PHARMA LITERATI

Today’s economic times reports the launch of the service named ‘Sehat’. This service is aimed to provide healthcare facilities in rural areas. The government of India launched this telemedicine initiative in collaboration with Apollo Hospitals under which people can consult doctors through video link. As part of the service named 'Sehat', people in rural areas can consult doctors online and also order generic drugs . The Common Service Centres (CSCs) have been delivering tele-consultation services with support from Apollo and Medanta in some areas and now with this initiative the tele- consultation services are being extended to 60,000 CSCs across the country. "Quality and affordable healthcare is one of the emerging need for citizens in rural areas. I am happy that CSC SPV and Apollo have come together to address this issue and design a workable solution," Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said while launching the service. The CSCs wi...

The September, 2015 issue of Pharma Literati Magazine is available now. Please visit the same at:  http://www.issuu.com/pharmaliterati/docs/september_2015_magazine The collaborators and the subscribers who have requested e-copy would get the PDF version of the same via email over next two days. The faculties/ researchers/ students are requested to share it via e-platforms and/or notice board.  Happy reading. 

Times of India reports an amazing story about  Cystinosis and the treatment available for the same.  Only 11 Of 19 Children In India Diagnosed With Cystinosis Are Alive Researchers in IIT Madras have developed a life-saving drug that can keep children suffering from a rare genetic disorder alive. There are only 11 children in the country who suffer from the condition called cystinosis. The drug, if made and marketed in the country, will bring relief to the parents of these children who at present import them from Europe at a huge price as it is not approved in India. Children with cystinosis suffer from growth retardation, kidney failure, bone deformities like rickets and blindness. In India, only 19 children have so far been diagnosed with the disorder, and nine of them are no more. Cystinosis Foundation, India has collaborated with IIT-M to make the drug Cysteamine Bitartrate to treat the disorder, which is now in the final stages of development. Professor in t...

Dr. Girish Sahni on August 24, 2015 assumed the charge as next Director General of Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR).  Earlier, he was the director of CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (CSIR-IMTECH), Chandigarh. He has contributed significantly in the area of protein cardiovascular drugs especially clot busters and their mode of action in the human body. About Dr. Girish sahni Dr Sahni is a PhD from Indian institute of Science (IISc), Bangaluru. His post PhD career included a stint each in University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, USA: Postdoc Trainee 1984-86; Rockefeller University New York, USA: Sr. Research Associate and Adjunct Faculty 1986-88; and Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York: Sr. Research Associate 1987-91, before he joined CSIR-IMTECH in 1991 and became its Director in 2005. His achievements The team led by him is responsible for producing technology for India’s first indigenous clot bluster drug, natural streptoki...

Indian Express reports that the Union government is planning to come out with a Rs 1,000 crore venture capital fund to promote start-ups on drug discovery. Addressing the inaugural round-table session on ‘Bio and Pharma 2015’, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry in Chennai,  Union joint secretary of Department of Pharmaceuticals M Ariz Ahammed said that the idea was in the nascent stage and refused to divulge further details. “The disease burden in India is shifting from communicable to non-communicable and the drugs available are already patented. Post-WTO, there is an urgent need to discover new drugs or else affordability would be a big issue,” he said.   Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/news/Rs-1K-cr-VC-Fund-for-Pharma-Start-ups-likely/2015/08/27/article2995210.ece

Dear All, We had posted about bloggers joining our team. See  http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/05/bloggers-required.html We are pleased to welcome our sixth blogger in the series, Ajinkya Supekar. He  has done his M. Pharmacy from BITS, Pilani  and his graduation from M. V. P. College of Pharmacy, Pune University. We welcome Ajinkya to our team and wish a luck in the endeavor.  To join as a blogger with Pharma Literati team, send your CV to  pharmaliterati@gmail.com Team Pharma Literati. 

Every week of thousands of patent applications are published in India. The  patent applications filed by the pharma academic research institutes in India  go un-noticed. We publish a list of Indian applications published related to pharma academics. This would provide us an idea about the kind of academic research being carried out in these institutes. For details of these patents, please write back to us at pharmaliterati@gmail.com Invention Application No Inventors Institute Curcumin coated superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles for biomedical applications 138/DEL/2012 A 1) Pattayil Alias Joy 2) Jayaprabha Kunnoth Naduvilidam CSIR Novel prebiotic product for treating hemorrhoid 171/DEL/2012 A 1) Harsha Kharkwal 2) Devi Datt Joshi 3) Deepshikha Pande Katare 4) Kumud Bala Amity University Novel functional food sup...

    Source: http://www.ipapharma.org/events/WPD%202015%20Competition%20for%20Practising%20Pharmacists.jpg 

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in collaboration with AIDS Healthcare Foundation, Department of Telecommunications and National AIDS Control Organization announced the launch of a new mobile application on HIV/AIDS today. This mobile application will provide complete information on HIV, increase awareness and risk perception as well as prompt users to access HIV testing from the nearest centre free of cost . Ensuring confidentiality , with bi-lingual facility and easy compatibility, it is expected to reach more than 11 crore people across urban & rural settings. Speaking at the occasion, J.P. Nadda, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare said that, "Technology and youth are inseparable; however, inadequate access to information and complex messages from various sources can confuse the youth. If we can use technology to guide and educate youth, it can open up endless opportunities to reach the young with authentic information on the services on HIV and AID...

The days, weeks and months are passing rapidly. There are lots of activities happening with reference to our beloved blog. With limited time and resources, we are trying to get the best of the resources and news and information for the pharma community.  Here is a quick recap of the activities for those who have joined us recently: Collaborations: FICCI – CCIPR http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/06/pharma-literati-collaborates-with-ficci.html Pharma career http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/06/collaboration-with-pharmacareer.html Social Media presence: Linkedin http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/06/pharma-literati-on-linkedin.html Mobile app http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/06/pharma-literati-available-on-mobile-app.html Facebook http://pharmaliterati.blogspot.in/2015/07/pharma-literatinow-has-facebook-page.html WhatsAPP 09769059971 Issuu http://www.issuu...