COVID-19

Roche India and Cipla Limited announced that the first batch of the Antibody Cocktail (Casirivimab and Imdevimab) is now available in India while a second batch will be made available by mid-June. In total they can potentially benefit 200,000 patients as each of the 100,000 packs that will be available in India offers treatment for two patients. Cipla will distribute the product by leveraging its strong distribution strengths across the country. The drug will be available through leading hospitals and COVID treatment centers.

Moderna, Inc a biotechnology company pioneering messenger RNA therapeutics and vaccines, announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of Japan granted special approval under article 14-3 of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act for emergency use of Moderna’s mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, now known as COVID-19 Vaccine Moderna Intramuscular Injection, in Japan. Distribution by Takeda in Japan will begin immediately.

Mylab Discovery Solutions announced the first self use Rapid test of India, Coviself which is approved by ICMR. Each Coviself test kit will be provided with all testing materials, instructions to use leaflet and a biohazard bag to safely dispose of after testing. It is available at economical pricing of Rs 250. Last year, Mylab launched the first RTPCR test of India for COVID-19.

School of Tropical Medicine is one of the seven such Institutions dedicated to research, care and cure of tropical diseases. STM was founded by Sir Leonard Rogers way back in 1914. The corridors of STM had regular footfall of eminent researchers like Leonard Rogers, Ronald Ross, R Knowels, UN Brahmachari, JB Chatterjee, RN Chopra and many others. The foundation stone of the School of Tropical Medicine was laid by the Governor. Lord Carmichael in the year 1914 on 24th February at the initiative of Sir Leonard Rogers.

School of Tropical Medicine is one of the seven such Institutions dedicated to research, care and cure of tropical diseases. STM was founded by Sir Leonard Rogers way back in 1914. The corridors of STM had regular footfall of eminent researchers like Leonard Rogers, Ronald Ross, R Knowels, UN Brahmachari, JB Chatterjee, RN Chopra and many others. The foundation stone of the School of Tropical Medicine was laid by the Governor. Lord Carmichael in the year 1914 on 24th February at the initiative of Sir Leonard Rogers.

Shilpa Biologicals Private Limited, SBPL, has entered into a 3 year DefInitive Agreement with Dr. Reddys Laboratories Limited, DRL, for production supply of the Sputnik V vaccine from its integrated biologics R&D cum manufacturing center at Dharwad, Karnataka.

Sun Pharma has entered into a royalty-free, non-exclusive voluntary licensing agreement with Eli Lilly and Company Lilly for expanding access to Lillys drug, baricitinib in India. Sun Pharma will manufacture and distribute the drug in India.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has expanded the Emergency Use Authorization, EUA, for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to include individuals 12 to 15 years of age. This is the first COVID-19 vaccine authorized in the U.S. for use in this age group.

The Drugs Controller General of India, DCGI, has given permission for the emergency use of 2 deoxyD-glucose, 2-DG medicine as an adjunct therapy in moderate to severe Covid-19 cases.

An anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application of the drug 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) has been developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.