Vol 4. wRAP 1: The year that went by || When Poetry Meets Healthcare News

Coming back after a longish break is extra hard work.

Holiday cocktails and Christmas treats are no longer a perk!

As a wise person once said: ‘All good things must come to an end’.

The holidays are wrapped up, and so here we are again, my friend!

At the beginning of the next, every year that passed feels like a crazy one.

Five years later, however, they don't seem so, when all is said and done.

Many things will happen before 2028, some bad and others swell.

But for now, let’s stick to 2023, and the stories that it has to tell...

The Numbers Game is not quite the same…

After a brief slowdown, the pace of new drug approvals in 2023 sped up.

One firm had seven drugs approved; others were also happy with a full cup.

However, the USFDA’s advisory panels also reviewed some established drugs...

One study found an OTC cold medicine ineffective: could it pull the plug?

Bio-pharma may be the flavor of the year, but small-molecule drugs still matter.

Generic makers may have received 375 ANDA approvals; company sales will get fatter.

Indian firms are expected to account for half, keeping up their winning streak.

And the search for the first original molecule continues almost every single week.

The Race for Cures Never ceases, so long as there are Infectious Diseases…

There were several infectious disease outbreaks, from dengue to pneumonic plague.

Reports from global agencies underscore the high risks, which are very specific, not vague.

The shadow of Covid-19 continues to hang over us, as variants continue to sprout.

Health and pandemics are part of climate change: no longer a whisper, but a shout!

What is the latest in non-communicable disease? The serious, rising risks of hypertension.

A WHO report said 4 out of 5 people with it are untreated. That needs more than a mention.

In India, one study found that 315 million were detected with it, and that should be scary.

For those of you who are reading this here is a warning and a message: check, and be wary.

Covid-19 infections spiked towards the end of the year; the authorities are vigilant.

But vaccine hesitancy in India remains strong, and ignorance continues to be virulent.

Yet, the next generation of vaccines – like mRNA – drive medicine’s next giant leap.

That innovation merited a Nobel Prize – and its impact will be both wide and deep.

Necessity Being the Mother of Invention isn’t Just a Convention…

mRNA technology is one of several innovations and step-ups in healthcare in the last year.

Telehealth, new pharma products, wearables, and AI, but the last one induces some fear.

mRNA advancement will probably produce new vaccines, including for cancer prevention.

It has been researched for two decades before it became a most successful invention.

In 2023 innovating a diabetes drug for weight loss became a popular trend.

From a device-maker’s standpoint, this may be just the beginning, not the end.

Several million prescriptions for GLP 1 inhibitors were written, creating a swelling tide.

One device maker plans to sell continuous glucose monitoring systems, alongside.?

The line separating drugs and devices may run the risk of quickly getting blurred.

What about undesirable costs? Who will pay, and where could they be incurred?

When Reason Fails, We Need Guard Rails…

This is where regulation comes in, to protect against any unforeseen consequence,

To ensure that passion for research doesn’t let people lose sight of common sense.

Changes in legislation have resulted in putting women’s healthcare in activists’ sights.

The victory of these groups in the courts has led to the loss of reproductive rights.

India’s Supreme Court faced the same question. Its decision favoured women, rightly so.

Reproductive rights are critical to access to health services for women, as many of us know.

National authorities were active too, setting rules for research standards for Indian medicine.

A new National Medical Register and a code of conduct are the new examples of precision.

End Note

So here we are, finishing this leg of the journey.

Despite the long gap, the Wrap is not in a gurney.

The past is prologue, they say, so this is Part One.

What they also say is that “well begun is half done”.

So, to all you readers, and fellow healthcare geeks.

Part 2 is coming soon, in the next couple of weeks!