India's Union health ministry has amended drug regulations, making a doctor's prescription mandatory for purchasing syrup-based medicines, including cough syrups. The change, effective June 9, removes 'syrups' from Schedule K, ending over-the-counter sales and strengthening regulatory oversight.
India's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare now requires a doctor's prescription to buy cough syrups and other syrup medicines, ending over-the-counter sales. This move aims to prevent misuse, recreational drug use, and accidental poisoning, especially among adolescents and young adults, and addresses a history of contaminated Indian-made medicines causing child deaths globally.
Revolution Medicines' experimental drug, daraxonrasib, has shown unprecedented success in treating advanced pancreatic cancer, doubling patient survival rates and significantly reducing the risk of death by 60% compared to standard chemotherapy. The drug, a first-in-class RAS(ON) inhibitor, targets specific RAS gene mutations and demonstrated a remarkable improvement in tumor shrinkage and patient quality of life, with a much lower incidence of severe side effects. The FDA has granted it expanded access and speedy review.
The UK's MHRA has approved Wegovy, the first GLP-1 receptor agonist tablet for weight loss, making the UK the third country to authorize the pills. This expands treatment options for adults with obesity or overweight with related health conditions.
India's Competition Commission (CCI) has dismissed allegations against 12 Delhi hospitals for inflating healthcare charges, stating price regulation is the government's domain. The ruling, which follows a decade-long investigation, is criticized for potentially overlooking consumer protection mandates in the $372-billion healthcare industry.
Over a third of essential medicines are out of stock, endangering over 4,000 cancer patients and thousands of kidney dialysis patients.
AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot discusses how AI enhances productivity in drug discovery and development, enabling smarter design, side effect reduction, and improved trial success prediction.
Russia and Cuba will sign a memorandum today for the joint development of cancer vaccines. Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko announced this at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), where Russia also noted interest from 90 companies in supplying agricultural products to Cuba.
European patients face increasing delays in accessing new medicines, with average wait times reaching 597 days. Despite strong scientific innovation, fragmented national systems hinder timely access post-approval. An 'Access from Day 1' approach is proposed to streamline pathways, ensuring innovation reaches patients faster and more equitably.
Global antibiotic use in livestock is projected to increase by 30% by 2040 without government intervention, potentially leading to disastrous impacts on human resistance to medicines. The UN's FAO report highlights the rise of superbugs and calls for better regulation.
South Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has newly designated three essential medicines, including two cancer injection drugs (Dacarbazine and Doxorubicin) and Cisatracurium injection, as national essential medicines. This brings the total number of national essential medicines to 491, aiming to ensure stable supply for patients.
Um novo medicamento, daraxonrasib, dobrou a sobrevida mediana de pacientes com câncer de pâncreas metastático em estudo de fase 3, reduzindo o risco de morte em 60% e apresentando baixa toxicidade. Os resultados foram apresentados na ASCO e devem levar à aprovação regulatória nos EUA.
Sudan's healthcare system is nearing collapse due to a three-year civil war, leading to critical medicine shortages, spoiled drugs, and exorbitant costs. Hospitals are non-operational, supply chains are disrupted, and smuggling networks flood the market with unregulated, often toxic, "Boko" medicines.
美國生技公司Revolution Medicines開發的新藥daraxonrasib，在晚期胰臟癌大型臨床試驗中，將患者中位存活期從6.7個月延長至13.2個月，幾乎翻倍。這項成果來自「分子膠」技術，通過化學方式把有害蛋白「黏」到其他蛋白上，進而抑制其功能。
Chinese AI firms MiniMax Group and Zhipu AI will be added to the Hang Seng Tech Index on June 5, increasing its constituents to 93. Hansoh Pharmaceutical and Akeso will join the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index. Investor sentiment has been affected by the US-Israel war on Iran and weak results from Chinese tech platforms.
The IUCN reports over 4,300 species in Southeast Asia are critically endangered or endangered, including tigers, giant catfish, gibbons, pangolins, and vultures. Wildlife trafficking is identified as a major threat.
The IUCN reports over 4,300 species in Southeast Asia are critically endangered or endangered, with tigers, pangolins, and vultures among those facing urgent threats, largely due to wildlife trafficking.
Nova droga oral, daraxonrasib, dobra sobrevida de pacientes com câncer de pâncreas em estágio avançado. Em ensaio clínico, reduziu risco de morte em 60% e oferece esperança onde antes havia poucas opções.
Global health leaders are considering experimental vaccines and medicines for the Ebola outbreak in the DRC, which has seen over 500 suspected cases and 130 deaths. The WHO declared a public health emergency, citing the outbreak's speed and scale, exacerbated by conflict and weak infrastructure.
This week’s budget revealed a number of ways the federal government is expected to use artificial intelligence to cut back on red tape. One expert says the benefits are "mostly good".
NICE recommends NHS funding for nusinersen (Spinraza) and risdiplam (Evrysdi) for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) patients in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, offering improved survival and quality of life for hundreds of children with this rare genetic disorder.
Pfizer focuses on India for future growth, planning quick launches of new medicines at affordable prices, targeting oncology, obesity, vaccines, and specialty drugs, with India deemed a 'must-win' market.
India's drug regulator is developing guidelines to restrict high-risk solvents like Propylene Glycol in pediatric medicines after toxic impurities (DEG, EG) in cough syrups caused child deaths.
Die EU hat sich auf den „Critical Medicines Act“ geeinigt, um die Abhängigkeit von außereuropäischen Arzneimittelimporten zu reduzieren. Durch neue Vergabekriterien und staatliche Förderungen soll die Produktion kritischer Medikamente innerhalb der Union gestärkt werden.
