Pharma News

Pfizer has decided to withdraw the application for Emergency Use Authorisation (EUA) of its COVID-19 vaccine in India. Pfizer was amongst the other industries like Dr. Reddy's Lab and Zydus Cadila which was seeking DCGI approval for their COVID-19 vaccine for EUA.

Pfizer India was the first company to apply for EUA in India on 4th December 2020 for it's mRNA Covid-19 vaccine just after it had received an emergency approval in the United Kingdom.

Merck and BioNTech are further expanding their strategic partnership. Merck, in close collaboration with BioNTech, will significantly accelerate the supply of urgently needed lipids and increase the amount of lipid delivery towards the end of 2021. The lipids will be used for the production of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 Vaccine (BNT162b2).

Although widely used in manufacturing, robots require much more agility for use in nursing and rehabilitation. With this in mind, an interdisciplinary research team led by Professor James Chang of the Department of Power Mechanical Engineering has recently applied the latest advances in AI, biomechanics, and human-factor engineering to develop a robot that can imitate the meticulous movements of a human hand. Endowed with sharp senses of vision and touch, the robot’s hands are nimble enough to catch a ball and pull out a tissue.

“Digital Health can be Revolutionary for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in India and Beyond.” Said Hon’ble Governor of Rajasthan while inaugurating 25th edition of IIHMR University’s Annual Global Conference PRADANYA 2021 on theme ‘Digital Health, Sustainable Development and Wellbeing’, scheduled during 3-5 February 2021. In his online address to the conference delegates from more than 10 countries, the Hon’ble Governor stressed on need for making healthcare affordable and quality focused.

Biogen Inc announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new intramuscular (IM) injection route of administration for PLEGRIDY® (peginterferon beta-1a) for the treatment of relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The new IM administration offers people living with relapsing MS the well-characterized efficacy and safety of PLEGRIDY with the potential for significantly reduced injection site reactions.

Gilead Sciences, Inc and Gritstone Oncology, Inc a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing next generation cancer and infectious disease immunotherapies, today announced that the companies have entered into a collaboration, option and license agreement to research and develop a vaccine-based immunotherapy as part of Gilead’s efforts to find a curative treatment for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

In a joint press briefing today together with German Health Minister Jens Spahn, Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, and Chief Executive Officer of CureVac N.V., Franz-Werner Haas, Member of the Board of Management, Bayer AG and President of the Bayer’s Pharmaceuticals Division, Stefan Oelrich, made the following statement  “Following discussions with the German government it has become clear that current manufacturing capacities for vaccines need to be increased, particularly for potential variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Eli Lilly and Company has partnered with local health systems to launch dedicated infusion center locations serving central, northern, and now southern Indiana that are intended to provide Hoosiers with access to important COVID-19 treatments.  Multiple neutralizing antibody therapies, administered via intravenous infusion, have been granted Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19 in high-risk patients.

Eisai Co., Ltd announced that Eisai Korea Inc., Eisai’s subsidiary in South Korea, has launched the Parkinson’s disease treatment Equfina® (safinamide mesilate, “safinamide”). This is the first launch of Equfina in the Asian region excluding Japan.