April 2020

Amid the rapidly evolving global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic that has already had profound effects on public health and medical infrastructure across the globe, many questions remain about its impact on child health. New research published in the Journal of Clinical Virology indicates that the vulnerability of neonates and children and their role in the spread of the virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS-CoV-2]) should be included in preparedness and response plans.

Government-enforced social isolation may help relatively affluent populations limit the spread of COVID-19, but these measures can be devasting for the nearly 1 billion people around the globe currently dwelling in urban slums, where physical space is scarce, and many rely on daily wage labor for survival.

People with certain heart diseases may be more susceptible to worse outcomes with COVID-19, but the reason why has remained unknown. New research from Mayo Clinic indicates that in patients with one specific type of heart disease obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) the heart increases production of the ACE2 RNA transcript and the translated ACE2 protein.

ISF College of Pharmacy (An Autonomous College), organized six day from April 27 to May 2, 2020, online short term Training Program sponsored by ALL India council of technical education (AICTE).

Selvita S.A. one of the largest preclinical contract research organizations in Europe, has signed a grant agreement with the National Centre for Research and Development for the development of a cell-based phenotypic platform based on high content imaging system integrated with artificial intelligence data analysis for multiple therapeutic areas, including neuroinflammatory and fibrosis drug discovery (HiScAI – High Content Screening Artificial Intelligence).

In a major step to make India self-reliant in COVID-19 testing, Mylab Discovery Solutions, a Pune based molecular diagnostics has collaborated with Kiran Mazumdar Shaw’s Syngene, a leading global contract research organization, to cater to India’s demand for RT-PCR COVID-19 testing kits.