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