- Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd and Cipla Ltd beat Aurobindo Pharma to become the country’s second and third biggest drugmakers by sales in the three months to 30 September, the first change in the pecking order of the country’s $50 billion pharmaceutical industry in over seven years. Sun Pharmaceuticals retained the position as India’s largest drugmaker, with sales of ?10,809 crore for the three months ended 30 September. The stellar performance of Dr. Reddy’s and Cipla was aided by sales of the generic version of the oral cancer drug Revlimid, which accounted for a little over a third of Dr. Reddy’s total business in the US, according to an analyst at Axis Securities. Cipla has not disclosed new business from the blood cancer drug. “Dr Reddy’s is currently investing in various businesses that could provide growth in the long term," Ankush Mahajan, an analyst at Axis Securities, wrote in a note dated 1 November. “While high inflation and price erosion could reduce margins, the company is proactively building a global pipeline of biosimilars, developing NCE (novel chemical entities) for Immuno-oncology, and building up a neutraceuticals portfolio, vaccines, CDMO (contract development and manufacturing organization), and digital healthcare platforms." (Mint)
- Indian pharmaceutical companies have welcomed the Centre’s decision to make a Quick Response (QR) code mandatory on the packaging label of the top 300 drug formulations but said it will likely pose initial challenges to manufacturers. “We welcome the government’s move to introduce QR codes in medicine packaging as they can greatly help in controlling the counterfeiting of drugs by tracking their journey from factory to patient,” said Alok Malik, Executive Vice President and Business Head, India Formulations, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals. The new rule is applicable to drug formulations including Calpol, Allegra, Betadine ointment, Gelusil and Dolo 650 and will come into force on August 1, 2023, a government notification dated November 18 said. The QR code will have to store data of the unique product identification, proper and generic name of the drug, brand name, name and address of the manufacturer, batch number and date of manufacturing and expiry, and manufacturing licence number. (Money control)
- The Union Health Ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, a move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will now fix the price of coronary stents. The Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) had submitted its recommendation for inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories - Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents.?It also stated that coronary artery diseases (CAD) is a public health issue which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. There is an enormous need for?percutaneous coronary interventions requiring implantation of coronary stents.?Therefore, coronary stents should continue to be essential medical devices, committee members agreed. Several anti-cancer drugs, antibiotics and vaccines were among 34 new additions to the National List of Essential Medicines released on September 13, taking the total number of drugs under it to 384. (The Hindu)
- GSK will stop selling its blood cancer drug Blenrep in the United States. The company had said this month that Blenrep had failed the main goal of a key study designed to show it was better than an existing treatment on the market, stoking fears that regulatory approval could be rescinded by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "We will continue the DREAMM clinical trial programme and work with the U.S. FDA on a path forward for this important treatment option for patients with multiple myeloma," GSK Chief Medical Officer Sabine Luik said in a statement. Marketing of Blenrep continues in the 17 other countries -- mostly in the European Union -- where it has been approved, a GSK official said, but the U.S. move will raise doubts about the drug's future. The company is still discussing the latest clinical data with EU health authorities, the official said. (Reuters)
- Five bacteria—E.coli, S.pneumoniae, K.pneumoniae, S.aureus and A.baumanii — have been found to be the deadliest pathogens in India. According to a report published in The Lancet, infections caused by the five bacteria together claimed more than 6.8 lakh lives in India in 2019. These bacteria were associated with infection-related deaths reported from other countries as well. The Lancet report shows an estimated 1.3 crore people died due to infections globally. Of these deaths, 77 lakh deaths were associated with the 33 bacterial pathogens included in the study, with five bacteria alone connected to more than half of all deaths. More than 75% of the 77 lakh bacterial deaths occurred because of three syndromes: lower respiratory infections (LRI), bloodstream infections (BSI), and peritoneal and intra-abdominal infections (IAA), the study showed. The pathogens associated with the most deaths differed by age. With the 940,000 deaths, S. aureus was associated with the most deaths in adults aged over 15 years globally. The most deaths in children aged 5 to 14 years were associated with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, with 49,000 deaths, the Lancet report shows. It adds that in children older than newborns but under 5 years of age, S. pneumoniae was the deadliest pathogen, accounting for 225,000 deaths. The pathogen associated with the most neonatal deaths was K. pneumoniae, with 124,000 deaths, the study adds. Dr Sumit Ray, who heads critical care at St Stephen’s hospital, said nearly 20-25% of infection-related deaths involve pathogens that are resistant to most of the available drugs. Recently, Apollo hospitals introduced an antimicrobial stewardship programme to improve antimicrobial use and patient outcomes. (TOI)
The above is based on my own personal research and does not reflect my organization’s views.
