NIH launches first-of-its-kind study for neuroprotective stroke therapies

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has called on researchers to make the standards and practices for conducting early stage, or preclinical, medical research on animals more like those used for clinical trials. To facilitate this change, NIH will fund a nationwide preclinical trial platformdesigned to systematically and efficiently test novel treatments for acute ischemic stroke in rodents. Seven labs will work together, as part of the Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network (SPAN), to employ rigorous, clinical research practices, like randomization and blinding, while assessing the effectiveness of six potential neuroprotective therapies in reducing ischemic brain injury. The funding estimate for the network is $4 million over three years.

Our primary goal is to identify the most promising treatments for testing in patients with clinical trials,” said Walter J. Koroshetz, M.D., director of NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke which supports SPAN. “In the long term, we hope that this approach will increase the chance of success in pairing a brain saving treatment with the current practice of clot removal used to treat patients with potentially fatal or disabling stroke.”

The term “preclinical” refers to an early stage of medical research in which scientists working in labs explore the causes of diseases and novel ideas for treatments, often by recreating or modeling diseases in animals such as mice and rats.

Healthcare News Monitor

The expanding health insurance landscape in Indias Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities

Daily News & Analysis - Amit Chhabra

In India, the current health care system is experiencing drastic developments as it has changed completely from what it was until a few decades back. The situation is vastly altering especially in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities where more and more people are getting covered under comprehensive health insurance policies. There is a constant increase in awareness for quality healthcare in Tier 2 and Tie 3 cities. Today, preventive healthcare methods are becoming a preferred option in our country which is still at a developing stage. The proportion of customers showing interest in health insurance has increased by in the last 3 years. As per industry experts, the Indian health and wellness industry is approximately a 3-billion-dollar market and is expected to grow by 6.5 billion dollars by the end of 2022. Interestingly, the contributions from the Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities are a major growth factor. There are numerous other growth factors responsible for the booming of the Indian health insurance industry. One of the most prominent factors is awareness that has instigated the people to cover themselves under an adequate health insurance policy that gives them comprehensive coverage. Moreover, the stressful and unhealthy lifestyle that most people tend to follow these days has led to a significant increase in the incidence of lifestyle related ailments that include diabetes and hypertension.

Pakistan allows trade of life saving drugs with India

India Today 

A month after Pakistan suspended bilateral trade with India, it has now allowed the import of life-saving medicines from India in order to provide relief to its patients who were affected due to Pakistans drug industry being severely hit. According to reports, the export of medicines to India has also been allowed. The permissions were granted by the Pakistan Ministry of Commerce on Monday, which also issued a statutory regulatory order in this regard, Geo News reported. After India revoked Article 370 of its Constitution which gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir on August 5, Pakistan ended all trade relations with India. In its reaction to the political developments in Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan had also expelled the Indian Ambassador from Islamabad. There was a campaign to boycott Indian goods in Pakistan. Train and bus services between the two countries were stopped. Even Indian films and advertisements featuring Indian artists were banned. Pakistan wanted to harm India on the trade front but as the month passed, Pakistan began to understand the impact of its decision.

India pledges $200,000 for health emergency fund

The Hindu 

India will contribute $2,00,000 towards implementation of the preparedness stream under the South-East Asia Health Emergency Response Fund (SEARHEF), said Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Tuesday. He made the announcement during the ministerial round-table on emergency preparedness on the second day of the ‘72nd Session of the World Health Organization (WHO) regional committee for South-East Asia’. The Health Ministers of the South-East Asia Region of WHO also signed the Delhi Declaration on Emergency Preparedness. Dr. Vardhan also highlighted Cyclone Fani as a case study in early preparedness and disaster management and said that accurate weather forecast, effective early warnings, preparedness for timely evacuation of nearly 1.15 million people to 6,575 cyclone shelters and other risk mitigation measures helped save many lives. “Special surveillance was mounted for early detection and control/containment of vector-borne and waterborne diseases. There had been no outbreak of epidemic prone disease following cyclone Fani,” Dr. Vardhan said. The Health Minister also informed that in the recent past, the government of India has provided timely medical supplies to 13 countries requiring humanitarian assistance spread over South East Asia, Asia Pacific and Africa worth 10 million US dollars. “We continue to extend medical assistance to six countries this year with medical supplies worth $5 million,” he added.

Zydus Cadila receives DCGI nod to market rabies drug in India

ET Healthworld – PTI

Zydus Cadila on Tuesday said it has received marketing authorisation for Twinrab, used for treating rabies, from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI). "The novel biologic which will be marketed under the brand name, Twinrab, is indicated in combination with rabies vaccine for rabies post-exposure prophylaxis," Zydus Cadila said in a statement. Rabies, a viral disease which gets transmitted through the bite of a rabid animal, affects the central nervous system. Zydus said in 2008, it had entered into an agreement with the World Health Organization (WHO) to explore opportunities in the development of a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of rabies. "The use of rabies monoclonal antibodies could emerge as an innovative therapy and form a potent alternative to current blood derived rabies immunoglobulins (RIGs) produced by vaccinating horses (ERIG) or humans (HRlG)," the company added. Zydus said it currently also manufactures and markets the rabies vaccine — VaxiRab which is a WHO pre-qualified vaccine.