Attitude changes everything Poison A long time ago, a girl named Li-Li got married and went to live with her husband and mother-in-law. In a very short time, Li-Li found that she couldn’t get along with her mother-in-law at all. Their personalities were very different, and Li-Li was angered by many of her mother-in-law’s habits. In addition, she criticized Li-Li ... Read More »

Delhi HC bars Cipla from selling copy of Novartis respiratory drug The Delhi High Court has barred generic drugmaker Ciplafrom making or selling a cheaper copy of Novartis AG’s respiratory drug Onbrez domestically, citing infringement of patents held by the Swiss company. Cipla, India’s fourth-largest generic drugmaker by revenue, had launched its copy of Onbrez in New Delhi in October ... Read More »

MedImmune enters licensing agreement with Omnis Pharmaceuticals for oncolytic viruses in immuno-oncology AstraZeneca today announced that MedImmune, its global biologics research and development arm, has entered into a licensing agreement with Omnis Pharmaceuticals (Omnis), a privately-held biotechnology company focused on the development of oncolytic viruses. This agreement will allow MedImmune to combine key agents from its investigational immunotherapy portfolio with ... Read More »

Drug manufacturing industry cries foul over poor regulation HYDERABAD: India’s drug manufacturing industry is afflicted with poor regulation – a case of authorities not scaling up the supervisory process to match the pace of the sector’s growth. The botched up sterilisation surgeries in Chhattisgarh in November, which left 13 women dead, was a grim reminder about the need to increase ... Read More »

‘Glowing’ new nanotechnology guides cancer surgery, also kills remaining malignant cells’ Researchers at Oregon State University have developed a new way to selectively insert compounds into cancer cells – a system that will help surgeons identify malignant tissues and then, in combination with phototherapy, kill any remaining cancer cells after a tumor is removed. It’s about as simple as, “If ... Read More »

Finance Ministry pitches for easing of FDI norms in pharma sector NEW DELHI: Foreign direct investment in pharmaceutical sector is back in the spotlight, with the finance ministrypitching for a review of the policy that was tightened for brownfield investments, or investments in existing Indian companies, following fears of large-scale takeover by multinational companies. “There is a need for revisiting ... Read More »

FDI in medical devices to attract MNCs, says industry body NEW DELHI: The government’s decision to liberalise FDI policy for the cash-starved medical devices sector will lower imports, encouraging MNCs to set up manufacturing facilities in the country, according to industry body EEPC India. Significantly, the move will help reduce cost of medical devices benefiting patients as at present the ... Read More »

Rapidly-changing genes help malaria parasites hide in human body for long periods While living in human red blood cells, malaria parasites use new genetic tricks every 48 hours to evade the human immune system, a sequencing of the Plasmodium falciparum parasite has revealed. They can rapidly change the proteins on the surface of their host cells in order to hide ... Read More »

Mutations prevent programmed cell death Programmed cell death is a mechanism that causes defective and potentially harmful cells to destroy themselves. It serves a number of purposes in the body, including the prevention of malignant tumor growth. Now, researchers at Technische Universität München (TUM) have discovered a previously unknown mechanism for regulating programmed cell death. They have also shown that ... Read More »

Pharma companies should be ready to adapt to changing norms: Israel Makov, chairman of Sun Pharmaceutical MUMBAI: Changing regulatory environment will be the norm in the pharmaceutical industry in the days ahead and companies should be ready to adapt, said Israel Makov, chairman of Sun PharmaceuticalBSE 0.24 %, India’s biggest and the world’s fifth largest drug maker. “Regulatory expectations are ... Read More »