Sunday, October 16, 2016

Pharmacy Netmeds fundraising plans even in the business-to-business B2B space raise more funding

Net-Meds Marketplace Pvt. Ltd, which runs online pharmacy Netmeds.com, is firming up Series B fundraising plans even as it is looking at acquisitions to beef up offerings and diversify into the business-to-business (B2B) segment, a top executive told Techcircle.in.

The PE-backed company that raised $60 million in two tranches last year expects to close the second round of funding in a year, said founder and CEO Pradeep Dadha.

At present, Netmeds caters to retail customers by procuring products from wholesale and retail shops. It plans to enter the B2B segment, targeting hospitals and retail shops, which would enable it to buy directly from manufacturers, he said.

It expects to enter the B2B segment after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is implemented, Dadha said.

A part of the funds will also be used for building cold-chain storage facilities and improving its supply chain when it enters the B2B space, he added.Dadha said the online pharmacy is at a stage where ecommerce was five years ago and hence is spending a lot of money on customer acquisition to create a business category and maintain service levels. Furthermore, the firm drives its growth through prescription and non-prescription medicines, and not via over-the-counter and FMCG products. Hence, it has higher stickiness from existing customers and can continue to offer discounts through an efficient supply chain and collaborations with manufacturers.

It is also engaged in acquisition talks with companies that have complementary service offerings. Early this month, the firm was reported to be in an advanced stage of discussions to acquire Pluss, a hyperlocal drugs delivery startup, owned by Alpinismo Online Ventures Pvt. Ltd. The combined entity is expected to take on rival 1mg, an online marketplace for medicines.

Dadha declined to comment on Pluss, but said through acquisitions, it could offer value-added services such as recording information on chronic diseases for customers. The company continues to look for acquisition targets in the logistics and health-tech space.

Net-Meds Marketplace was launched by Dadha whose family ran Tamilnadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which was acquired and merged with Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd in 1997. S Mohanchand Dadha (father of Pradeep Dadha) who founded Tamilnadu Dadha Pharmaceuticals is now a member of the board of Sun Pharma, India’s top drugmaker.

The firm claims to have close to one million customers from 700 cities with 65% of the business generated from tier II and III cities, Dadha said.

In October last year, Netmeds received funding worth $50 million (Rs 325 crore) from healthcare-focused global private equity firm OrbiMed, with participation from existing investors MAPE Advisory Group and founder and CEO Pradeep Dadha’s family investment fund.

In May 2015, MAPE had said it will invest about $10 million in yet to be launched Netmeds, taking the total Series A funding to $60 million.

The company has 70,000 stock keeping units (SKU) with an average basket size of Rs 1,750. It plans to reach $1 billion transactions by March 2020.

Other online pharmacy startups in the space include Zigy, 1mg and CareOnGo, to name a few.



http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2016/10/13/netmeds-plans-to-enter-b2b-space-raise-more-funding/

The drug department on a pharmacy in 11th chemist shop to be sealed and 30 chemists lose licence

NOIDA: The district drug department on Friday sealed a pharmacy in Mamura for being run without a pharmacist making it the 11th chemist shop to be sealed in the past two months. It has also suspended licences of over 30 chemists in the past two months for operating their pharmacies without a pharmacist.

During the Friday raid, a pharmacy in Chhalera also received a show-cause notice by the department. Officials had said that the drive against shops violating rules will be intensified after Dussehra.

Deepanshu Medical Store in Mamura was sealed and Pooja Medical Store in Chhalera was issued a show-cause notice. The department also banned the sale of drugs by the store for now.

During the inspection, the officials found that Deepanshu Medical Store had not appointed a registered pharmacist and was instead being run by the chemist, who was not present in the store at the time of the inspection.

Deepak Sharma, drug inspector of the district told TOI that there was no proprietor or pharmacist present at the store when it was raided and instead a third person was found at the store. "We have sealed the store and the chemist? licence has been sent to the District Licensing Authority for action. No bills were found for the sale and purchase of the drugs," he said.

Similarly, at Pooja Medical Store, no pharmacist was found and hence, a show-cause notice was issued by the department to the store owner and sale of drugs was stopped. Employing a registered pharmacist at the store is necessary for chemists.

The chemist association blamed the government for the mess saying it issued licences without keeping a check on the numbers. Anoop Khanna, president, Gautam Budh Nagar chemist association told TOI that it (the drive against pharmacies) is like asking someone to make a mistake and then punishing them for it. "The government has allowed so many drug stores to run and issued licences but pharmacists are few and have become redundant now. It is very unfair to those who are running their pharmacies with a pharmacist as they don't even need one."


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/11-drug-stores-sealed-30-chemists-lose-licence/articleshow/54859712.cms

Thursday, October 13, 2016

The Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (Amrit) pharmacy at Gauhati Medical College Hospital

GUWAHATI: The state got its first Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (Amrit) pharmacy at Gauhati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) on Wednesday.

Inaugurated by Union health minister JP Nadda, the store will provide life-saving drugs at heavily discounted rates. Patients can also buy oncology and cardiovascular medicines and implants. Similar Amrit stores will be opened on the premises of five medical college hospitals in Jorhat, Barpeta, Tezpur, Dibrugarh and Silchar soon.

"We are trying to provide affordable medicines and treatment to people. Drugs for cancer and other diseases will be available at the GMCH outlet," said Nadda, who was accompanied by state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

In August, Sarma had said if the six Amrit pharmacies in medical college hospitals were successful, the state government would open more such outlets elsewhere.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/guwahati/Assam-gets-first-Amrit-pharmacy-at-Gauhati-Medical-College-Hospital/articleshow/54575859.cms

Online pharmacy Netmeds marketplace for medicines pluss

Online pharmacy Netmeds.com is in advanced stage of discussions to acquire Pluss, a hyperlocal drugs delivery startup, owned by Alpinismo Online Ventures Pvt. Ltd Company. The combined entity is expected to take on rival 1mg, an online marketplace for medicines.

Pluss’ existing investors IDG Ventures India, Singapore’s M&S Partners and US-based Powerhouse Ventures will all receive stakes in Netmeds, The Economic Times reported citing unnamed sources.

Messages and email queries sent to the founders of Netmeds and Pluss did not elicit a response at the time of filing this report.

Pluss had raised $1 million (Rs 6.65 crore) in pre-Series A funding from its existing ventures in November 2015. The firm allows users to order medicines, baby care, pet care, personal wellness and daily essential products through its on-demand delivery app. The firm was launched in 2015 by BITS, Pilani graduate Atit Jain, former Bharti Airtel executive Madhulika Pandey, and IIT-Bombay alumnus Tarun Lawadia.

In October last year, Netmeds received funding worth $50 million (Rs 325 crore) from healthcare focused global private equity firm OrbiMed, with participation from existing investors MAPE Advisory Group and CEO and founder Pradeep Dadha’s family investment fund.

Other online pharmacy startups that have been in the news are Zigy, 1mg and CareOnGo, to name a few.

Last month, Zigy, founded by former Infosys director and IGATE CEO Phaneesh Murthy, said it was scaling back its operations due to paucity of funds, but does not intend to halt operations.

Online drug marketplace 1mg secured funding from Swiss investment firm HBM Healthcare Investments in May this year. The investment was an addition to the startup’s Series B funding, which the company had raised in April. Maverick Capital Ventures, and existing investors Sequoia Capital and Omidyar Network invested $15 million (Rs 100 crore) in a Series B round in 1mg.

In April 2016, Careongo, which runs a chain of co-branded online pharmacies, secured pre-Series A funding from Farooq Oomerbhoy of FAO Ventures and a group of other investors.

Online drug startups have been facing regulatory hurdles as the Drug Controller General of India has put a restriction on the sale of medicines online. However, startups in this segment claim that the regulator’s warning has not affected their business.

A number of brick-and-mortar chemists such as MedPlus and Guardian Lifecare, too, have ventured into the online segment. Bengaluru-based Practo, an appointment booking platform for patients and doctors, has also begun online delivery of medicines.


http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2016/10/05/netmeds-in-talks-to-acquire-drugs-marketplace-pluss/

Wednesday, October 5, 2016

The fighting cancer by making changes to her lifestyle and eating healthy


A small swelling constantly reminds Radhika Singh of what is she up against — breast cancer. But the 51-year-old isn't on medication; she's trying to fight cancer by making changes to her lifestyle and eating healthy.

"There's no guarantee that the cancer won't come back after chemotherapy so I didn't want to go through it and deal with the side effects," says Singh, who moved from Delhi to Mashobra in Himachal Pradesh to be in a cleaner environment. Since 2010 when she got her cancerous lump removed, she's been on a strict diet of organic fruit and vegetables, which she grows herself, and avoids dairy and gluten (wheat and wheat products).

While Singh might have taken a drastic route by saying no to chemo, for other survivors, a cancer diagnosis offers a bittersweet opportunity to make lifestyle changes that may ultimately save their lives. The changes are simple: cut the crap (no smoking, drinking, processed food and sugars), exercise, and eat food that's free of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and growth hormones.

There's no clear scientific evidence to show that lifestyle and diet can cure cancer, but patients point out that there are no guarantees in life — all one can do is maximize your chances with healthy habits.

Amit Vaidya came to India from the US in 2012 after doctors told him that he didn't have long to live as his gastric cancer had returned after being in remission since 2009. He had undergone 70 rounds of chemo, and radiation therapy. "My decision to come to India was to get palliative care. As part of that plan, I changed my lifestyle and diet, and underwent cow therapy. To my surprise, I started getting better and stronger," he says.

He documented his experiences in the book 'Holy Cancer: How a cow saved my life'. Vaidya wakes up at 4.30am every day, meditates and does yoga, and walks 10km. He chews raw tulsi and neem leaves, and drinks a glass of warm water with organic honey before breakfast. He says it is very important to know where his food is coming from, and he lives close to the source of the food. "I only consume ghee and milk of desi cows, which have not been fed on a diet of hormones," says Vaidya, 38, who lives on Vypeen, an island off Kochi in Kerala. He says the lifestyle changes are life-long and cannot be abandoned if cancer goes into remission. Delhi-based nutritionist Ishi Khosla says people with cancer often seek her help to manage their symptoms with diet. While it doesn't work in every case, Khosla says "most people do feel some difference".

Anjali Sapra, an artist based in Delhi, says eating right can make a difference even while undergoing chemo. Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2014, Sapra underwent surgery and chemo, which left her sense of taste and smell compromised, thus affecting her appetite. "It's important to eat well during chemo as it boosts your immunity. But most patients are unable to because of the side-effects of chemo. Even, carers, often, don't know what to cook for the patient," explains Sapra. Dr Ramesh Sarin, senior oncologist at Apollo Hospitals in Delhi, says there's no well-controlled study to support any diet that prevents cancer. "While some studies indicate sugar is bad for cancer, there's no solid study to say cut sugar completely from the diet. Similarly, we know that some insecticides have been shown to cause cancer but not all. So while eating organic is good, we cannot say eating non-organic food is bad," says Dr Sarin. Overall, oncologists encourage patients to cut down on refined sugar, consume fruit and vegetables, and avoid red meat.

Mumbai's The Health Awareness Centre (THAC), an institution that promotes healthy eating and living, sees about five people with cancer every day. Started by nutritionist Dr Vijaya Venkta, THAC recently conducted a small study in collaboration with Tata Memorial Hospital on the effect of diet and lifestyle on managing cancer.

During the study, five palliative cancer patients in Bhakti Vedanta Hospital (Mira Road), were exposed to a corrective diet and corrected exposure to sunlight for 14 days. At the end of the period, four patients reported no symptoms, one had reduced symptoms and all were on reduced dosage of morphine. "We have seen patients benefiting from such changes. In some cases, tumours have reduced, in some the size has remained the same...how much each person improves is different. But, clearly, food seems to the pharmacy now," says Anju Venkat, nutritionist at THAC.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/Fighting-cancer-with-common-sense/articleshow/54633285.cms

The invention of a ‘super condom’ by a team of researchers headed by an Indian American researcher of HIV and AIDS

The breakthrough invention of a ‘super condom’ by a team of researchers headed by an Indian American researcher has opened an innovative way to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS by killing the virus through antioxidants contained in the condom.

The new condom was developed by Professor Mahua Choudhury and her research team at Texas A&M University. She claims that it would help in fighting the spread of the deadly virus.The super condom is made of an elastic polymer called hydrogel, which has antioxidants collected from plants that have the power to kill the HIV virus.

Choudhury, an assistant professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center’s Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, said in a statement, “We are not only making a novel material for condoms to prevent the HIV infection, but we are also aiming to eradicate this infection, if possible.”

She added: “Supercondom could help fight against HIV infection and may as well prevent unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases and If we succeed, it will revolutionize the HIV prevention initiative.”

Choudhury who completed Molecular Biology, Biophysics and Genetics degree in India got her Ph.D. in the US. Since then she has been researching diabetics and obesity epidemic.

Choudhury was one among the 54 people who were awarded the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Grant for Global Health Challenge.

This year’s challenge for the winners was to develop a latex free condom to help battle the epidemic of HIV, which has by now affected 35 million people in the world.

“If you can make it really affordable, and really appealing, it could be a life-saving thing,” Choudhury said.

The material used in the condom to kill the virus is already in use as a water-based hydrogel for medical purposes such as contact lenses.

In addition to protecting from STDs and pregnancy, the super condom’s antioxidant quercetin is also capable of preventing the replication if HIV and in case if it breaks the quercetin would be released for additional protection.

The researchers also claim that the new design of the condom will escalate the sexual pleasure and people will use it more often.

The condom has already been created and is now awaiting patent approval so that it can go on sales in the market after testing.

Choudhury is hopeful that she can make the condom available to everyone including those in rural areas, where these types of resources are limited.

Since the HIV outbreak in 1981, the deadly virus has killed 39 million people worldwide.


https://www.americanbazaaronline.com/2015/12/16/indian-american-researcher-mahua-choudhury-invents-super-condom-to-fight-hiv/

Saturday, October 1, 2016

The disappearance of life saving drug D-Penicillamine from the market

Alarmed at the disappearance of life saving drug D-Penicillamine from the market, which is used to treat Wilson’s disease, the central drug regulator has called a meeting with five major pharmaceutical companies, which are involved in its sale, on Friday.

The five firms which have been requested by Central Drug Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) to attend the meeting “without fail” are German Remedies, Panacea Biotec, Samarth Lifesciences, VHB Lifesciences and Chandra Bhagat Pharma Private Limited.

Wilson’s diseases is a rare genetic disorder which prevents the body from getting rid of extra copper. The build up of copper may damage liver, brain, kidneys and eyes. D-Penicillamine is known to remove excess copper via urine.

“As per the representations (to CDSCO), the drug has disappeared from the market in the recent past and it is no more available in the country. The availability of the drug is very important as there are no alternatives for the treatment of Wilson’s disease,” said the letter written by Deputy Drugs Controller R Chandrashekhar to the five companies.

Panacea Biotec, Samarth Lifesciences, VHB Lifesciences and Chandra Bhagat Pharma Private Limited have been selling this medicine in India under the brand name Cilamin, Distamin, Artamin and Atrmin, respectively.
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“Therefore, a special meeting on the subject matter will be held by Dr G N Singh, Drug Controller General of India on September 30 (Friday)…to gauge the situation and examine the remedies to make the drug available in the country,” the letter added.

According to a September 16 petition on change.org by Wilson’s disease patient Piyush Gattani, the reason for this ‘real or artifical’ shortage is the government’s decision to bring this drug under price control.

“This drug’s price has been fixed by drug price controller at Rs 138 per strip of 10 capsules. This molecule is not manufactured in India and it is imported, then capsulised and then sold by few pharmacy companies like VHB Lifesciences, Samarth Pharma, Chandra Bhagat Pharma. Due to non availability of raw material and higher cost due to duties, etc, it is no longer cost effective for them to import and sell this medicine.

Probably this is the reason for the shortage,” Gattani said in his petition which requests government aid for patients suffering from the disease.

“Government might have taken the decision in interest of the patients, however it has become counterproductive. DPCO should have kept the price which would have not caused the pharmaceutical companies to go in losses. This would have helped,” he added.


http://indianexpress.com/article/business/business-others/d-penicillamine-life-saving-drug-disappears-from-market-cdsco-calls-for-meeting-3056870/

The organized a programme to mark world pharmacy day celebrated

AURANGABAD: As a part of Pharmacist's Day celebration marked on Sunday, around 150 pharmacists, all members of Aurangabad Jilha Chemists and Druggists Association (AJCDA) took pledge to develop a sense of loyalty and duty to the pharmacy profession.

"With a view to spread awareness among the masses regarding right use of medicines, AJCDA organized a programme to mark World Pharmacy Day, at Aushadhi Bhawan, in Gulmandi, Aurangabad," said AJCDA president Raosaheb Khedkar.

AJCDA secretary Manohar Kore said, "Pharmacists represent the third largest healthcare professional group in the world and working in various positions, applying their unique knowledge and skills, contributing to the health of the nation." He added, "Pharmacy profession contributed significantly in the area of good health and prosperity. No one can think about good health without medicines, because medicine is crucial and key factor in the health sector. WPD signifies the immense contributions of pharmacists and the pharmacy profession to our world."

On the occasion Khedkar also appealed to all pharmacists to wear apron while working at drug stores to create an identity.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Pharmacy-Day-celebrated/articleshow/54624876.cms

Wednesday, September 28, 2016

Indian Pharmacists Association Pharmacists play an important role when it comes to medicines to chemical and physical properties

AURANGABAD: Pharmacists across the city organised a series of events, including a rally in Waluj, to mark the World Pharmacists Day (WPD) on Sunday.
This year the day was observed under the theme "Pharmacists: Caring for you" with the aim of updating the knowledge base of the dispensers while creating awareness among people regarding proper use of medicines.

Sanjay Toshniwal, secretray Indian Pharmacists Association (IPA), Aurangabad, said, "Pharmacist community is one of the three main pillars of the healthcare system with doctors and nurses being the other two. The day aims to recognise the relentless efforts of pharmacists as healthcare providers."

He said the IPA will also organise a series of lectures by Sheikh Jahangir, popularly known for his innovations such as converting second-hand scooters into super machines capable of working as a washing machine and even a flour mill.

The extraordinary innovation of this uneducated man from Jalgaon in Maharashtra, the scooter-powered flour mill was also exhibited in the Hindi blockbuster, 3 Idiots, said Toshniwal.

Meanwhile, the WPD was also marked by Yash institute of pharmacy, Waluj. The day was celebrated by organising different programmes like poster-making, elocution competition. Also, a rally was organised to spread awareness on safe use of medicines.

Hiral Majmudar, principal of Yash Institute of Pharmacy, said pharmacy as a profession contributes immensely in the field of health.

"Pharmacists play an important role when it comes to medicines as they are aware about their composition, chemical and physical properties, manufacturer, uses, side-effects and interactions with food and other medicines. "They also provide specialized information to doctors, nurses and other health professionals. Pharmacists are involved in every aspect of the preparation and use of medicines, from their research and development to eventual supply to a patient," said Suyog Joshi, assistant professor, Yash Institute of Pharmacy.

A pharmacist as a health partner who advises patients on proper use of medicines for maximum effect, how to reduce side effects, how to avoid drug drug interactions especially for patients taking plenty of drugs, medications to prevent untoward drug- food interaction, said Joshi.

It is an undoubted fact that pharmacists are authority on drug matters. Pharmacists are drug experts.

Pharmacists are trained as communicators, counsellors and work within a code of professional ethics that encompasses their relationship with other health professionals and the public, he added.

The Government of India's gazette notification on Pharmacy Practice Regulations-2015 could kindle a new symbiotic relationship between a pharmacist and patients. The Pharmacy Practice Regulations-2015 has sought to widen the role of present day pharmacists, bring in a uniform ethics code, clear-cut definitions of roles and responsibilities of pharmacists towards patients. Interestingly, the new regulations could well boost the concept of community pharmacy, he said. The new pharmacy regulations empower pharmacists to go a step ahead and, in addition to giving drugs, they also can counsel patients at the time of dispensing and provide drug information to patients.

The pharmacist has to interact with patients, doctors and other healthcare providers, and educate patients about medicines and other line of treatment that might have been prescribed to them, he added.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/aurangabad/Events-to-celebrate-role-of-pharmacists/articleshow/54534835.cms

The government apathy towards the institute in the state for pharmaceutical studie


Patna: Students of Government Pharmacy Institute near Agamkuan celebrated the World Pharmacist Day with fun and frolic on Sunday. The entire institute campus was decorated with balloons to mark the day. Amid celebrations, the students, however, did not forget to mention about poor infrastructure and government apathy towards the institute.

Pradeep Kumar, a pass out of 2007 batch, said this is the only government institute in the state for pharmaceutical studies. "Pharmacists are health professionals most accessible to the common people. The state government, however, is not bothered about their proper studies," he added.

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They must give free service to the poors.kumarmithilesh55Priyatam Abhinav, a final year student, also rued lack of infrastructure at the institute. "Despite playing a key role in healthcare sector, pharmacists are not getting due importance. Hardly any initiative is being taken by the government to improve facilities at the state's lone pharmacy institute," Abhinav said.

He added that the state government has also not appointed pharmacists for many years. "Drug inspectors and pharmacists have not been appointed at drug retail centers for the last 15 years. At times, drug dealers have to provide alternative medicines to people when prescribed drug is not available. Only a skilled pharmacist can do so," Anubhav said.

"Chief minister Nitish Kumar is talking about Kaushal Vikas Yojana to create jobs for unskilled people. What about students like us who are skilled but still unemployed? Several pharmacists have turned medical representatives due to lack of employment opportunities," he added.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/patna/Pharmacy-students-lament-govt-apathy/articleshow/54513004.cms

Sunday, September 25, 2016

The e-pharmacies will create a digital medical record of the patient’s medicine consumption and ensure antibiotic resistance in india

Online pharmacies are seen to be the right platform to stall the increasing antibiotic resistance. The antibiotic abuse is an epidemic which is slowly expanding to mar drug efficacy in India’s patient population. The overuse and irregular usage of antibiotics has created a crisis of microbial resistance in the country, stated Dharmil Sheth, co-founder, PharmEasy.

The stark reality is that antibiotics are abused in needless situations like common colds or diarrhea. While some efforts have been made by the government, academicians and professionals to stop its misuse, but there is a long way to go. India, with its high propensity for infectious diseases has fallen prey to antibiotic resistance. The reality is that antibiotics which is the core of modern medical practice, may become ineffective that even minor infections and surgeries could prove fatal, according to PharmEasy chief.

Stating that fatalities ensuing from antibiotic resistance are a cause of concern, Sheth sees e-pharmacies for drug sales proving to be an apt solution to stall the menace. It enables the right medicine for the right patient in the right dose. Prudent use of antibiotics is vital to prevent the emergence and spread of drug resistance. It is here that the e-pharmacies will create a digital medical record of the patient’s medicine consumption and ensure antibiotic resistance control, Sheth told Pharmabiz in an email.

There are several direct benefits by embracing the e-pharmacy model. Every transaction is recorded and tracked. There is no possibility of medicines being sold without prescriptions because this can easily be audited and verified. Dispensation is done by a registered pharmacist and from licensed pharmacy premises. Further, the e-pharmacies that are part of Indian Internet Pharmacists Association do not even allow sales of Schedule X and habit forming medicines through the online sales platform. Therefore, this model is best suited to enable drug recalls as there are purchase records of every transaction with the patient’s name, address, telephone number and email. The e-pharmacies also ensure all sales are recorded by batch number, expiry date with proper invoice and by a licensed pharmacist, he added.

We have already commenced medicine sales via e-prescription. From the PharmEasy’s mobile app, the consumer orders for a prescription pick-up which is authentic formats and approved by the doctor. The nearest physical pharmacy store, registered with PharmEasy sends the delivery person to collect the prescription and get the medicines delivered, explained Sheth.

The e-prescription model has a good acceptance as the patients trust the source of the medicines that they are consuming. Further the e:pharmacy customers have appreciated the convenience of the model to purchase the drugs much more efficiently, he said.


http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=97649&sid=1

The Karnataka government is exploring all possibilities to introduce clinical pharmacy departments

The Karnataka government is now exploring all possibilities to introduce clinical pharmacy departments in all its 30 state-run hospitals. The move follows the proposal put forth by the Indian American Pharmacists (IAP), a not-for-profit organisation which is keen to strengthen Indian healthcare infrastructure with clinical pharmacy services to support patient care.

According to IAP, the clinical pharmacy services at the government hospitals should be manned by the qualified Pharm D candidates. The new talent pool is armed with a six-year rigorous degree course: Doctor of Pharmacy. While the corporate hospitals have already gone ahead to create dedicated teams of Pharm D to support the medical experts in evidence based practices and promote medication safety, in the government sector SDS TB Research Centre & Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Chest Diseases (RGICD), Bengaluru has taken lead in this space.

The 470-bed SDS TB Research Centre and RGICD only focuses on pulmonary medicine and thoracic surgery and has now recognised the importance of medication management to monitor the interactions and adverse drug reactions of tuberculosis drug regime.

At the inauguration of the Indian American Pharmacist Clinical Pharmacy Library for the benefit of professionals and the pharmacy students in the state, Dr. Sharan Prakash Patil, minister for medical education said the government would examine the proposal to set up medication management centres across its 30 government healthcare centres. This would also provide the 540 Pharm D candidates passing out annually with a promising career opening.

The lack of trained personnel to handle medication errors is a concern and in this regard a qualified team of Pharm D candidates would give a fillip to patient care in the government sector, noted Dr. Patil adding that the state would be keen to consider supporting this initiative.

According to Basavaraj Banapur, president & CEO, Indian American Pharmacist, India also needed a digital medication record (DMR) that includes patient-family history, current laboratory results, diagnosis and the treatment plan. As a pilot initiative, we maintain the health-medication database of the entire population of Haligeri village, Ranibennur taluk, Haveri district in Karnataka.

The US healthcare space revolves around 3 Ps: patient, physician and pharmacist. In India it is only the patient and physician. The presence of pharmacist is critical in the Indian healthcare space. We need more education than medication and our hospital staff needs to be aware on the important role of a pharmacist in medication management, pointed out Banapur.

Despite the growth of mobile phones in India, the people here have no access to a single page DMR which provides their disease prevalence and basic treatment protocols in an easy-to-view and retrieve format via mail or what’s app. Now only a pharmacist can enable a DMR at a faster pace in India. Going by the paucity of medication management centres, there are considerable opportunities in clinical pharmacy in the country. We intend to make RGICD as the centre for training doctors, nurses and pharmacists via this maiden platform.

Dr. DA Gundu Rao, president, Karnataka State Pharmacy Council urged the state government to permit conducting Pharm D courses at the Government Pharmacy College in Bengaluru and the second centre coming up at Kalburgi.


http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=97627&sid=1

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Health services in government health centres affected as pharmacists employed at the district hospital

NOIDA: Health services in government health centres were seriously affected as pharmacists employed at the district hospital, CHCs and PHCs across Gautam Budh Nagar went on a strike. Around 46 pharmacists deployed at the different government centres on a regular basis stopped work at the emergency, OPD at the centres including CHC Bhangel, Dadri, Dankaur, etc. Work was gravely affected at CHC Bhangel and district hospital and pharmacists could be seen jostling with policemen at the latter, where pharmacists refused to allow the authorities to break the lock of the pharmacy. Pharmacists had on Monday taken in possession keys of the pharmacies of some of these centres and the district hospital. A number of patients were seen waiting for medicines for around three hours even as patients reporting fever and other ailments continued to flow in. Some complained that they were being handed over wrong medicines as work was handed over to the contractual employees working at the hospital.


Chief Medical Superintendent NM Mathur had to call police to break the lock of the district hospital's pharmacy in the morning.

A team of policemen led by ASP Gaurav Grover and Sector 20 SHO Amarnath Yadav reached the spot and tried to intervene even as the pharmacists refused to budge saying that they would not allow the pharmacy to run. "We had instructions from the CMO to relent the strike. We understand that the patients are huge in number but our demands have been on hold for years now. Earlier too, the government said that they will meet our demands but nothing happened. We now want the Chief Minister to take cognisance of our demands," Kapil Chaudhary, state Joint Secretary, Diploma Pharmacists Association (DPA) told TOI.


He along with Sanjeev Sharma, district secretary (DPA) started an indefinite hunger strike after the hospital authorities started work at the pharmacy with police's mediation around noon. Sources told TOI that contractual employees from the private hospitals were roped in for disposal of services. Pharmacists say that the strike will continue till the chief minister's office takes action on their demands regarding wages and creation of more posts. The pharmacists are demanding creation of more regular posts saying that the number of regular pharmacists are disproportionate as compared to the rising number of patients.


"We have seven pharmacists and four chief pharmacists at district hospital. Only four of them work at pharmacy where thousands of patients turn up. Moreover, pharmacists are made to work at the OPD, post-mortem duty and emergency as well. The number is far lower than what is required," Sharma said. Chaudhary said that they are also demanding a raise in pay-scale as compared to the scale of diploma engineers and removal of anomalies of the seventh pay commission.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/noida/Work-at-govt-health-centres-affected-as-pharmacists-strike-work/articleshow/54432893.cms

The government facility providing vital free care to delhi the biggest threat to modern medicine

Like medical centres across India’s sweltering capital, the Kalawati Saran hospital in north Delhi is bearing the brunt of an outbreak of mosquito-borne disease.

Entire families are camped out in its corridors, alongside stocks of food and water. Women sleep nearly 20 to a room on mats inside the neonatal ward. Outside, a bin overflows with rubbish and a stray dog shuffles up the stairs.

Few people wear masks and even fewer use foot covers, which might keep Delhi’s incorrigible dust from entering treatment rooms.

Hospitals such as Kalawati, a government facility providing vital free care to Delhi’s poorest, are ground zero for antibiotic-resistant superbugs – described at the UN general assembly this week as the biggest threat to modern medicine.Nowhere is the growing global threat of antibiotic resistance as stark as in India, researchers say.

One of the resistance-enabling enzymes that most concerns doctors was discovered to be rampant in Delhi in 2008, and named after the city: NDM-1. It has since spread to 70 countries around the world.

But poor conditions inside some Indian hospitals, cities and villages are only part of the problem. A 2010 study found Indians were the largest consumers of antibiotics in the world, and the Indian Medical Association has estimated that about 50% of prescriptions might be inappropriate or unnecessary.

“Doctors try to be on the cautious side, so they usually prescribe antibiotics for conditions where it is not required,” says Dr Ajay Kumar, a senior specialist in paediatrics at Kalawati Saran.

There are also financial incentives: doctors routinely receive commissions from drug companies for prescribing particular medicines.

Over-prescribing isn’t limited to hospitals. At a pharmacy close to Kalawati Saran, it was possible on Wednesday to buy the antibiotic Nflox-TZ without a prescription – just a vague description of a stomach ache. The pharmacist agreed to sell a single strip – half the full course – for about 69 rupees (80p).

Hundreds of strips and packages of antibiotic were also being sold, seemingly without prescription, from the rows of pharmacy stalls opposite the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), a major hospital in south Delhi.

But cracking down on antibiotic use, or making the drugs more expensive, would have its own toll: more Indians still die for lack of access to the powerful medicines than from their overuse.

Delhi’s newborns often bear the brunt of poor conditions and antibiotic overuse. A landmark study published in the Lancet last week followed 13,530 babies admitted into intensive care units in the city’s three largest hospitals, and found an “alarming degree” of antibiotic resistance.

Nearly 500 babies died from sepsis, many contracting the disease from the bacteria acinetobacter. Of those, 82% simply could not be treated by any known antibiotic.“We are now staring at overwhelming evidence of rampant antibiotic resistance, across all ages, all over the country,” Dr Vinod Paul, the chief of paediatrics at AIIMS, told the Hindu newspaper.

Awareness campaigns have proliferated among India’s medical establishment to persuade doctors to prescribe alternatives. “We don’t use antibiotics indiscriminately, and we closely monitor the common bugs, and which antibiotics would be best to treat it,” says Kumar, from Kalawati Saran.

“We avoid broad-spectrum drugs, and we try to use specific antibiotics for specific conditions. We are more aware, and really very finicky about it.”

However, he added: “Developing countries are the same … There’s nothing unique to this place or this city. The reasons are all the same.”

On Tuesday, all 193 member states of the UN agreed to take the threat of antibiotic resistance as seriously as climate change, and report back in two years about the results.

But superbugs are spreading fast and, in Delhi, are a daily reality. “No doubt about it,” says Kumar. “The resistance is already there.”


https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/21/delhi-hospitals-fighting-uphill-battle-against-drug-resistant-superbugs

Friday, September 16, 2016

Baba Ramdev endorses all of Patanjali's consumer products the man behind the formidable success of India


Baba Ramdev's Patanjali Ayurved has taken the Indian FMCG market by a storm. The company, with a turnover of Rs 5,000 crore in 2015-16 is not only a household name, but has been giving close competition to major international brands. Though Baba Ramdev endorses all of Patanjali's consumer products, the man behind the formidable success of India's fastest growing FMCG brand is Ramdev's close aide, Acharya Balakrishna.

The 44-year old CEO of Patanjali has pushed the company's revenues at a rapid pace. He has not only encashed upon Baba Ramdes's huge base of followers but also attracted Indian consumers by hitting the 'swadeshi' idea.ALSO READ: Challenges ahead for Anil Ambani as Reliance, Aircel merger talks go on

Though Ramdev is the brand ambassador of Patanjali Ayurved Ltd, he does not own a single share in it. Balkrishna, on the other hand, is the brain behind the admirable growth of Patanjali as a consumer brand. He has now come in the limelight as one of the richest persons in India with a wealth of around Rs 25,600 crore.

Here are the five things that you may not know about the man behind Pantanjali: 

1. Balkrishna Suvedi, also known as Acharya Balakrishna holds as much as 94 per cent of Patanjali shares and does not accept salary from the company. He heads around 34 companies and three trusts associated with Patanjali brand and Baba Ramdev.

2. Born to Nepalese parents who later migrated to India, Acharya Balakrishna was Ramdev's junior in ashram Khanpur Gurukul in Haryana. In 1995, Ramdev with his close associate, Balkrishna, set up Divya Pharmacy to make Ayurvedic and herbal medicines. Later, with Baba Ramdev's increasing popularity and substantial funds, Patanjali Ayurved was set up as a private company in 2006.

3. In 2011, he was charged with cheating and forgery for acquiring fake degrees to procure an Indian passport. His high school degree and Sanskrit degree from Sampurna Nand Sanskrit University were missing from official records. According to the CBI, his passport was issued on the basis of forged educational degrees and his Indian citizenship was also questioned. However, the case was closed two years later due to lack of evidence.

4. Balkrishna is known to maintain a low-profile. Like all other Patanjali employees, Balkrishna dresses in white to reinforce an aura of spirituality. All the decisions related to marketing strategy and advertising are usually left to Balkrishna. He is a one-man army when it comes to the operations in Patanjali. From hiring senior management staff to dealing with advertisers, he does is it all alone.

5. Balkrishna's Patanjali has given FMCG majors a run for their money. Also, the company is eyeing to hit Rs 10,000 crore revenue by 2017. Baba Ramdev and Acharya Balakrishna have formed a phenomenal partnership to grow Patanjali Ayurveda as a brand. They have achieved this by keeping the prices of the products substantially lower than the other FMCG brands and by capturing the nerve of the Indian consumers.


http://www.businesstoday.in/current/corporate/five-things-you-do-not-know-about-balkrishna-the-man-behind-patanjali/story/237362.html

TSCHE has directed the registrars of Universities to return the original certificates to students

TSCHE has directed the registrars of the Universities to return the original certificates to students who joined B Pharmacy and Pharma-D courses in private colleges so that they could appear for the Eamcet III counselling.

Pharmacy colleges, however, are reluctant to handover the original certificates to students and insist on full payment of fee.

For instance, Tejaswini, a student who took admission into Pharma-D in Bhaskara College was told to pay the six-year fee that amounts to over Rs 4 lakh. She asks, “The past few days have been stressful.

The student community is already suffering due to the re-examinations and many have aspirations to do MBBS and BDS. How can the managements ask us to pay the total fee?” R Laxmi, another student, said there is also no guarantee of the seat if a student wants to return and do the course. Also, the students need to keep producing original certificates for each course.

There are 21 colleges and 1,050 seats for Pharma-D and 9,000 seats for B Pharmacy in 126 colleges. Dr K Ramadas, president of the Telangana Pharmacy College Managements’ Association, says, “According to the Eamcet Convenor Rules, if a student wishes to go for another course he would have to pay the complete course fee.”

He further adds, “The government needs to conduct spot admission counseling and make the admissions again in management quota.” E Raghu, a distraught parent says, “This confusion is due to the Eamcet III. Due to a few rotten apples, the whole student community is suffering.”

It is for the first time that the admissions for pharmacy were conducted even before the MBBS and BDS admissions and that is the reason why all the confusion started, rues a parent.


http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Telangana/2016-09-16/Dont-hold-original-certificates-/254044

Monday, September 12, 2016

Karnataka government is all set to provide a boost to the pharma sector in the state


Karnataka government is all set to provide a boost to the pharma sector in the state with cabinet approving a dedicated Pharmaceutical Policy. The Pharmaceutical Policy will become part of state's Industrial Policy as a separate chapter. The specific benefits extended to pharma sector are in addition to benefits under state's Industrial Policy. The government has now devised a three pronged approach to spur sustained growth in drug research, development and manufacturing space. It has now mooted creation of an incubation centre, financial assistance to students in Finishing Schools and incentives to industry to capture new opportunities.

The first initiative in this regard is by way of setting up an incubation centre within the 71 pharmacy colleges in the state. The government has consented to provide Rs. 2 crore to each of the colleges which have the infrastructure and personnel to man an incubators. The most likely takers for a start would be the Acharya & B M Reddy College of Pharmacy in Bengaluru, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences and JSS Pharmacy College of Pharmacy in Mysuru, according to officials familiar with the development.

There is a huge demand for incubators and with the Start-up India Policy, the focus is on innovation, fostering sustainable and scalable ventures. There are incubators established within the campuses of the Indian Institute of Science, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platform (C-CAMP) in the GKVK campus besides the Jawaharlal Centre for Advanced Research in Bengaluru which are largely dominated by biotech and med-tech entrepreneurs.

“But specific for the pharma industry, there is a need for a stand-alone incubator. The 71 pharmacy colleges generate around 11,000 pharmacy graduates annually and there is a perceptible interest for incubators to ignite the innovation spark, Harish K Jain, secretary, KDPMA and director, Embiotic Laboratories told Pharmabiz.

With a strategy to provide the pharma sector with industry ready candidates, the state government in principle has agreed to subsidize the fees to students in Finishing Schools to an extent of Rs. 10,000 per candidate. The current fees is about Rs. 20,000 and this will benefit existing institutes like the Pharmacy Training Institute in Bengaluru.

Particularly for the industry, the government will offer financial grants which is over and above the existing central government support. Further, the formation of a Vision Group for Pharmaceuticals is also underway.

The state pharma industry accounts for a total turnover of Rs. 12,000 crore of which exports accounts for Rs. 5,000 crore. The state exchequer receives around Rs. 500 crore from the pharma sector. These development initiatives together with the state’s access to talent pool would surely create a spurt in growth, noted Jain.


http://pharmabiz.com/ArticleDetails.aspx?aid=97317&sid=1

The Manipal University Association of Pharmacy Students

MANIPAL: The Manipal University Association of Pharmacy Students (MAPS), a student body of Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal, became the first student organization in the country to be granted recognition by the International Pharmaceutical Students' Federation (IPSF).

MAPS was accorded membership during the 62nd IPSF General Assembly held at Harare in Zimbabwe in August 2016.

The benefits of getting this membership are many. For example, it will help MAPS to contribute towards global pharmacy education and professional development programmes, public health campaigns and other projects of the federation worldwide. Student exchange and pharmacy internship programmes will get a boost at MCOPS following this affiliation.

IPSF is among the world's oldest international student organizations for pharmacy students and pharmacists and it represents more than 3,20,000 pharmacy and pharmaceutical sciences students and recent graduates in 80 countries. Headquartered at The Hague in Netherlands, IPSF is associated with the World Health Organization.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mangaluru/IPSF-tag-for-Manipal-pharma-students-wing/articleshow/54261481.cms

Saturday, September 10, 2016

A hospital official said the government had initiated schemes to provide medicines available with govt pharmacy only


Tribune News Service

Amritsar, August 26
In a fresh order, Guru Nanak Dev Hospital (GNDH), associated with Government Medical College here, has directed all its doctors to only prescribe medicines which are available with the government pharmacy.

The orders have been issued after some patients complained that a few doctors prescribed medicines manufactured by specific companies, which were only available with select medical stores.

The hospital authorities stated that the orders were aimed at cutting the expenses of poor patients, who had to purchase medicines from private chemists if these were prescribed by hospital doctors.

A hospital official said the government had initiated schemes to provide free medicines to all patients attending OPD services. However, a few doctors had been prescribing medicines manufactured by private pharmacies.

A practising doctor, however, said, “In view of public welfare, the doctors have to often prescribe medicines manufactured by private companies as government supply is not adequate and sometimes, their quality is not very good.” He said for a doctor, the benefit of the patient was the most important thing.

However, the fact that a few doctors are indulging in malpractices by prescribing medicines of a particular manufacturer in lieu of commission, cannot be denied as numerous complaints have been received by the hospital.

Medical superintendent Ram Sarup Sharma said the new orders were aimed at proving better services to patients as doctors were required to prescribe only those medicines which were available with the hospital. He said the orders would help in reducing the medical expenses of poor patients.


http://www.tribuneindia.com/news/amritsar/docs-told-to-prescribe-medicines-available-with-govt-pharmacy-only/286084.html

The international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers Crucial Verdict on the Sofosbuvir Patent Saga


In September, India will witness the first hearing in a crucial court case on the grant of a patent for the anti-hepatitis-C drug sofosbuvir – a drug whose patent was rejected and then approved by the same patent court, albeit by two different officials. A recent report of the international medical charity Medicins Sans Frontiers (MSF) cautions about the likely huge impact of the flip-flop by the Indian patent court in case the Delhi high court, where a writ has been filed against the grant of the patent, upholds the patent office’s decision.

“It is a curious case in which the same patent office first rejects and then grants a patent,” Leena Menghaney, South Asia head at MSF’s Access Campaign, told The Wire. Worldwide, an estimated 150 million people have chronic hepatitis C virus infection, and are without access to treatment and at risk of developing liver failure and liver cancer.

Hepatitis C can be cured with a few months’ treatment with a relatively new class of oral drugs called direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). As their name suggests, they attack the virus directly. One such DAA is sofosbuvir.  Until the advent of DAAs, hepatitis C infection had been difficult to treat, with low success rates, the problem of drug resistance and at risk of discontinuation due to side-effects of previously used drugs. Hence, the development of sofosbuvir was hailed as a critical breakthrough in fighting hepatitis C infections.

Although it can be mass-produced for less than $1 per pill, sofosbuvir was launched by Gilead in 2013 at $1,000 per pill in the US. According to MSF, that’s $84,000 (Rs 55.9 lakh) for a three-month treatment course.

Some countries have already protested Gilead’s patent on sofosbuvir. For example, China and Ukraine have rejected the patent on the pro-drug form of sofosbuvir. In Egypt, the primary patent application was reject even as a company named Pharco developed a generic version of sofosbuvir and applied for WHO pre-qualification for it. More patent oppositions on sofosbuvir have been filed in Argentina, Brazil, France, Russia and Thailand.

India, however, flip-flopped. In May 2016, a patent court granted a patent for sofosbuvir, reversing its prior rejection in January 2015. The timing of that rejection, ahead of US President Barrack Obama’s visit to the country, was seen as particularly awkward. Indeed, an MSF release said the rejection “was seen as vexing the US”.

Eighteen months later, the court decision was reversed and a patent was granted. A media report charged that the official who rejected the patent in 2015 “faced a backlash”. Menghaney concurred: “The US pressure seems to be working in India to the extent that India can reverse its patents decisions.”

Shamnad Basheer, former professor at the National University of Juridicial Sciences, Kolkata, commented, “Given the continuing US pressure on India to toe the patent line and rescript it in line with western industrial interests, one wonders if any pressure was brought to bear on the present Controller. Particularly so, since the patent office followed this curious practice of partitioning the various oppositions (without even permitting one opponent to sit through proceedings of the other opponent) and closed what are essentially public hearings from the eyes of the outside world.”

In a post at Spicy IP, Basheer criticised the patent’s office ruling on several grounds. These include the interpretation of section 3d in chapter II of the Indian Patents Act, which explains one of the key clauses for inventions that are not patentable. It states,

the mere discovery of a new form of a known substance which does not result in the enhancement of the known efficacy of that substance or the mere discovery of any new property or new use for a known substance or of the mere use of a known process, machine or apparatus unless such known process results in a new product or employs at least one new reactant.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause, salts, esters, ethers, polymorphs, metabolites, pure form, particle size, isomers, mixtures of isomers, complexes, combinations and other derivatives of known substance shall be considered to be the same substance, unless they differ significantly in properties with regard to efficacy.

He also argued that the ruling in May 2016 on the one hand said that Gilead’s compound was not a known derivative of a previously known compound, and so Section 3d was not applicable. On the other hand, the ruling went on to say that the Gilead compound had “an added layer of efficacy”. “Efficacy compared with what?,” if there is a known previous compound, asks Basheer. The ruling also placed the burden of proof of section 3d on the patent’s opponents when it should have been put on the patent claimant, he adds.

The grant of the patent is now being contested in the Delhi High Court by Intellectual Property, Initiative for Medicines and the Delhi Network of Positive People that fights for access to affordable medicines for the HIV-infected. MSF fears that, if the patent is upheld, it “will block additional competition from the Indian generics companies that do not want to sign a voluntary licence with Gilead, leaving them unable to supply sofosbuvir to millions of people in India and other middle-income countries.”

Gilead has signed licences with multiple generic manufacturers in India to produce the drug and sell it in the world’s poorest countries, but these generic companies are prohibited from selling more affordable versions of sofosbuvir to many middle-income countries, where approximately 50 million people with hepatitis C live, says MSF. “This is leaving people in these countries vulnerable to the high prices Gilead chooses to charge.”

The patent also covers the raw materials to make the drugs, or the active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), which means the US company can control the supply of raw materials or APIs for sofosbuvir and “would allow Gilead to disrupt or stop exports of the raw materials from India,” claims MSF. This will make it difficult for the generics companies in Egypt, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Latin America that are producing sofosbuvir without a patent in force – and without a licence agreement with Gilead – to continue production, the organisation warns.

Price and patenting criteria

Ironically, around the time India granted a patent to Gilead, a WHO-led study, published in the journal PLOS ONE in June 2016, concluded that the “current prices of these medicines are variable and unaffordable globally. These prices threaten the sustainability of health systems in many countries and prevent large-scale pro-vision of treatment. Stakeholders should implement a fairer pricing framework to deliver lower prices that take account of affordability. Without lower prices, countries are unlikely to be able to increase investment to minimise the burden of hepatitis C.”The PLOS ONE study found a significant variation in the prices of the medicines for hepatitis C across countries, particularly when adjusted for gross domestic product, and that “poorer countries may be paying higher adjusted prices than richer countries.”

“The total cost of treating all patients with hepatitis C would be equal to at least a tenth of the current annual cost for all medicines in all of the countries studied. In some countries where prices are high and the burden of disease is large, the total cost of treating all infected patients would be more than the cost of all other medicines put together,” the study said.And “if a patient had to pay for the treatment out of pocket, the total cost of a full course of sofosbuvir alone would be equivalent to one year or more of average earnings for individuals in 12 of the 30 countries analysed by the study researchers.”

The study adds to a November 2015 report in The Lancet, which looked at the availability and affordability of sofosbuvir and other anti-hepatitis-C DAAs such as daclatasvir, ledipasvir-sofosbuvir, simeprevir, ombitasvir-paritaprevir-ritonavir and dasabuvir.

It found that the price per bottle of all originator DAAs varied substantially. For sofosbuvir, it ranged from $300 (India, Pakistan) to $20,590 (Switzerland). For daclatasvir, from $175 (Egypt) to $14,899 (Germany). For simeprevir, from $241 (Egypt) to $14,865 (Australia). For ledipasvir-sofosbuvir, from $400 (Egypt and Mongolia) to $24,890 (Germany). For ombitasvir-paritaprevir-ritonavir, from $400 (Egypt) to $20,215 (Switzerland).

I-MAK’s cofounder and director Tahir Amin said, “Sofosbuvir is not deserving of a patent. It was developed using previously published techniques that have been used repeatedly in other antiviral drugs. In fact, Gilead’s unjustified patents on sofosbuvir have already been rejected by China, Ukraine and Egypt. Unfortunately, the Indian patent office’s decision is flawed, ignores the scientific facts and fails to uphold the standards of Indian patent law to ensure only new inventions are patented.”

Pharmacy of the developing world

India, widely regarded as the pharmacy of the developing world, “is under pressure to drop its public health safeguards,” warns the July 2016 MSF report. Some 76% of the antiretroviral drugs used in low- and middle-income countries come from India, as do 97% of the drugs used by MSF. The country has encouraged generic competition for decades since it did not introduce patents for pharmaceuticals until 2005 (when it had to comply with international trade rules under the WTO agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights, TRIPS). Its national patent laws include public health safeguards such as stringent patentability criteria and the opportunity to file legal challenges to patents before and/or after they are granted (called pre-and post-grant patent oppositions).

India has fought off numerous challenges to its public health safeguards but it has been under excessive external and domestic pressure – led by the multinational pharmaceutical lobby – to change its national IP laws and policies, or sign free trade agreements that will dismantle them. Since 2013, pharmaceutical industry-led pressure from the US has been escalating. The MSF stresses that India must reject the demands to grant patents more easily, as well as fight TRIPS-plus rules that the United States is trying to force upon India’s commerce ministry.

India should also eschew trade agreements that include intellectual property provisions – so-called ‘TRIPS-plus’ provisions – that exceed countries’ obligations under the WTO trade rules, according to the MSF. These include the European Union-India free-trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, all of which are currently being negotiated.


http://thewire.in/63752/patent-sofosbuvir-hepatitis-gilead/

Thursday, September 8, 2016

The Economic Times that said Zigy owned by PM Health & Life Care pharmacy Zigy scales down operations

Zigy, an online pharmacy startup founded by former Infosys director and IGATE CEO Phaneesh Murthy, is scaling back its operations due to a paucity of funds but has no plans to shut down, a top executive said.

“We are not shutting down,” Zigy CEO Hemant Bhardwaj told TechCircle. He was denying a report in The Economic Times that said Zigy, owned by PM Health & Life Care Pvt. Ltd, might halt operations within three months as it had been unable to raise funds.

Bhardwaj said the company is “strengthening” itself in Bengaluru, where it will be operational for retail customers. “For institutional customers, we are operational in all five cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Delhi),” he said. The company earlier catered to retail customers in all five cities.

Bhardwaj also denied that the company was looking for a merger to exit the business. “There is no merger situation at this point in time. We would like Zigy to thrive on its own. Seven to 10 months is too early to decide to merge a company. We will keep all opportunities on the table and keep exploring,” he said.

The Economic Times, which cited three people aware of the development it didn’t name, also said that regulatory restrictions had hampered the company’s growth.

Zigy.com, a marketplace that connects chemists with consumers, was launched in August 2015 by Murthy as part of a health exchange platform that also included Zigy Health Vault, a patient-controlled health record system. Murthy, who was sacked from IGATE over sexual harassment charges, was reportedly looking to raise $10-12 million for Zigy.

Online drug startups have been facing regulatory hurdles as the Drug Controller General of India has put a restriction on the sale of medicines online. However, startups in this segment claim that the regulator’s warning has not affected their business.

A number of brick-and-mortar chemists such as MedPlus and Guardian Lifecare, too, have ventured into the online segment. Bengaluru-based Practo, an appointment booking platform for patients and doctors, has also begun online delivery of medicines.


http://techcircle.vccircle.com/2016/09/07/online-pharmacy-zigy-may-shut-operations-in-three-months/

Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy plans to collaborate with both government and corporate hospitals to affordable treatment options


In a major effort to promote safe and affordable medications for patients in Karnataka, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy plans to collaborate with both government and corporate hospitals to evaluate the different treatment options and propose the most cost-effective treatment for patients using the principles of pharmacoeconomics.

Department of Pharmacy Practice, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy has already been engaged in similar exercises with missionary hospitals like St Martha’s and St Philomena’s in Bengaluru. The college has worked on evaluating the most cost-effective treatment for hypertension, diabetes, asthma and COPD so far.

“The protocol suggested to both St Martha's and St Philomena’s hospitals are accepted. Going forward, we are now looking forward to expand this to government and private hospitals”, said Dr Shobha Rani R. Hiremath, principal, Al-Ameen College of Pharmacy.

“Cost-effective analysis is one of the pharmacoeconomics methods to analyse which treatment option is most economical without compromising on the efficacy. Particularly in an Indian situation, cost becomes a very critical component when a patient is undergoing treatment.” she added.

“Not much research has been done in the area of pharmacoeconomics in India. In the case of Al Ameen College, we began to focus on this area after a WHO grant in 2007 to conduct a workshop on Pharmacoeconomics. We have so far conducted research projects focusing on four common medical conditions namely hypertension, diabetes, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). We analysed and tried to find out which was the most cost-effective treatment regime. We arrived at the best treatment which was least expensive but effective”, explained Dr. Shobha.

In India, pharmacoeconomics is nascent stage unlike in the developed world. The country is home to a large patient population representing not just the economically backward community but also the middle class who find medical expenses as a challenge to subsist, she said.

There is a serious lack of awareness of pharmacoeconomics among medical centres not just in Karnataka but also the country. While we are creating awareness in the medical fraternity through projects, the response has been positive.

Now “Pharmacoeconomics” is introduced as a subject in the 5th year Pharm D syllabus along with Pharmacoepidemiology. In order to expand the concept on a larger platform and train the students in pharmacoeconomics, the College had organised a one-day workshop on 'Comparative effectiveness research in healthcare' in association with Global Pharma Solutions to highlight the importance of pharmacoeconomics in clinical practice. Dr Rajesh Balkrishnan, resource person from the University of Virginia, US provided a peek into the application of pharmacoeconomics and promising career openings in this field.



http://www.pharmabiz.com/NewsDetails.aspx?aid=97073&sid=1

Thursday, September 1, 2016

Dalmia Medicare will work with non-branded labs to offer pathology and radiology services

The Dalmia Group, which operates in cement, refractories and power manufacturing sectors, on Wednesday launched diagnostic services bearing the brand name Dalmia Medicare.

Dalmia Medicare will work with non-branded labs to offer pathology and radiology services. It will share revenues with the labs.

This is similar to aggregation services offered by 1mg Technologies Pvt. Ltd and Practo Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

According to Sanjay Dalmia, chairman of Dalmia group of companies, the diagnostics segment is highly unorganized and presents a big opportunity.

“The Indian healthcare industry is growing at an exponential rate, but there is still a health care deficit in the country. With the advent of technology and innovation in every aspect of life, the new-age consumer has numerous expectations from healthcare services. At the same time, there are consumers who still don’t have access to quality health care. Dalmia Medicare is well equipped to cater to the needs of all kinds of consumers ensuring both accessibility and quality,” Dalmia said.

1mg too recently began offering custom lab packages, besides its aggregation of third-party labs such as Thyrocare, Wellness Pathcare, Metropolis, etc. It has tied up with National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)- certified labs.

According to Dalmia, India has more than 50,000 path labs and it targets to capture 10% of this market soon.

He said that on average, these labs earn Rs.5-10 lakh per month. So, with 5,000 labs, the company can easily target a business which is worth Rs.500 crore per month.

Dalmia declined to specify the investment planned, saying it will be need-based.

Dalmia Medicare also plans to launch services such as e-pharmacy and fitness centres in 2017.

Overall, the Indian health care market, which is worth $100 billion, is likely to grow at a 23% compound annual growth rate to reach $280 billion by 2020.

Dalmia Medicare already has 32 labs in its fold across the National Capital Region (NCR) and targets to have 350 by March in NCR alone. It will go pan-India thereafter.

Dalmia Medicare is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dalmia Biz Pvt. Ltd representing its healthcare vertical. Dalmia Biz has set up a 20-member team, which includes people with a healthcare background.

It has hired Vivek Gupta, formerly with AskMeBazaar.com, as chief executive officer. It plans to expand the team to 200 people by March. The group also runs Dalmia Healthcare, which offers ayurvedic products.

Dalmia Biz said it also plans to expand into education, retail, finance, travel and tourism, real estate and hospitality.


http://www.livemint.com/Companies/sj2OiwaNYNay0z8GtsPIVM/Dalmias-diagnostics-chain-to-compete-with-1mg-Practo.html

Pharmacy distributor MedPlus plans to set up 200 stores in Tamil Nadu


 Pharmacy distributor MedPlus plans to set up 200 stores in tier II and III cities in Tamil Naduover the next one year.

"We are planning to reach out to the interior parts of Tamil Naduand set up 200 franchise stores in the initial stage, in the next one year. We will be planning another 300 stores by 2018," MedPlus Health Services, Founder and CEO, Dr Madhukar Gangadi said in a statement here.


Stating that the goal of the Hyderabad-headquartered company was to give access to medicines at affordable prices in all parts of the state, he said, retail expansion initiative would create a lot of entrepreneurs in tier II and III towns and generate employment of more than 1,000 people.

The move to expand retail outlets in Tamil Naduwas in the backdrop of the company tasting success in Andhra Pradeshand Telangana.

"In view of this, we have decided to replicate the model in other parts of the country through the current financial year", he said.

Each MedPlus store spread across 300-500 square foot would require total investment of Rs 15-20 lakh that would cover franchise fee, rental deposit, infrastructure and stock required.


http://www.business-standard.com/article/pti-stories/medplus-on-retail-expansion-in-tn-to-set-up-200-stores-116083100822_1.html

Sunday, August 28, 2016

The pharmacy three held for selling drugs illegally

Hyderabad:  A pharmacy owner, along with a sales agent and a security guard, were arrested by the South Zone Task Force police on charges of selling Fortwin injections illegally and seized 216 ampoules of Fortwin from the accused.

On Saturday, the police caught Abdul Majeed Khan alias Viqar (40), security guard from Chanchalguda, when he was selling Fortwin injection to innocent public. During questioning, he revealed that S Prakash (43), owner of Vishnu Medical Hall in Malkajgiri, and S Sailesh (34) of Sainikpuri were giving him the injections for illegal sale.

Task Force Additional DCP N Koti Reddy said during investigation, it was found that the accused Prakash who was in contact with one Surender, a pharmacy owner from Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, was getting bulk stock of Fortwin through oral orders without any invoice for the transactions. 

Each box containing of 12 ampoules of Fortwin costs about Rs 600, but Prakash and Sailesh sold the same for Rs 1,000. Three months ago, Majeed came in contact with them and they offered him commission for selling the injections, said the police. 

The Fortwin injection is a pain killer generally used in major surgeries that too under the supervision of an anesthetist. But the accused persons misused the injections and sold them to addicted persons without any prescription or invoice for earning easy money.

The continuous usage of this drug leads to chronic problems like cardiac arrest, shortening of breath, neurological problems and sometimes endangers the life of consumer, according to the officer.  



http://www.thehansindia.com/posts/index/Crime/2016-08-28/Three-held-for-selling-drugs-illegally-/250876

The study shows that pharmacies are playing in increasing TB resistance in the country


 For a while now, the medical community has been blaming pharmacies for indiscriminately giving antibiotics to patients with tuberculosis (TB), instead of referring them to a doctor. A Lancet paper has now corrected the popular misconception when a study found that none of the 622 pharmacies in Delhi, Mumbai and Patna handed out first-line anti-TB drugs to these patients. So, pharmacies are the unlikely source of irrational drug use that contributes to multidrug resistant tuberculosis.

Not playing a role

The study shows that pharmacies are not playing any role in increasing TB resistance in the country,” says Dr. Srinath Satyanarayana, from McGill University, Montreal, Canada, who is the lead author of the paper that was published on August 26, 2016. “TB drug resistance occurs primarily due to incorrect regimens, intake of drugs irregularly or intake of drugs for very short duration of time. From our study, it appears that pharmacies are not playing a role in deciding the anti-TB regimens and are also not dispensing anti-TB drugs over-the-counter, at least in the three cities that we studied. So the drug resistance in India could be due to either patient related-factors or provider-related factors or health system related factors (which has not created a system for all TB patients in [the] country to access quality assured diagnosis and treatment free of cost and seamlessly),” he says in an e-mail to The Hindu.

One reason why pharmacies did not dispense first-line, anti-TB drugs could be because they belong to a more stringent Schedule H1 category of drugs where details of the prescription and name of the doctors and patients have to be documented and the registry retained for two years.

Quinolone abuse a concern

However, the good news ends here. The researchers found that that a vast majority of these pharmacies did dispense antibiotics to TB patients even when they did not have a prescription. This links to an earlier study which showed the tendency of private practitioners to liberally use antibiotics in treating TB, leading to a delay in diagnosis and treatment and an increase in the chances of TB spreading within a community.

In the Lancet study, healthy individuals were trained to pose as TB patients and interacted with pharmacists — to understand how the pharmacies in these cities treated patients presenting themselves with TB symptoms. The objective was to determine whether the pharmacies were contributing to the inappropriate use of antibiotics. One patient presented with 2-3 weeks of cough and fever, was directly seeking drugs from a pharmacy while a second patient was presented with one month of cough and microbiological confirmation of TB from a sputum test. In the case of the first patient, only 96 of 599 pharmacies (16 per cent) referred the patient to health-care providers. But ideal case management was in only 13 per cent of the cases, as a few pharmacies handed out antibiotics to the patients even while referring them to a physician. Antibiotics (37 per cent), steroids (8 per cent) and fluoroquinolones (10 per cent) were given to patients with symptoms.

“That nearly 37 per cent of the pharmacies are handing out antibiotics to persons presenting with TB symptoms is really worrisome,” says Dr. Satyanarayana. But more worrying is the dispensation of fluoroquinolones. “Fluoroquinolones are an essential part of the MDR-TB [multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis] treatment regimen and emerging regimens, so quinolone abuse is a concern.”

Impact

In stark contrast, in the case of the second patient, who had a microbiological confirmation, 67 per cent (401 of 601) of pharmacies referred the patient to a health-care provider. Like in the earlier case, ideal case management was seen in only 62 per cent as the standardised patient did receive antibiotics (16 per cent) or steroids (3 per cent) even while being referred to a health-care provider. “In the case of TB patients with microbiological confirmation of TB disease, antibiotics (without anti-TB properties) will be ineffective and unnecessary, and can delay the initiation of proper therapy for patients. These patients will continue to spread the disease in the community and TB disease will continue to progress in the individual concerned. Steroids reduce body immunity, suppress symptoms temporarily and can worsen the TB disease,” he says.


http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/pharmacies-not-likely-cause-of-tb-drug-resistance/article9040757.ece

Thursday, August 25, 2016

The market to grow over 8% till 2021 pharmacy in india


The pharmacy market in India is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 8 percent from 2016 to 2021, a new report published by Pharmaion reveals.

Rising sales of prescription, generic as well as over-the-counter drugs, increasing life expectancy, growing incidence of chronic diseases, ageing population base, increasing disposable income, rising health consciousness, and growing adoption of wellness and personal care products by young population are the major factors propelling the country's pharmacy market.

According to the report, India also accounted for a share of around 20 percent in the global disease burden in 2014.

“The increasing prevalence of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is driving India pharmacy market,” said Karan Chechi, Research Director, Pharmaion Consultants, a research based global management consulting firm focused on pharma and healthcare industry.

Chechi cited that India has the highest number of diabetic patients in the world, and more than 77 million patients suffer from pre-diabetic conditions in the country.

“Growing urbanization and expanding working population with sedentary lifestyles is anticipated to further drive the country's diabetic population in the coming years, thereby driving India pharmacy market through 2021,” he added.


http://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/indias-pharmacy-market-grow-over-8-till-2021-1714266922

The state government had decided to undertake supplementary exams

NASHIK: The fate of over 4,000 students who have cleared the supplementary examination of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary education (MHBHSE) for Higher Secondary Ceretificate (HSC) hangs in the balance as there are not enough seats in city colleges to accommodate them all.

For the first time, the state government had decided to undertake supplementary exams in July this year in a bid to give admission opportunities to such students along with the others and save their academic year.

However, the students might just have to wait another year to get admission in their desired college as the admission process in most colleges is now complete and there are no seats left to be filled.

Seats might be available in colleges situated in the rural or suburban areas. However, as no proper mechanism providing information about vacant seats is available, students who have passed the HSC supplementary exam will have to launch their individual search operation to seek admission in colleges.

From Nashik divisional board, which covers Nashik, Nandurbar, Dhule, and Ahmednagar districts, 27.18% students passed the supplementary examination.

Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj (MVP) is group of institutions having the highest number of senior colleges in the division. According to R D Darekar, principal of Nashik's prominent KTHM College governed by the MVP, admissions in most graduate colleges have already closed.


"This year, we conducted online admission process for all colleges coming under MVP. Being the most sought after college in Nashik, KTHM has no vacant seats in any stream. However, candidates passing the supplementary examination may search for other colleges around Nashik," said Darekar.


B S Jagdale, principal of LVH Arts, Science and Commerce College run by Mahatma Gandhi Vidya Mandir (MGV) too shared a similar story. "MGV has as many colleges in Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Pharmacy and Education in Malegaon, Manmad, Yeola, Nashik and Nampur. Most of the colleges have completed their admission process already," he said.


Kavita Bhaskar Naik, who secured 56 marks in English and passed the HSC supplementary examination with 54% marks, is now searching for an appropriate college to commence her graduation studies. "I'm sure I won't be able to get admission in any of the well-known colleges in Nashik. So instead of joining a college in the rural or suburban areas, I would prefer taking a drop and try for admission in the next academic session," she said.


There are more than 4,000 students like Kavita who have passed the HSC examination by clearing the supplementary exam, but most of them would find it difficult to get admission in good colleges, thereby nullifying the state government's efforts to save such candidates' academic year.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nashik/Few-college-seats-for-HSC-exam-repeaters/articleshow/53856513.cms