-The Hindu In a major boost to the country’s private Vaccine manufacturing pharmaceutical companies, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that India’s national regulatory authority — Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) — and its affiliated institutions meet the prescribed international standards. India is a major Vaccine producer with 12 major Vaccine manufacturing facilities. These Vaccines are used for the national and international market, reaching nearly 150 countries. Every second child...

-The Hindu TV commercial on GlaxoSmithKline’s Vaccine against Rota virus makes unsubstantiated claims, says ASCI At a time when the commercial interests of major private hospitals or pharma giants often take precedence over the health concerns of the common man, a New Delhi doctor has managed to get the Advertising Standards Council of India to stall a television commercial, aired by GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, hailing the benefits of its Vaccine against Rota virus. The...

-The Telegraph A children’s Vaccine against a stomach infection has triggered controversy with some doctors claiming there is not enough data to show it is effective in India and accusing a leading drug company of using a misleading advertisement to promote the Vaccine. GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals (GSK) has stopped the advertisement for the Vaccine intended to protect children from potentially life-threatening rotavirus infections after the advertising industry’s self-regulating body upheld a doctor’s complaint...

-The Economic Times What are the chances that a chicken infected with bird flu will land on your plate? Zero. What are the chances that a bird flu infection will increase the price you pay for chicken and eggs? 100%. A virulent and deadly infection called avian influenza or bird flu is present in our country. The virus usually affects wild fowl which then infect chickens. The virus can survive for...

-The Indian Express As the 2015 target for achieving millennium development goals adopted in 1990 approaches, the time has come to take stock of various countries’ performances and identify areas that need more attention. The Unicef recently released a report which categorically stated that India will not be able to achieve the goal of an under-five mortality rate (U5MR) of 42 by 2015. The report further stated that only six of...