Medicines Financial News

NEW DELHI : The Centre has asked states for comprehensive data on the number of successful pregnancies achieved through surrogacy and assisted reproductive technology (ART), including cases involving married, single, divorced, and widowed women. This request, part of an effort to evaluate the effectiveness of the Surrogacy Act and the ART Act, introduced in 2021, was issued on 22 December, with a response deadline set for 1 January. The move follows reports on lapses by several IVF clinics across the country in complying with the rules, said an official from the union health ministry.

₹51,000 crore from the sale of the government’s shares in public sector companies. It is unlikely that any new big-ticket additions will be made to the divestment list for FY25, the people mentioned above said on condition of anonymity. “For FY25, the divestment targets will likely be lower than the FY24 target as the focus will be to complete stake sale processes initiated during FY24," one of the two people cited above said.

(Reuters) — Goldman Sachs Asset Management said on Wednesday it had raised $650 million for a new fund that will invest in startups related to the life sciences sector.

SHANGHAI (Reuters) — Chinese money managers are rushing to create funds tracking the newly-launched CSI A50 Index, which analysts say is a better reflection of China's economic landscape and government priorities than the country's stock benchmarks.

risk score to predict the chances of death for persons with heart failure. Heart failure is a complex clinical syndrome with high mortality rates, the researchers said. Current risk approaches that capture the biological complexity of the heart failure and show clinical utility are limited, they said.

medicines produced by small companies in India failed to meet quality standards compared with the national average of about 2%, says a government report on a recent survey. In the government's latest risk-based inspections of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), which have been on since December 2022, of the 271 samples analysed, 41 (15.1%) were declared to be not of standard quality (NSQ), says the report, which has been reviewed by ET. A person in the know said 30% of the MSME units inspected were issued a stop production order (SPO). «A strong correlation has been seen between the NSQ and MSME units,» the person said. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), along with state drug inspectors, has been carrying out inspections as part of a nationwide crackdown on spurious and substandard drugs. At present, phase IV of risk-based inspections is on. «Monthly NSQ data shows repeat failures for a company with the same product, and same product with multiple companies month-on-month,» another person said. India's drug regulator had earlier pointed to an urgent need to review the good manufacturing practices (GMP) regulations and quality management systems being followed by pharmaceutical companies during the inspections. In August last year, health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had announced that companies with a turnover of '250 crore and more will have to implement the revised GMP within six months. Medium and small-scale enterprises with a turnover of less than '250 crore will have to implement it within a year.

It is hard to quit smoking. However, new research reveals that smokers who want to quit smoking are likely to succeed more if they take a pill that can decreases nicotine cravings.

financial planning journey. Budgeting helps you allocate your income towards expenses, savings and investments. You can begin with 50/30/20 budgeting that allocates income as follows: a) 50% towards needs or non-negotiable expenses such as food, clothing, rent, EMIs, medicines, kid’s fees, utility bill payments, etc.

The government’s proposal to certify practitioners of traditional medicine, those who do not have a medical qualification or standardised professional training but still seem to be effective at what they do, is a bad idea. The government would do well to abandon such a move. What it should do, instead, is try and understand the science behind esoteric practices that have no place in the standard medical practice taught in recognised medical colleges but are effective in the real world.

To lose weight without losing money in a gym membership You may be bent upon losing weight this year (as you were in the past three years), and you may be sure you won’t stop going to the gym after three weeks (as you did in the past three years), but will you really? Stop lying to yourself. Do not pay the outrageously high gym membership fee this year.

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Arafat Barbakh and Dan Williams

Apocryphally, when one European diplomat in the Napoleonic era heard of the death of another, he responded by saying “I wonder what they meant by that?”. On hearing that some Deutsche Bank traders have had their gardening leave periods shortened from three months to one, people on Wall Street are likely to have had a similar response. 

NEW DELHI : India’s first indigenously developed vaccine for the prevention of cervical cancer has the same efficacy as those procured from other countries, according to a recent study published in the medical journal Lancet. Serum Institute of India developed the vaccine, called Cervavac, to be administered to youngsters between ages 9 and 26. The vaccine, rolled out earlier this year, is available in private hospitals, where the cost has been set at ₹1,400-1,600.

Retail inflation for industrial workers increased marginally to 4.98 per cent in November compared to 4.45 per cent in October this year, mainly due to higher prices of certain food items. Food inflation stood at 7.95 per cent against 6.27 per cent in the previous month (October 2023) and 4.30 per cent during the corresponding month (November 2022) a year ago, a labour ministry statement said.

By Michael Erman and Patrick Wingrove

Biomedical startups are using artificial intelligence to predict the response patients will have to cancer treatments, aiming to increase the success of drugs in clinical trials and tailor therapies to individuals. As data accumulate from clinical trials and fields such as gene and protein research, AI is helping scientists sift through large volumes of information to uncover signatures that correlate with response—or resistance—to treatment. Startups are using it to predict which drugs are likely to work in clinical studies and create tests to help doctors choose treatments.

NEW DELHI : The government plans to certify individuals who may not have the prescribed qualifications to be healthcare practitioners but bear knowledge gained from previous generations for certain treatments, such as for snake bites, jaundice, and bone-setting, two officials said. “They have the expertise and experience, but they do not have any qualification or formal degrees and it stands in the way of their social acceptance," one of them said.

We shouldn’t worry about the ability of artificial intelligence to create bioterrorism weapons. Restricting AI’s ability to understand biology and chemistry would pose a far greater danger. Evil is easy.

A woman who garnered international headlines for having two uteruses and becoming pregnant in both has given birth to twin baby girls.

Online, direct-to-consumer health care has grown well beyond its roots mostly treating hair loss and acne or selling birth control pills

Immune-boosting drugs have revolutionized cancer care. Now doctors are experimenting with cutting them off. Immunotherapies unleash the immune system on tumors.