NEW DELHI: The government issued new guidelines on Thursday that require India's drugs companies to comply with the Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) standards of the European Union to ensure pharm

15-Year-Old American Develops A Faster, Cheaper Way For Early Detection

A15-year-old high school student in the US, whose uncle died of pancreatic cancer, has developed the first test for the disease that could detect tumours before they become too advanced to treat. Pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate for any cancer, which has remained unchanged for 40 years. It is symptomless in its early stages and strikes more than 8,000 people a year in the UK and 45,000 in the US. Four in five patients are inoperable by the time they are diagnosed and fewer than four in 100 live for five years.

A report submitted to the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) by the Drugs and Food Control Organisation (DFCO), a state government agency, has revealed that 438 medicines, including inject-able drugs have been found ‘not of standard quality’ (NSQ) after analysis over the past seven years. These samples were lifted randomly by officials of the organisation from government-run hospitals and chemist shops.

The SHRC is hearing a complaint by a civil society group, Jammu and Kashmir People’s Forum, filed in the wake of the spurious drugs scam and had asked for a factual report from the authorities concerned.

Move to ensure compliance with recent guidelines; discrepancies to attract severe action

The country's apex drug regulator plans periodic inspection of clinical trial sites to ensure these comply with the recently issued guidelines. If discrepancies are found, strict action is to be taken against the company and the trials might also be suspended, said a senior official in the the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) office.

Some Private Hospitals Come Under Attack From Govt-Appointed Panel

Thiruvananthapuram: The committee appointed by the government to look into the human drug trials has found that several companies in the state are conducting trials with just profit as their motive. To regulate this, the committee headed by Kerala State Council for Science and Technology executive vice president V N Rajasekharan Pillai has recommended bringing in a legislation to control the trials.

It's double trouble for global pharma companies in India.

It's a disease long associated with the elderly but is now diagnosed in younger people as well and with no permanent cure available till date.

However, in what could give hope to thousands suffering from Alzheimer's Disease (AD), the pharmacology department in AIIMS has identified Ayurvedic drugs which could have a role in preventing the onset of AD and also restricting its spread in affected patients. AD is a degenerative neurological disorder leading to progressive loss of cognitive abilities, including the patient's memory due to a drop in chemicals — known as neurotransmitters — which transmits messages between brain cells.