PHARMA LITERATI

Pharma Innovation Yatra   was  launched in the month of January 2017. In the month of July, the yatra was relaunched after summer break. This month the yatra reached Gujarat state with a national level workshop, which was sponsored by  APTI Gujarat state Branch and Ganpat University. Also, the yatra reached the partner institute Pharmacad as a part of their first anniversary celebrations.  1. Vivekanand Education Society’s College of Pharmacy. Website: https://ves.ac.in/pharmacy/ University: University of Mumbai. Location: Mumbai, Maharashtra. 2. M. C. E. Society’s Allana College of Pharmacy. Website: http://www.allanacollegeofpharmacy.org/ University: Savitribai Phule Pune University. Location: Pune, Maharashtra. 3. SVKM’s Dr. Bhanuben Nanavati College of Pharmacy. Website: http://www.bncp.ac.in/ University: University of Mumbai. ...

This is time for Indian generic drug makers to aggressively focus on capabilities for developing differentiated products to sustain growth in a challenging era, which sees price erosion, significantly increasing competition and more stringent regulations in the global market, said Pankaj R Patel, chairman, Cadila Healthcare, and president, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industries. Differentiated products not only offer better margin but also helps companies to create a niche in the market with less competition and even to build stronger business with comparatively smaller marketing infrastructure and team, Patel said while delivering his key note address as the chief guest at the Businessworld-Yes Bank Life Sciences Forum 2017 held in Mumbai on Friday, July 28. Businessworld Life Science Forum was a unique knowledge initiative conceived for thought leaders from pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals to further drive sectoral business growth and leverage the re...

Is it important to complete a full course of an antibiotic? Yes, according to conventional wisdom, which says stopping a course mid-way could lead to drug resistance. But several scientists have now challenged this claim. In many situations, stopping antibiotics sooner is a safe way to reduce antibiotic overuse, said a paper published in the British Medical Journal. "Patients are put at unnecessary risk from antibiotic resistance when treatment is longer than necessary ," said the authors from Brighton and Sussex Medical School in the UK. Dr Randeep Guleria, director, AIIMS , however, warned patients against stopping antibiotics on their own. Stopping or extending a course of antibiotics " is a clinician's call ", the AIIMS director said, while agreeing that there was a need to critically look at prescription patterns. Dr Suranjit Chatterjee, senior consultant, internal medicine at Apollo hospital said an antibiotic course need not be treated as s...

The Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC), which is the National Coordination Centre-Pharmacovigilance Programme of India (PvPI), will organise a workshop on " Basics of Pharmacovigilance & Establishment of Pharmacovigilance System in Pharmaceutical Industries - A Way Forward " on August 31, 2017 at PGIMER, Chandigarh.  The main objective of this 2nd regional workshop is to sensitize manufacturers, importers, distributors and other stakeholders about the need for a properly-designed Pharmacovigilance system across the user domain, to monitor Adverse Drug Reactions (ADRs) aimed at establishing safer drug use in the country. The workshop is aimed at bringing together regulatory authorities and pharma professionals/experts to discuss the practice of pharmacovigilance in the country. It will also widen the knowledge spectrum of pharma professionals in the field of pharmacovigilance.  Professionals in pharmacovigilance, quality assurance (QA) and regulatory affairs...

If you plan to appear for GPAT/NIPER/Pharma MBA in 2018 or 2019, this is the right time to join this young, enthusiastic team of professionals. Yes, PHARMACAD is now also in Thane. Also, they are celebrating their first anniversary this month. Team Pharma Literati wishes this young team best wishes for the future. For details, please visit: www.pharmacad.in

A document released by the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) shows that consumers are being overcharged for more than 100 drugs sold on the market. The government body released the data on its website last month. It shows that several pharmaceutical firms have been overcharging customers for commonly used drugs, such as anti-diabetic and cholesterol lowering tablets. The NPPA, which puts out this quarterly data on its website, has issued notices to the pharmaceutical companies. The report shows that they overcharged consumers to the tune of Rs36.8 crore for a single drug. “ Pharmaceuticals overcharge in many ways. Companies that manufacture non-scheduled drugs cannot increase the prices more than 10% of the MRP. However, they do so ,” said Dr Bhupendra Singh, chairman, NPPA. “ It all depends on the market volume of the drugs. The company may have overpriced a drug by between 50 paisa and Rs10, but when one looks at the cumulative figures, the amount run...

APTI Gujarat state Branch and Ganpat University, Shree S. K. Patel College of Pharmaceutical Research, Mehsana, Gujarat jointly organized  One day National Workshop on "Creative Thinking, Innovation and role of patents in Pharmaceuticals field" on 13th July, 2017.  With  this programme, Pharma Literati team is proud to announce the second phase of Pharma Innovation Yatra 2017. The workshop included the presentations of Creative Thinking, Innovation and role of patents in Pharmaceuticals field. The national workshop was inaugurated by the auspicious hands of Dr. Mahendra Sharma, Director General, Ganpat University, Mehsana, Gujarat in the presence of  1. Dr. Rakeshkumar Patel, Dean, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ganpat University, Mehsana. 2. Dr. Paresh U. Patel, Professor,  Shree S.K.Patel College Pharmaceutical Education and Research. 3. Dr. Jayvandankumar K. Patel, APTI, President, Gujarat State Branch. 4. Dr. Richa Dayaramani, APTI, Vice Presid...

India's central drug regulator, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has clarified that pharmaceutical companies can re-label old stocks of their medicines with the revised Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) applicable following implementation of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime.  "... subject to provisions of Legal Metrology Act & Rules and other provisions of Act and Rules relating to Goods and Service Tax, this office has no objection for alteration of label (stickering) by the manufacturers under rule 104A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, if required for implementation of GST," stated the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation in a notification on Monday evening.  The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution last week stated in a circular that manufacturers, packers and importers of pre-packaged commodities should declare the post GST MRPs of unsold stocks which were manufactured, imported or packed before July ...

Fist line antibiotics are missing in India and that’s making its drug resistance problems worse. Some essential antibiotics are under price control & drug manufacturers are less inclined to make them. India is witnessing an alarming rise in antibiotic resistance, much of which has been triggered by over prescription of the drugs by doctors, overuse by patients and unregulated use on farms and fisheries. But another factor contributing to this rise in antibiotic resistance is the unavailability of simple antibiotics that should be used as the first line of treatment. The lack of such first line antibiotics has resulted in people across India using stronger drugs to treat simple infections. Pathogens, therefore, develop resistance to these stronger drugs faster and render even the more basic antibiotics ineffective. On June 6, the World Health Organisation updated its Essential Medicines List, revising the antibiotic section extensively. Keeping in mind exten...