The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
The Bombay high court on Thursday directed the Maharashtra government to investigate how celebrities and politicians procured anti-COVID-19 drugs and injections to help those in need when the same were available only in scarce quantities across the country.
Serum Institute already has two deals of 100 million each to supply the Oxford-AstraZeneca and the Novavax vaccine to Gavi-Covax at $3 per dose.
A special court here on Saturday granted bail to alleged drug peddler Aachit Kumar and eight others who were arrested by the NCB following a raid on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast and seizure of drugs.
Speaking at a virtual conference organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, Suchitra Ella, joint Managing Director of the city-based vaccine maker, said the company's facilities in four cities -- Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Pune and Ankaleshwar -- are currently producing Covaxin.
In an address at a security conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in the Kazakh capital, he also underlined the need for holding accountable the sponsors, financiers and facilitators of terrorism, in remarks that came amid Pakistan's continuing support to various terror groups.
Maximum cases of advertisement norms violations were reported from the healthcare sector during 2023-24, followed by illegal offshore betting and personal care categories, according to the Advertising Standards Council of India's (Asci's) Annual Complaints Report released on Wednesday. The healthcare sector accounted for a maximum 19 per cent or 1,569 of 8,229 advertisements scrutinised by Asci during the year. Illegal offshore betting accounted for 17 per cent, while the share of personal care advertisements was 13 per cent.
Large pharmaceutical firms feel that if the quality parameters and assurance levels are brought up to the level of branded generics, then Jan Aushadhi medicines would find it difficult to retain their affordability.
The API of Paracetamol, a fever and pain medication, has grown 25 per cent from Rs 450-480 per kg in December 2020 to Rs 580-600 per kg in April. When compared to the pre-Covid prices of December 2019, the surge is much steeper -- around 140 per cent, reports Sohini Das.
Fabiflu sales have grown by 62 per cent in July. It was launched in June. This drug is being used by doctors for mild-to-moderate Covid patients even if they are in home isolation.
The drug comes in powder form in a sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water. It accumulates in the virus-infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.
In September, Bharat Biotech aimed to supply 35 million doses, and take this up to 55 million by October. This is still less than what the Indian government expects from the company.
The NCB, which got the remand of Aryan Khan and the other eight accused from the court till Thursday, also claimed that in the WhatsApp chats he is discussing modes of payment to be done for procurement (of drugs) and that several code names are being used.
The NCB, through a special public prosecutor, had argued that there were "compelling reasons" to seek the extension.
A tiny dead snake was allegedly found in a packet distributed under the mid-day meal scheme meant for children aged between six months and three years at an anganwadi or a government-run nursery school in western Maharashtra's Sangli district, prompting the authorities to launch a probe.
The country had the third-largest number of people living with disease.
The company had stopped production of generic version of cholesterol lowering drug Lipitor last year as it investigated the issue of potential glass particles in certain lots of the drug.
Indian pharmaceutical companies are heavily dependent on China to source fermentation-based active pharmaceutical ingredients and intermediates to manufacture these medicines, but the coronavirus outbreak there has disrupted the supply.
When AI is used to enhance operational efficiency, businesses can deliver the same product or service but with improved quality, faster, or even at a reduced cost
The 900-page chargesheet, submitted on Thursday in a sessions court, has excluded the 17-year-old boy, whose case is being handled separately by the Juvenile Justice Board.
The case caused a national uproar after the Juvenile Justice Board member L N Danwade gave bail to the accused on very lenient terms, including writing a 300-word essay on road safety.
The further distribution of vaccine to the districts will be done as per the registered beneficiaries, for which a separate communication will be done shortly, the letter stated.
The teenage boy's father, a real estate developer, and employees of Black Club pub Nitesh Shevani and Jayesh Gavkar, were produced before additional sessions judge S P Ponkshe.
Kerala has had 202 fatalities in 2024 so far. In July alone, there were 202,122 episodes of fever, 2,250 cases of dengue, 1,850 cases of mumps and several other illnesses. 10,000 cases of dengue have been reported from Karnataka. 1,000 swine flu cases have been documented in Rajasthan.
In a recent letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, SII said its employees have been working round the clock in spite of various challenges because of the pandemic.
The current crisis has forced the government to announce measures to ensure that India becomes self-sustaining for any kind of bulk drug. The government says India will not depend on any other country for vital key ingredients for drugs within six years, reports Sheela Bhatt.
The company has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to market Itolizumab injection 25mg/5mL solution for emergency use in India for the treatment of cytokine release syndrome in moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) due to COVID-19.
Drug firm MSD has decided to enter into voluntary licensing agreements for investigational oral antiviral drug candidate 'Mmolnupiravir', which is being studied for the treatment of Covid-19, with Indian drug firms Sun Pharma, Cipla, Dr Reddy's, Emcure Pharma and Hetero Labs, its Indian arm said on Tuesday.
'An entire operation was running systematically prior to the revoking of Article 370.'
What has really alarmed the police, and also the families of young drug abusers, is the entry of "chitta" -- a highly refined white powdery semi-synthetic substance (mainly heroine) -- into the drug scene and has spread like wildfire among the state's youth. Ashwani Sharma reports.
The GST Council on Friday left taxes on COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies unchanged after the BJP- and Opposition-ruled states sparred over whether tax cut benefits will reach the common man. Congress and other Opposition ruled states have been demanding a reduction in taxes but the central government felt the move may not result in tangible gains for people. "It is one thing to rush to say - do this, it will benefit the common man. But when the technical, fitment and law committees go into the details, you realise that that could have collateral impact on many others," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said. "I am not talking about the revenue generation aspect, but how many other items will get included in it as a result of which how you are going to implement it," she added.
According to a gazette notification of the draft rules published on June 5, a hospital or medical institution may import new drug for 'compassionate use for treatment of patients suffering from life threatening disease or disease causing serious permanent disability or disease requiring therapy for unmet medical need', which has not been permitted in the country, but under Phase-III clinical trial (human trial) in the country or abroad, by making an application to the Central Drug Regulator.
The Centre has asked Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands to ensure that health facilities are stocked with essential medicines and supplies to meet any exigencies in the wake of Cyclone Yaas which is expected to make a landfall later this month.
With an eye on improving quality assurance in the wake of increased global scrutiny on Indian pharma products, the Centre on Tuesday said that Schedule M of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 will be made compulsory for small and medium scale manufacturers in a phased manner. Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya has asked micro-small and medium enterprises in pharma manufacturing to move towards good manufacturing practices (GMP) through self regulation. "This will help in quality assurance and also reduce compliance burden," Mandaviya.
'However, we have seen weakness in our active pharmaceutical ingredients business.'
'There is not any negative connotation associated with it.'
As of now, Gennova Biopharmaceuticals has launched a vaccine, Gemcovac-OM, which is based on the Omicron variant.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis have directed stringent action in the case of a car accident involving a 17-year-old boy, in which two persons were killed, the Pune police chief said on Tuesday.
While sales in the domestic market declined 4.2 per cent during the April-July period, exports grew steadily at 9.5 per cent during the same period.
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