CATEGORIES

GAVI nominates Dr Harsh Vardhan as India representative
Bio Spectrum

GAVI nominates Dr Harsh Vardhan as India representative

Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister, Health and Family Welfare has been nominated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) as a member of the GAVI Board. He will be representing the South-East Area Regional Office (SEARO)/ Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO) constituency on the GAVI Board from January 1, 2021 until December 31, 2023.

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1 min  |
February 2021
BARC develops indigenous Ruthenium 106 plaque to treat eye cancer
Bio Spectrum

BARC develops indigenous Ruthenium 106 plaque to treat eye cancer

Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space has lauded the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai for developing eye cancer therapy in the form of the first indigenous Ruthenium 106 plaque for treatment of ocular tumours.

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1 min  |
February 2021
CSIR reveals anti-viral benefits of chlorhexidine mouthwash
Bio Spectrum

CSIR reveals anti-viral benefits of chlorhexidine mouthwash

A preliminary laboratory based research conducted by researchers at Panjab University in collaboration with CSIR-Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) has revealed that one of the most routinely used mouth rinses, Chlorhexidine, has proven to be effective against SARS-CoV-2.

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1 min  |
February 2021
Health Ministry Unveils Website On Repurposed Drugs For Covid-19
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Health Ministry Unveils Website On Repurposed Drugs For Covid-19

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has launched a website that gives comprehensive information about the numerous COVID-19 clinical trials that Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is engaged in partnership with industry, other government departments and ministries.

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1 min  |
December 2020
World Bank approves $12B for COVID-19 vaccine support
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World Bank approves $12B for COVID-19 vaccine support

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved an envelope of $12 billion for developing countries to finance the purchase and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, tests, and treatments for their citizens.

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1 min  |
December 2020
WHO issues alerts on falsified medical products
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WHO issues alerts on falsified medical products

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an alert for medical product related to three different batches of confirmed falsified Fluzone Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine identified in Mexico and reported to WHO.

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1 min  |
December 2020
Pakistan emphasizes on breast cancer awareness
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Pakistan emphasizes on breast cancer awareness

The Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Pink Pakistan Trust with an aim to spread awareness on breast cancer and its early detection within Pakistan.

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1 min  |
December 2020
Siemens Healthineers to invest Rs 1300 Cr in innovation hub
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Siemens Healthineers to invest Rs 1300 Cr in innovation hub

To advance the digitalization of healthcare and better serve the needs of emerging markets, Siemens Healthineers has announced plans to invest Rs 1300 crore over the next five years in an innovation hub in Bengaluru.

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1 min  |
December 2020
Supporting innovation in 2021
Bio Spectrum

Supporting innovation in 2021

COVID-19 is likely to impact India’s economy across all industries and business formats. Nevertheless, the biosuppliers sector is gearing up to adopt the new normal and is all set to launch new products in next 12 months in 2021. The upcoming products are spread across a wide range of applications for the life sciences industry such as cell imaging, sample analysis, nanotechnology, gene sequencing, microbiology research, microencapsulation and much more.

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2 mins  |
December 2020
IIT-Kgp develops economical device for COVID-19 testing
Bio Spectrum

IIT-Kgp develops economical device for COVID-19 testing

Covirap, the diagnostic machine developed by the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-Kgp) researchers, has been successfully validated for its efficacy in COVID-19 detection by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

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1 min  |
December 2020
Medtech startup EzeRx gathers Rs 1.75 Cr in seed round
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Medtech startup EzeRx gathers Rs 1.75 Cr in seed round

Medtech startup EzeRx from Kolkata has secured Rs 1.75 crore in a seed funding round backed by the Odisha based KIIT Technology Business Incubator (TBI).

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1 min  |
December 2020
IISER-Pune focuses on checking asymptomatic COVID-19 cases
Bio Spectrum

IISER-Pune focuses on checking asymptomatic COVID-19 cases

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research IISER) in Pune, along with the BJ Medical College in Ahmedabad have developed a fast and sensitive device that can help detect asymptomatic COVID-19 patients by testing their sense of smell.

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1 min  |
December 2020
IIHMR, John Hopkins initiate vaccine economics course
Bio Spectrum

IIHMR, John Hopkins initiate vaccine economics course

With COVID-19 dramatically altering vaccine decision making globally, the world is faced with new challenges on how to maintain routine vaccine coverage and plan the rapid deployment of a coming COVID-19 vaccine.

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1 min  |
December 2020
WHO Pushes Availability Of Covid-19 Rapid Tests For LMICs
Bio Spectrum

WHO Pushes Availability Of Covid-19 Rapid Tests For LMICs

A set of agreements to make available, for low and middle-income countries (LMICs), affordable, high-quality COVID-19 antigen rapid tests have been announced by the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator.

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1 min  |
November 2020
Is COVID-19 Sidelining NCDs?
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Is COVID-19 Sidelining NCDs?

The pandemic has affected the supervision of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) not only in terms of overshadowing their severity and hazards but also in prioritization of their therapeutic consideration. Although a number of initiatives are being carried out by the industry and government to address this, there is also the urgent need to build a national strategic framework for managing NCDs during a pandemic.

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8 mins  |
November 2020
“We have 18 international patents granted for Stempeucel pooling technology”
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“We have 18 international patents granted for Stempeucel pooling technology”

Bengaluru based Stempeutics Research has received regulatory approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for the launch of Stempeucel in India.

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5 mins  |
November 2020
Bio Spectrum

Virtual Clinical Trials – An approach whose time has come

The COVID-19 pandemic will surely go down as a major event of the century and an event that will leave a long-lasting impression on our way of living and working.

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5 mins  |
November 2020
REGULATE MEDICAL AESTHETICS
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REGULATE MEDICAL AESTHETICS

The market that is worth billions of dollars in India has witnessed significant growth in the demand for aesthetic procedures owing to the rise in the number of doctors and surgeons providing effective medical aesthetic treatments and the launch of technologically advanced products for the same. However, India lacks proper guidelines to regulate the use of specific products and procedures for aesthetic treatment.

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10+ mins  |
November 2020
IIT-M makes nano-coated Mg alloys to fix bone fractures
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IIT-M makes nano-coated Mg alloys to fix bone fractures

Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) researchers have developed nano-coated magnesium (Mg) alloys that can repair bone defects in rabbits.

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1 min  |
November 2020
IIT-D partners with ILBS for enhancing medical research
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IIT-D partners with ILBS for enhancing medical research

(IIT-D) and (ILBS), Delhi has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)

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1 min  |
November 2020
Dr Reddy's Laboratories to supply 100 M doses of Sputnik V vaccine to India
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Dr Reddy's Laboratories to supply 100 M doses of Sputnik V vaccine to India

Supply to Dr Reddy’s 100 Million Doses of The Vaccine.

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1 min  |
November 2020
Hester Bio acquires Brucella vaccine technology from IVRI
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Hester Bio acquires Brucella vaccine technology from IVRI

Agreement Hester Biosciences has signed

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1 min  |
November 2020
Bio Spectrum

Diabetes Specialist Nurses – future ready health coaches

This World Diabetes Day (November 14, 2020) with the theme ‘Diabetes: Nurses Make The Difference’ focuses on empowering Diabetes Specialist Nurses (DSNs) to improve patient outcomes and deliver cost-effective diabetes care. Today nurses are increasingly becoming ‘health coaches’ and in future, they will play a significant role in preventive medicine.

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7 mins  |
November 2020
Securing India's Pharma Industry From Cyber Risk
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Securing India's Pharma Industry From Cyber Risk

Increasing production in pharma manufacturing implies a higher convergence of IT and OT systems. While convergence between IT and OT brings about efficiency, it also expands the attacks surface. The only way to make this work safely is to have a unified, risk-based view of the IT and OT environments.

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4 mins  |
October 2020
India Bracing For Mental Health Crisis
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India Bracing For Mental Health Crisis

This year, the 29th World Mental Health Day is all the more important for the globe as we find ourselves in the midst of a global mental distress crisis brought by COVID-19. The theme ‘Mental Health for All: Greater Investment- Greater Access’ fits appropriately as the situation not only demands enhanced access to mental health by breaking the stigma but also strengthening investments in the space as supporting pillars.

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8 mins  |
October 2020
“We have the capacity to produce over 10M COVID-19 tests per week globally”
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“We have the capacity to produce over 10M COVID-19 tests per week globally”

Thermo Fisher Scientific, the world leader in serving science, is continuously working to expand global capacity and capabilities across its leading pharma services network to support customers in government, industry and academia as they accelerate development and production of COVID-19 vaccines, therapies and other treatments.

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4 mins  |
October 2020
“We are in talks with Karnataka to deploy Vevra pods across the state”
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“We are in talks with Karnataka to deploy Vevra pods across the state”

To fight the ongoing pandemic and other contagious and airborne diseases, Bengaluru based company Vevra has allied with a Portugal based healthcare IoT company InnoWave Group to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) driven mobile hospital units called Vevra Pods. Primarily born as an answer for major medical crises of any form, these pods consist of a set of movable capsules that aim to efficiently assist in the infrastructure of hospitals across India. Mahesh Krishnahari, Director & Founder, Vevra Group, Bengaluru spoke to BioSpectrum in detail about this innovative solution. Edited excerpts;

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2 mins  |
October 2020
“The biotechnology industry in India is entering a new era of growth”
Bio Spectrum

“The biotechnology industry in India is entering a new era of growth”

The COVID-19 pandemic has unlocked several opportunities for the life sciences sector in India. And in response to this, the sector has taken the right plunge. KPMG’s new report on ‘Site selection for life sciences in Asia’ reveals the true potential has India possess. In an interview, Sanjay Singh, Partner – Deal Advisory, Head of Lifesciences, KPMG, Mumbai, expounds on the key findings of this study and shares insights on key market drivers. Edited excerpts;

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4 mins  |
October 2020
Technology Adding Fuel To Drive Out Covid-19
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Technology Adding Fuel To Drive Out Covid-19

The pressure on the healthcare sector to provide a solution for the COVID-19 pandemic is massive. As a result, the life sciences sector is adopting new technologies to quickly devise a way out to beat this crisis. Many companies and academic institutions in India are moving headfirst in this direction with support from the technology sector both locally and globally. Technology adoption is indeed playing a key role in better understanding and addressing the crisis with the right amount of fuel being added by the tech giants.

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10+ mins  |
September 2020
“We aim to make molecular diagnostics based on RT-PCR technology mainstream in India”
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“We aim to make molecular diagnostics based on RT-PCR technology mainstream in India”

Backed by Serum Institute of India, Pune based startup Mylab Discovery Solutions is aggressively launching new products in the diagnostic testing space to overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic. After raising funds from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and few private investors, the Mylab team has recently developed a fully-automated sample to-PCR-ready system for molecular diagnostics, which is a first in India. Founded in 2016, it is the first company in Asia and second company worldwide to develop and manufacture FDA approved ID-NAT kits for accurate detection of HIV, HBV, HCV and other infections. BioSpectrum India got in touch with Hasmukh Rawal, Managing Director, Mylab Discovery Solutions to find out more about the initiatives being taken up by the startup to combat COVID-19. Edited excerpts;

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4 mins  |
September 2020