-IPS News THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Balakrishnan, a labourer from Kochi in the southern Indian state of Kerala, was suffering from oral cancer. He was admitted to the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) in Thiruvananthapuram. After the first course of radiation therapy, the 60-year-old could not eat or drink because of severe pain and infection in the mouth. An Ayurvedic mouth wash developed from the Neem plant was administered to Balakrishnan for three weeks during the...
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India patent regime not about access to medicine: U.S body
-The Hindu Chennai: With U.S Trade Representative Michael Froman set to announce a trade enforcement action tied to India, the highly influential U.S Chamber of Commerce has lashed out at India's recent pattern of pharma patent denials, pointing out that the country's actions "are not about access to medicine." In the case of Swiss drug-maker Novartis, whose cancer drug's patent protections were dismissed by the Supreme Court, the chamber has argued that...
More »Bitter US pill on drug patents -Jayanta Roy Chowdhury
-The Telegraph New Delhi: The US Chamber of Commerce has advised its government to ratchet up pressure on India over intellectual property rights and prevent it from producing cheap generic versions of medicines under patent protection. In a recommendation to the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the chamber requested it to label India as a Priority Foreign Country, a tag which is given to the worst offenders of patent rights. The only...
More »90% of people in need of palliative care don’t get it: Report
-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Globally, nine out of ten persons who need palliative care or medical care to relieve pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness don't get it. A majority of these live in low and middle income countries, a recently released report has revealed. Every year, about 20 million people across the world are estimated to require palliative care at the end of life. The majority (69%) are...
More »80% of medicines not covered by price control order -Rema Nagarajan
-The Times of India About 38 million people in India (which is more than Canada's population) fall below the poverty line every year due to healthcare expenses, of which 70% is on purchase of drugs. Yet, the much-awaited drug price control order (DPCO) 2013, meant to control the price of medicines does not cover over 80% of the medicines in the market. Many drugs crucial for India's disease profile have been...
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