-The Hindu The current market prices are essentially over and above the actual cost of production - a difference that could run from 100 per cent to 5,600 per cent, depending upon various therapeutic categories In a liberalised market economy, do we need price controls on drugs? Policymakers and the pharmaceutical industry do not think so. They believe that price controls are an inefficient tool that distorts resource allocation, squeezes revenue, reduces...

-The Telegraph The proliferation and sales of anti-diabetes combination pills that contain two drugs to control blood sugar has stirred concerns in medical circles that a large proportion of diabetes patients in India are not receiving ideal treatment. A study by Indian and British researchers has shown that such two-drug combo pills accounted for more than half of the sales of all oral anti-diabetes medications in India last year, although doctors say...

-The Hindu     Hema Vijay meets R. Rajamurugan who's on a quest to document and rejuvenate forgotten food traditions of the State Chennai: This young man visits obscure villages, speaking to farmers in the fields and elderly village women, sifting through folklore and oral history on food. R. Rajamurugan's grand vision is to document and rejuvenate ancient and forgotten food traditions of the State. "For instance, consider ‘Kongu Nadu' that includes regions such...

-The Times of India MUMBAI: The treatment of lakhs of tuberculosis (TB) patients, especially children, across the country has been jeopardized over the past few weeks as India battles a severe shortage of key TB drugs. The stock-outs are more to do with two categories: paediatric and drug-resistant TB or DR-TB, industry experts say. Medical experts say that unless the government intervenes immediately, such acute shortage of drugs could prove disastrous for...

-The Times of India CHENNAI: The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has rapped pharma giant Hospira for serious lapses in manufacturing of drugs at its Sriperumbudur unit. The US agency has warned the firm that this could result in drugs made at the plant not being allowed entry into the US. Hospira, in a regulatory filing, said it had received a warning letter from the agency . The letter followed an...