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Medical Voice 11th December 2019

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Dr KK Aggarwal    11 December 2019

Respiratory Health Improves Quickly With Better Air Quality

Improvements in environmental air quality result in quick and dramatic health benefits, according to a new literature review published December 6 in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society.

Researchers with the Forum of International Respiratory Societies Environmental Committee reviewed studies that assessed the impact of air quality interventions on health outcomes and how long it took to achieve these outcomes. "Within a few weeks, respiratory and irritation symptoms, such as shortness of breath, cough, phlegm, and sore throat, disappear; school absenteeism, clinic visits, hospitalizations, premature births, cardiovascular illness and death, and all-cause mortality decrease significantly," write lead author Dean E. Schraufnagel, MD, from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and colleagues.

Healthcare News Monitor

Don’t use buprenorphine for poppy husk, alcohol de-addiction: Experts

The Times of India

CHANDIGARH: After huge diversion of buprenorphine tablets by private de-addiction centres came to fore, voices for checking the misuse of the potent medicine have started growing louder. The Punjab health department (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Punjab-health-department) held a meeting with civil surgeons, private psychiatrists and experts from the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, to find ways for stopping misuse of the de-addiction medicine. Though the experts recognised the effectiveness of buprenorphine in treatment for opioid abuse cases by harm reduction with opioid substitution therapy (OST), they termed its misuse and diversion a serious matter. They pointed out that the medicine was being commonly dispensed in routine to users of low-potency opioids like poppy husk and even alcohol against the standard operating procedures (SOPs) framed by the state government. As per the SOPs framed in 2018, buprenorphine should not be used for opioid use unless the opioid dependence is established. The medicine cannot be prescribed in routine for low-potency opioids like poppy husk, low-quality opium, codeine (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/codeine) cough syrups and propoxyphene capsules unless there are specific reasons for prescribing, which should be documented in patient record.

Domestic pharma sales pick up pace in Nov, but  fortunes  remain  stock-centric

Mint- Clifford Alvares

The surge in domestic pharmaceutical sales in November may have been encouraging, but sparked modest investor interest in pharma stocks, as was seen from the flat close of the Nifty Pharma index on Monday. Sales rose 14% year-on-year (y-o-y) in the month, led by an increase in anti-infective and respiratory therapies, according to data from market research firm AIOCD Awacs. It must be noted that November has been the best month in more than 32 months, shows the AIOCD Awacs data. In October, revenue growth had been soft at 5%, while volumes had declined. The growth in November was driven by volumes, which increased 5.9%, followed by a 5.7% rise in prices, and new products that were up 3%. The growth is on the back of a lower base from a year ago, when sales grew by about 7%. Analysts said the volume growth data was encouraging. “The pick up in volumes is the highlight after a negative volume growth of about 2.7% in October. Overall volume growth has been better this year. Additionally, Indian pharma companies outperformed multinational companies, which happened for the first time in the last six months. The domestic pharma market continues to remain strong," notes Kunal Dhamesha, pharma analyst at SBI Capital Markets Ltd.

Diabetes drug price to halve as patent expires; cheaper versions expected soon

Business Today- E Kumar Sharma

There is good news for diabetic patients in India. The patent for Vildagliptin, a leading drug to treat diabetes has expired, opening doors for several companies to launch generic versions. Going by the fatigue doctors experience sending away medical representatives who pitch for their version of the drug at prices less than half of what is currently in the market, it is apparent that there are many rushing in. "As Indian pharma companies get ready to launch the branded generic version of Vildagliptin, we might see over 50 new brands launched over the next few days in the Rs 800 core Vildagliptin market in India (in terms of annual sales)," says Hari Natarajan, who has tracked Indian pharma retail sales for years and is the founder and managing director of Pronto Consult, an independent consulting company specialising in doctor perception studies and market Insights in India and Middle East. Seeing this space "heat up," he says there are currently four brands in the Indian market today. These include that of innovator Novartis and brands licenced by it. He says, "The current price is around Rs 45 per day therapy (two tablets). Even if the price reduces by 50 per cent, which is expected, there would be significant savings for patients." Companies are talking of a significant price cut. Intas Pharmaceuticals, according to a senior official in the company, will hit the market today with two versions - one just Vildagliptin and another in combination with Metformin. They are to be priced at half of the current market price.

Two doctors among six held in Solapur abortion racket

The Times of India-TNN

PUNE: The Solapur police have busted an illegal abortion racket (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/abortion-racket) following a raid on a nursing clinic at Mangalvedha in the district and arrested six people, including two doctors and a medicine supplier. Speaking to TOI, inspector A R Gade of the Mangalvedha police station said they suspect sex determination tests were being conducted on pregnant women before getting their female fetuses aborted at the clinic. Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested child specialist Dr Shrikant Marda after raiding his Marda nursing home and Xray clinic. Dr Marda has been remanded in judicial custody and his clinic and machinery have been sealed. Gade said that during the raid, the police found three pregnant women at the clinic — from Solapur, Pune and Satara districts — who had been administered local anaesthesia. “Two of them said they had come to the clinic to abort their female fetuses. We have arrested the husbands of these two women,” he said. Gade said further investigations led to the arrest of a homeopath, Dr Vilas Sawant (51), from Mhaswad in Satara district, and Suraj Babar (37) from Kadegaon in Sangli district. They were picked up from their residences on Sunday. 2 docs among 6 arrested in abortion (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/abortion) racket “Dr Sawant, who runs Sanchit Hospital in Mhaswad, was treating patients with allopathic medicines. We have seized pills used in the medical termination of pregnancies from his hospital,” Gade said.

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