jan 2022

Adar Poonawalla says it took a five-minute chat with his father Cyrus before making the decision to manufacture Covishield. The bet paid off, and handsomely. Serum Institute now has the capacity to make 4 billion doses of Covishield annually.

Covaxin shelf life extended, Bharat Biotech relabels old stocks

Covaxin shelf life extended, Bharat Biotech relabels old stocks

Rediff.com   5 Jan 2022

The company had in December said that the CDSCO had approved a 12-month shelf life for Covaxin, which was nine months earlier, Sohini Das reports.

Does India have enough jabs to expand vaccination drive?

Does India have enough jabs to expand vaccination drive?

Rediff.com   3 Jan 2022

A back of the envelope calculation shows that India has roughly over 680 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines consisting primarily of Covishield doses.

Covishield accounts for 88% of Covid jabs in India

Covishield accounts for 88% of Covid jabs in India

Rediff.com   1 Jan 2022

Serum Institute has the capacity to make 250 million doses of Covishield monthly.

Covaxin safe for children: Bharat Biotech

Covaxin safe for children: Bharat Biotech

Rediff.com   31 Dec 2021

Bharat Biotech is targeting to manufacture one billion doses of its intra-nasal vaccine in 2022 which is under clinical trials now.

'Antibodies induced by Covishield and Covaxin gradually increase and decrease'

'Antibodies induced by Covishield and Covaxin gradually increase and decrease'

Rediff.com   28 Dec 2021

'Antibodies remain in the blood for at least seven to nine months.'

Are You Eligible For A Booster Shot?

Are You Eligible For A Booster Shot?

Rediff.com   27 Dec 2021

'Someone may have diabetes, but at what level the disease qualifies as a comorbid condition is something a doctor will decide upon and certify accordingly.'

Covishield booster works against Omicron

Covishield booster works against Omicron

Rediff.com   24 Dec 2021

If the vaccine is recommended for use as a booster against Omicron, it may significantly boost the demand for Covishield in India.

India's vaccine makers prepare to take on Omicron

India's vaccine makers prepare to take on Omicron

Rediff.com   8 Dec 2021

As the Omicron variant of Sars-CoV-2 takes centrestage, vaccine makers in India are of the view that scaling up the existing vaccines to make them more effective is possible.

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Health expenditure's share in GDP down

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2021

The share of total health expenditure as part of the gross domestic product (GDP) went down to 3.3 per cent in 2017-18 from 3.8 per cent in the previous two years, according to the national health account data released on Monday by the health ministry. The share of government expenditure as part of total expenditure as well as GDP has gone up from from 3.78 per cent to 5.12 per cent between 2013-14 and 2017-18, which could also explain a decline seen in out of pocket expenditure in 2017-18. Health ministry also emphasised the increase in the government health expenditure as part of the total GDP from 1.15 per cent in 2013-14 to 1.35 per cent in 2017-18.

Nearly 33% of India's medical devices capacity lying unused

Nearly 33% of India's medical devices capacity lying unused

Rediff.com   7 Dec 2021

After ramping up production to meet the steep demand spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, Indian medical device makers are now struggling with idle capacity. According to industry estimates, around a third of the installed capacity, especially for consumables, disposables, small-ticket electronic items, etc., is lying unutilised. Sample this: India used to produce just 6.24 million pieces of PPE kits per annum before the pandemic, but by June this was ramped up to 233.87 million pieces per annum.