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<keyword id="19919396" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tripura" source="keywords">Tripura</keyword> is presently facing a surging <keyword id="22356081" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HIV-epidemic" source="keywords">HIV epidemic</keyword> ripping through its student population. Fueled by <keyword id="22349851" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="injectable-drug-use" source="keywords">injectable drug use</keyword>, this crisis has infected at least 828 students and tragically claimed the lives of 47. The situation stretches across 220 schools and 24 colleges, highlighting the alarming ease of transmission. Officials from the Tripura State AIDS Control Society (TSACS) paint a grim picture. New cases are detected daily, with estimates ranging from five to seven. This data, meticulously collected from 164 health facilities across the state, offers a comprehensive view of the outbreak's geographic and demographic reach. The crisis appears to be disproportionately impacting students from affluent families. Often, both parents hold government jobs, possibly indicating higher disposable incomes. However, officials think that this dynamic can delay the detection of drug use and HIV infection, hindering early intervention, as per TOI. While this news may come as a surprise to many outside the northeast, the region has actually been battling a drug problem for several years now, which has sparked a concerning shift in its HIV epidemic. <h2>The growing threat of injectable drug use </h2>As of November 2023, Tripura had over 5,200 active HIV/AIDS cases. While sexual transmission had dipped below 2% as of last year, injectable drug use among students became the primary mode of transmission of the deadly disease. In just a few years, injectable drug use has skyrocketed to a staggering 95% among students aged 14-20. This surge is attributed to the easy availability of injectable drugs, leaving students particularly vulnerable. The statistics paint a bleak picture. As of July 2023, Tripura has witnessed a 300% increase in AIDS patients over the previous decade, TOI reported. The report further stated that injectable drug users were estimated to be 43 times more likely to contract HIV compared to the general adult population. This issue is particularly concerning in northeastern states like Tripura, Mizoram, Nagaland, and Manipur. HIV cases have seen a dramatic rise. From a mere 11 in 2015-16, the number jumped to 757 in 2022 alone. And just over six months into 2024, the state has already seen over 800 HIV cases among students due to drug use. However, experts do point to increased surveillance, awareness and better screening are also contributing to an increased number of cases being reported in recent years. Experts warn that this trend indicates a potential full-blown epidemic. Curbing it requires extensive counselling and mass testing among vulnerable youth. However, obtaining prior consent for testing creates a significant hurdle. The <keyword id="174281" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tripura-government" source="Orion">Tripura government</keyword> is actively seeking solutions. Amending the law to allow mandatory HIV testing under specific circumstances is being explored. Additionally, the focus remains on strengthening existing strategies to combat HIV/AIDS. Tripura's Chief Minister has pointed a finger at foreign nations such as Myanmar, accusing them of fueling the illegal drug trade in the state. He has vowed to crack down on drug traffickers, highlighting Tripura's position as the leading drug seizure state in the Northeast. With the recent surge in the state’s HIV cases, Tripura's fight against AIDS has entered a new chapter. Addressing the rising IDU trend among students is crucial to prevent a further escalation of the epidemic. Through a combination of stricter regulations, targeted interventions, and increased awareness, Tripura can hope to control this public health challenge.

How did over 800 students test HIV positive in Tripura?

India is on the brink of a significant medical innovation with the upcoming launch of <keyword id="23029757" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="PresVu-eye-drops" source="keywords">PresVu eye drops</keyword>, a groundbreaking treatment aimed at reducing dependency on <keyword id="23034012" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reading-glasses" source="keywords">reading glasses</keyword>. Developed by Mumbai-based <keyword id="20007796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Entod-Pharmaceuticals" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Entod Pharmaceuticals" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Entod Pharmaceuticals">Entod Pharmaceuticals</keyword>, PresVu has recently received approval from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and is scheduled to hit the market in early October 2024. <h3 style="line-height:1.2;margin-top:14pt;margin-bottom:4pt;">What is PresVu?</h3>PresVu eye drops are designed to treat <keyword id="23035383" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="presbyopia" source="keywords">presbyopia</keyword>, a common age-related condition that affects the eye's ability to focus on nearby objects. This condition, which typically begins in the early 40s, leads to a gradual decline in <keyword id="23035385" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="near-vision" source="keywords">near vision</keyword>, making reading glasses a necessity for millions. As per estimates, nearly one third of Indian adults suffer from the condition. PresVu offers a novel solution, aiming to restore visual independence to those suffering from mild to moderate presbyopia. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112800837" title="Scientists want to help drug addicts recover — by giving them psychedelics" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><h2>How does it work?</h2>The drug contains <keyword id="23035386" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="pilocarpine-hydrochloride" source="keywords">pilocarpine hydrochloride</keyword> — a plant-derived compound that has been used for decades to treat various eye conditions and dry mouth. The drops are intended for daily use, with effects lasting several hours, allowing users to perform tasks like reading without the need for glasses. As per the company, the effects of the drops will be apparent within 15 minutes, but complete benefits are only apparent after 15 days of use. The treatment has been thoroughly tested in clinical trials across India and has shown promising results in improving near vision. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="112738885" title="India bans 156 commonly used combination drugs citing possible risks to humans" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div><h2>Market impact and accessibility</h2>The introduction of PresVu is expected to make a significant impact in India, where the prevalence of presbyopia is rising. As per media sources, each vial will be priced at Rs 345, making it an affordable alternative to reading glasses. Each vial is designed to last about a month, making it a cost-effective solution for long-term use. Entod Pharmaceuticals has ambitious plans for PresVu, targeting not just the Indian market but also emerging markets in Africa and Southeast Asia. The company sees this as a step towards becoming a global innovator in ophthalmology, with future plans to out-licence products in the US market. (Editor's note: PresVu eye-drops have since been suspended by the DCGI for making exaggerated marketing claims related to the product)

Say bye-bye to reading glasses! Mumbai drug-maker to soon introduce eye drops to treat presbyopia in India

<keyword id="15160768" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="presvu" source="Orion">PresVu</keyword> eye drops, developed by <keyword id="20007796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="entod-pharmaceuticals" source="keywords">Entod Pharmaceuticals</keyword>, were launched with considerable media attention earlier this month as a novel solution for <keyword id="23035383" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="presbyopia" source="keywords">presbyopia</keyword>. Presbyopia is a condition where individuals aged 40 and above experience difficulty focusing on nearby objects, often requiring reading glasses. PresVu claimed to reduce or eliminate the need for these glasses, offering an alternative through its active ingredient, 1.25% Pilocarpine, which temporarily contracts the pupil, improving near vision. Entod Pharmaceuticals earlier announced that the product had approval from the <keyword id="20047866" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="drug-controller-general-of-india" source="keywords">Drug Controller General of India</keyword> (<keyword id="20046022" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="dcgi" source="keywords">DCGI</keyword>). These announcements created substantial buzz, as the treatment promised a non-invasive solution to a common problem affecting millions of people. <h2>Regulatory backlash</h2>The situation escalated when the Drug Controller General of India suspended the marketing and distribution licence of PresVu eye drops. The suspension was issued due to unauthorised promotional campaigns by Entod, which made unverified claims about the drug's capabilities. The company had reportedly promoted PresVu not as a prescription drug, but as an over-the-counter (OTC) solution that could potentially replace reading glasses — a claim that regulators found highly misleading. The DCGI expressed concerns that such promotions could lead to misuse, with patients potentially self-administering the product without medical guidance, raising significant safety concerns. Furthermore, the regulatory body pointed out that while the product had been approved as a prescription drug, the marketing blitz implied it was a quick-fix solution available to anyone, which it was not. <h2>Entod Pharmaceuticals responds</h2>Entod Pharmaceuticals quickly defended itself against these allegations, maintaining that their marketing campaign was based on the information cleared by the DCGI. According to Entod, the promotion highlighted only the approved uses of the <keyword id="4537914" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="eye-drop" source="Orion">eye drop</keyword>, and any misconceptions arose from how the media and public interpreted the information. The company asserted that it would challenge the suspension in court, emphasising that other pharmaceutical companies frequently follow similar marketing practices without facing such scrutiny. In a statement, Entod’s CEO, <keyword id="21011592" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="nikkhil-k-masurkar" source="keywords">Nikkhil K Masurkar</keyword>, clarified that the company had conducted phase 3 clinical trials in India to ensure the product’s safety and efficacy. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113251803" title="The next big market for weight-loss drugs: children" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>“Our approval by DCGI was based on a valid controlled clinical trial in 234 patients which was successful in showing efficacy and safety of these eye drops in patients of Presbyopia, who used these drops without eyeglasses and could read additional lines on Snellen's chart which is yardstick of near vision impairment,” Masurkar commented in a statement. He insisted that the product’s promotional activities had followed standard protocols and blamed the viral nature of media reports for blowing the issue out of proportion. Despite these defences, the product remained suspended pending further investigations. "Such eye drops with the same active ingredient and same concentration have been approved by the US <keyword id="19918726" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fda" source="keywords">FDA</keyword> and marketed in the US for the last three years without any serious complications. FDA didn’t take any action on the companies marketing the same in the USA,” Masurkar further elaborated. <h2>Public and expert reactions</h2>The controversy garnered widespread attention, particularly from medical professionals. The Liver Doc, a prominent liver specialist that takes to social media to debunk pseudoscientific claims, criticised the situation on X (former Twitter), warning about the dangers of exaggerated medical claims in advertising. The doctor’s tweet emphasised that blaming Indian media for blowing Entod’s claims out of proportion was “shameless”, noting that the media merely reported exactly what the company had themselves claimed earlier. <div type="twitter" handle="theliverdr" handlename="theliverdr" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" id="1833828866210849170"></div>As of September 12, 2024, the suspension of PresVu's marketing approval remains in place. Entod Pharmaceuticals is preparing to contest the decision in court, hoping to reinstate its flagship product in the Indian market. The regulatory investigation continues, with the DCGI seeking clarification on the exact nature of the promotions and whether they indeed violated ethical standards. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113229771" title="China&amp;#39;s drug regulator clears mpox vaccine; to undergo clinical trial" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>Despite Entod’s defence, the controversy has raised important questions about the marketing of prescription drugs in India, with regulators, the media, and the public closely watching how this case will evolve. The outcome could set a precedent for how pharmaceutical companies in India can market innovative treatments, particularly when dealing with sensitive areas like vision correction.

PresVu eye drops: Why has a pharma company fallen in controversy for claiming to cure near-sightedness?

<ul class="summary-list"><li>China said on Wednesday that it's willing to help the US crack down on fentanyl.</li><li>The US says China is a main source of materials for fentanyl that later ends up in America.</li></ul>President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed on Wednesday to crack down on fentanyl production, a move the US has championed as a key step toward subduing its opiate epidemic.The deal, which both leaders settled at the Asian-Pacific Economic Committee summit in San Francisco, would see Beijing assist Washington by regulating fentanyl precursors in China.The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf">Drug Enforcement Administration</a> has warned in recent years that China is a primary source for key ingredients in fentanyl. Those ingredients are shipped to places where the drug is created for illegal consumption in the US, per the DEA.But few details were announced on Wednesday, and the deal is more of a positive sign in diplomacy and less of a concrete hope that Americans can start seeing fentanyl vanish from city streets, experts on US-China relations told Business Insider."If success is defined by the disappearance of illicit fentanyl and related opioids in US society, then quite probably, any such deal with any country is likely to be judged as ineffective," said Zha Daojiong, a professor of international political economy at Peking University.<h2>China's role in a massive fentanyl problem</h2>Biden and Xi both face a behemoth challenge: a highly lucrative international drug trade that often teeters on the edge of what's legal and illegal.Many of the precursors to fentanyl, originally created as a painkiller, are legal to produce and export in China, and it remains to be seen how Beijing will crack down on the local pharma market.It's an industry too vast and fragmented for Chinese authorities to easily identify and control chemicals that can be turned into fentanyl, said Liu Zongyuan, the Maurice R. Greenberg fellow for China studies at the Council of Foreign Relations.Even if Beijing were to impose the right limits on the right parties, cartels can start looking elsewhere for materials, Liu said.India, for example, has been designated <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-03/DEA_GOV_DIR-008-20%20Fentanyl%20Flow%20in%20the%20United%20States_0.pdf">by the DEA</a> as a growing source of fentanyl precursors, with at least one documented case of an Indian national working with a cartel to produce fentanyl."Fentanyl is <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/sites/default/files/2020-06/Fentanyl-2020_0.pdf">50 times stronger than heroin</a> and makes 20 times the profit of heroin," Liu said. "Low cost, high profit. There are just way too many profiting incentives for people to engage in these illicit activities."Robert Ross, a professor of political science at Boston College, said the Biden-Xi agreement in its current form will have a "marginal at best effect" on fentanyl in the US."Focusing on China as the source of the problem has been because it's such an easy country to criticize," Ross said. "In reality, China is only one player in the fentanyl problem.""The US has to solve its social problems," Ross added. "If demand in America is there, there will be an international fentanyl supply, whether it's from Mexico, whether it's from China."<h2>So why bother?</h2>The deal at least signals an area on which Beijing and Washington can shake hands."The fact that Biden and Xi put their names, time, and effort behind the cause is a welcome head start," said Eric Richardson, a law lecturer at UC Berkeley and the founder of consultancy INHR, which trains diplomats to work in the United Nations.For China, the fentanyl agreement — alongside other deals struck on Wednesday, like the reopening of a military hotline — gives the impression that Beijing is open to playing ball, Ross said."They are trying to signal to Europe and other countries that they are willing to cooperate," Ross said.For the Biden administration, the fentanyl deal has been an issue repeatedly pushed by US officials, Liu said."This is something that's been critical for President Biden in the coming election," Liu said. "And it's also something that's not a high-cost item issue for President Xi Jinping or China to agree on."One facet of the deal, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-14/biden-xi-to-announce-deal-for-fentanyl-crackdown-by-china">Bloomberg</a> and <a target="_blank" href="https://www.reuters.com/business/us-commerce-dept-removes-chinese-agency-entity-list-federal-register-2023-11-16/">Reuters</a> reported, involves the US to lifting sanctions on the Forensic Public Security Institute, a Chinese government agency that Washington has accused of being involved in human rights abuses in Xinjiang.In the end, China also stands to gain from the agreement by learning from America's counter-narcotics branches, so it may guard against a potential fentanyl crisis of its own, Liu said.Zha, from Peking University, agreed. "The US has a lot of technical expertise in source-tracing a harmful substance, including that to a precursor in a foreign country," he said. "China is on the receiving end of illicitly trade substances that harm its population as well."

China is helping the US deal with its massive fentanyl problem — sort of

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Philadelphia lawmakers voted this month to essentially ban supervised injection sites.</li><li>The vote came despite evidence that the sites significantly reduced overdose deaths.</li></ul>Over the last decade, about 10,000 people in Philadelphia have injected drugs, overdosed, and died. Each year, hundreds of people pass out on the city's streets and do not wake up. With the arrival of fentanyl, it's trending worse, too: 10 years ago, fewer than 500 Philadelphians suffered a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/-/media/assets/2022/04/philadelphia-2022-the-state-of-the-city.pdf">fatal overdose</a>; in 2021, the overdose death toll was almost 1,300, at least <a target="_blank" href="https://www.dea.gov/engage/operation-engage-philadelphia">8 in 10 fatalities</a> attributable to drugs laced with the powerful opioid.Public health is not a field for moralizing. People should not, generally, inject into their bodies a substance they bought with cash from a stranger on the street. But people will because they are physically hooked on those substances. And many will not resort to best practices, like using a clean needle, and contract diseases that require lifelong treatment. Kensington, a neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia, is ground zero for this behavior. It's home to open-air dealing in heroin and "tranq," an animal sedative that can result in limbs being amputated. But people all over Philadelphia, addicted and unhoused, can be found lying motionless on sidewalks or a stranger's front stoop.That is the state of things. Knowing this, and presumably being aware of the science — a supervised injection site in Vancouver, Canada, reduced overdose deaths by 35%, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6565790/">according to one study,</a> and those who used the site were more likely to also seek drug treatment — members of Philadelphia's city council, almost all Democrats who style themselves progressive, this month acted in near-unanimity to <a target="_blank" href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/supervised-injection-site-ban-philadelphia-city-council-20230914.html">effectively prohibit</a> something that does not currently exist: safe spaces where someone can inject a drug, with a clean needle, in front of someone trained to address an overdose."This is another tragic page in a tragic story," Scott Burris, director of the Center of Public Health Law Research at Temple University, told Insider. "Philadelphia had a chance to come together to do something that needed to be done, that is backed by evidence and experience. It pushed a lot of buttons, but we should as a community [have] been able to talk it through and get to a solution."Philadelphia's city council did allow for the possibility of a site opening in one western district of the city, and some members suggested they were only asking for more community input, although cynics would note such input tends to be, predictably, of the "not in my backyard" variety. Councilman Isaiah Thomas, who has a reputation as a progressive, likened supervised injection sites to billionaires steamrolling opposition and constructing a downtown sports arena, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/supervised-injection-site-ban-philadelphia-city-council-20230914.html">The Philadelphia Inquirer reported</a>. "People would be up in arms," Thomas said.Mike Driscoll, a Democrat representing the city's northeast, was adamant that he was opposing the whole idea."We need to put these folks into compassionate, long-term care and get them on the road to recovery, not postpone the inevitable," he said, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/supervised-injection-site-ban-philadelphia-city-council-20230914.html">according to The Philadelphia Inquirer</a>.In that, most of Philly's elected Democrats are in an uneasy but very real alliance with Donald Trump. In 2019, the former president's Department of Justice <a target="_blank" href="https://whyy.org/articles/federal-prosecutors-sue-to-stop-nations-first-planned-supervised-injection-site-in-philly/">sued to stop</a> a Philadelphia-based nonprofit, Safehouse, from opening what would have been the country's first safe injection site, citing a federal law originally aimed at crack houses. The Biden administration is looking to have the <a target="_blank" href="https://whyy.org/articles/safehouse-supervised-injection-suit-department-justice-dismiss/">case dismissed</a>.The bipartisan fantasy is admirable, albeit unfunded. Instead of enabling the safer consumption of a dangerous drug, the benevolent state could instead extend its iron hand to the afflicted user, leading them down the path to treatment (paying for it, even: the food; the shelter; the counseling) and eventual reintegration with society, doing what is best for them, whether they can see that or not.The trouble, according to Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, is that this approach does not usually work, at least in the scaled-down versions of mandatory treatment that actually exist. "The data does not show that it's beneficial to put someone in jail or prison or force them against their will to go to treatment," <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/30/opinion/forced-addiction-treatment.html">she told The New York Times</a> last year.Besides, Philadelphia, a city battling not just drug addiction but poverty and gun violence, is not about to open drug treatment resorts. The stopgap solution — a safe place to inject drugs — falls far short of eliminating the scourge of drug addiction but exists just a couple hours north in New York City, where advocates say in just its first few months, it prevented <a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/2022/06/04/1103114131/supervised-injection-sites-in-nyc-have-saved-lives-but-officials-wont-provide-fu">hundreds</a> of potential overdose deaths.Elected officials are probably being honest when they say that most of the constituents they hear from are opposed to the idea. Most people would rather a cute café open up next door and, for that, maybe they should not be blamed. But the seeming lack of public support is also a product of the fact that few in public office have been interested in putting in the work.Ronda Goldfein, a cofounder of Safehouse and executive director of the AIDS Law Project of Pennsylvania, said she doesn't blame Philadelphians for being skeptical in the absence of leadership."I think that they are perhaps so angry, understandably, because the city has failed them," Goldfein told Insider.To residents who have seen public drug use extend across the city, opening a safe injection site may sound like opening a Walmart Supercenter for narcotics — another boneheaded solution imposed by a negligent city government that will only attract more of the same.The irony is that what angers many residents the most — people doing drugs in public, from the subway to the alley behind their home, leaving needles in the reach of pets and children — is just what safe injection sites are intended to address."We'll take it all inside," as Goldfein puts it. "We are offering a solution to the problem they're complaining about."Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney is one of the few public officials to explicitly endorse supervised injection sites. He leaves office in a few months, and his likely Democratic successor, Cherelle Parker, has already endorsed the city council's de facto ban.After the council's veto-proof decision, Kenney <a target="_blank" href="https://whyy.org/articles/philadelphia-mayor-jim-kenny-supervised-injection-site-ban-overdose-deaths/">told reporters</a> that opponents would have blood on their hands."If you really want to say that you want to fix this problem or address this problem, then address it, and stop trying to put your head in the sand and say this doesn't work — because it works," Kenney told reporters. It works in Canada and Europe, he said; it works in New York City. "If [city] council wants to continue to avoid this and resist it, it's fine," Kenney said, "but it means you're gonna have people dying as a result of it."Have a news tip? Email this reporter: <a target="_blank" href="mailto:cdavis@insider.com">cdavis@insider.com</a>

Philadelphia's mayor says his fellow Democrats just voted for more people to die from drug overdoses. Experts say he's right.

<ul><li>A single vial of Remdesivir is being sold for ₹30,000 on the black market in India. This is ten times the retail price.</li><li>Even if you’re willing to cough up the exorbitant amount, there’s still a chance that someone with deeper pockets could outbid you.</li><li>The circulation of Remdesivir in the black market extends right from the distributor to doctors in smaller private hospitals.</li></ul>The black market for drugs that could treat COVID-19 is surging in India, especially when it comes to Remdesivir. A single vial is going for up to ₹30,000. So, if a critical patient needs six vials for treatment, which is the norm, they would have to shell out ₹1,80,000 in order to procure the required dosage. That’s more than ten times the price on the regulated market. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup></colgroup></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Name of the company </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brand name for Remdesivir </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Maximum retail price (MRP) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cadila Healthcare </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">REMDAC </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹899 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Syngene International </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">RemWin </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2,450 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Dr Reddy’s Laboratories </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">REDYX </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹2,700 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cipla </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CIPREMI </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3,000 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Mylan Pharmaceuticals </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">DESREM </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3,400 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Jubilant Generics </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">JUBI-R </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3,400 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hetero Healthcare </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">COVIFOR </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹3,490 </td></tr></tbody></table> Remdesivir is not proven to help in recovery from the Coronavirus, but it is one of the few treatment methods that has been approved by the Indian government. "There are very few drugs which have been authorised by the government. Remdesivir is one of them, even though there is no certainty that this will work or not," a doctor at a government hospital in India told Business Insider. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="You maybe ready to pay a higher price — but you could still be outbid" comment="subhead" text="You maybe ready to pay a higher price — but you could still be outbid">You maybe ready to pay a higher price — but you could still be outbid</cmsannotation> Hansa’s (named changed to protect identity) uncle is in Delhi, in a critical condition, and the doctors have prescribed Remdesivir in hopes of treatment. The only problem is that no licensed pharmacy in Delhi seems to have it in stock. “We were supposed to get six vials in the morning for ₹35,000 through a doctor contact. Turns out somebody was ready to pay ₹50,000 for them and the vials went to them,” she told Business Insider India. “Another doctor told us that procured six vials for ₹80,000 for another patient.” And these prices are just the lower end of the stick. Aakash (named changed) told Business Insider he can procure a single vial for ₹30,000. In the bargaining process, he did highlight that vials are also available for ₹15,000 to ₹26,000 apiece, but not in Delhi. Anyone who wanted Remdesivir at those prices would have to procure it from outside the city. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How to buy Remdesivir on the black market?" comment="subhead" text="How to buy Remdesivir on the black market?">How to buy Remdesivir on the black market?</cmsannotation> Just like with other deals on the black market, what matters is who you know. The right connections and the right amount of trust can open a lot of doors. For the common man, the best bet is just to keep in touch with their doctors. Doctors know everyone down the supply chain and can help a patient, who is truly in need, get in touch with a supplier who may possibly have Remdesivir. Someone who doesn’t have a well-connected doctor is likely to reach out within his friend’s group. And, eventually, someone will know someone, who may be able to get them in touch with a supplier. But trust has a greater role to play here. “The first question he asked me was, who needs it? I told him it was for someone special, who can be trusted. He only agreed to let me have the vials if I could vouch for my friend,” Aakash told Business Insider. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The private hospital game" comment="subhead" text="The private hospital game">The private hospital game</cmsannotation> Sources who have bought Remdesivir by getting in touch with their doctors insist that doctors are not taking a commission. But distributors on the other end of the supply chain have a different story to tell. According to workers at distribution companies, doctors at government hospitals are prepared to treat patients even with alternative medicines available in the market — like steroids, which have proven to be effective in patients with moderate and severe symptoms. But, when it comes to private hospitals, especially smaller ones in semi-urban cities, healthcare workers are paid such meagre salaries. According to sources, selling medicines on the side or making medicines disappear overnight so that the patient is forced to buy more, is the norm. “When you know there are alternatives available in the market, then why aren’t doctors recommending that patients go for them. Why are they insisting on Remdesivir?” an employee at the distribution company told Business Insider. “In most cases, especially in smaller cities, the doctors are involved.” According to him, all the doctor has to say is that Remdesivir is a superior option to other medication, and the patient or his loved one is obviously going to try and get the ‘best’ option in a situation of crisis. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The black market supply chain" comment="subhead" text="The black market supply chain">The black market supply chain</cmsannotation> All doses of Remdesivir, no matter what brand, are going to come from the big seven pharmaceutical giants in India currently manufacturing the vials. These pharmaceutical companies send the medicine to the distributors, who are in turn supposed to dole out the doses to licensed pharmacies. But that’s where things get a little murky. Distributors do give a certain portion of the shipment to pharmacies because they need those records on their books, but the rest of the stock is given to people who are in his known circle. So, when someone comes looking for Remdesivir, the distributor directs them to one of the people within his circle who may have hoarded some of the doses. And, going to a third party, who is not a license holder, makes it a black market deal. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/policy/article/if-the-covid-19-vaccine-prices-are-too-high-for-some-then-why-not-use-direct-benefit-transfer/articleshow/82200370.cms">If the COVID-19 vaccine prices are too high for some, then why not use direct benefit transfer</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/while-covid-19-is-making-millions-gasp-for-breath-in-india-state-administrations-are-trying-to-hoard-oxygen/articleshow/82199390.cms">The COVID-19 crisis in India is getting worse with state administrations trying to hoard oxygen</a>

Inside the treacherous black market for Remdesivir in India— from private hospitals to distributors

Contrary to the popular belief that playing video games is linked with mental health problems, a new study has found that it may be associated with better cognitive performance in children. The study, published in <keyword id="7284222" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="jama-network-open" source="Orion">JAMA Network Open</keyword>, found that those who reported playing video games for three hours per day or more performed better on cognitive skills tests involving impulse control and working memory, compared to children who had never played video games. "This study adds to our growing understanding of the associations between playing video games and brain development," said researcher <keyword id="167021" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="nora-volkow" source="Orion">Nora Volkow</keyword>, from <keyword id="817713" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="national-institute-on-drug-abuse" source="Orion">National Institute on Drug Abuse</keyword> (<keyword id="32609" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nida" source="Orion">NIDA</keyword>). "Numerous studies have linked video gaming to behaviour and mental health problems. This study suggests that there may also be cognitive benefits associated with this popular pastime, which are worthy of further investigation," <keyword id="5125969" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="volkow" source="Orion">Volkow</keyword> added. For the study, the team analysed data obtained when children entered the ABCD Study at ages 9 and 10. The research team examined survey, cognitive, and brain imaging data from nearly 2,000 participants within the bigger study cohort. They separated these children into two groups, those who reported playing no video games and those who said playing video games for three hours per day or more. This threshold was selected as it exceeds the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines, which recommend that video gaming time be limited to one to two hours per day for older children. For each group, the investigators evaluated the children's performance on two tasks that reflected their ability to control impulsive behaviour and to memorise information, as well as the children's brain activity while performing the tasks. The researchers found that the children who reported playing video games for three or more hours per day were faster and more accurate on both cognitive tasks than those who never played. They also observed that the differences in cognitive function observed between the two groups were accompanied by differences in brain activity. Functional MRI brain imaging analyses found that children who played video games for three or more hours per day showed higher brain activity in regions of the brain associated with attention and memory than those who never played. At the same time, those children who played at least three hours of video games per day showed more brain activity in frontal brain regions that are associated with more cognitively demanding tasks and less brain activity in brain regions related to vision. Earlier, a study reported that video games can precipitate life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias in susceptible children whose predisposition may have been previously unrecognised. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/starlink-signals-might-be-processed-and-utilised-to-replace-conventional-gps-report/articleshow/95080387.cms">Starlink signals might be processed and utilised to replace conventional GPS: Report</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/indias-it-giants-are-worried-about-moonlighting-employees-sharing-their-corporate-secrets/articleshow/95077652.cms">India’s IT giants are worried about moonlighting employees sharing their corporate secrets</a>

Video gaming can lead to better cognitive performance in children says new study

<ul><li>Favipiravir has demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in some trials and has already been approved for use to treat Covid-19 in Russia and parts of the Middle East. </li><li>FDC launched two variants of Favipiravir in India at ₹55 per tablet under the brand names PiFLU and Favenza. </li><li>Several other companies have launched the generic versions of Favipiravir so far in India. </li><li>The cheapest version from Sun Pharmaceuticals' stable, which charges ₹35 per tablet. </li></ul>FDC has launched two variants of Favipiravir in India at ₹55 per tablet under the brand names PiFLU and Favenza. "Early diagnosis and treatment will help in arresting the deteriorating condition of patients, and we will be working with the government and healthcare fraternity to make Favenza and PiFLU available across the country” FDC spokesperson Mayank Tikkha <a href="https://www.indiatvnews.com/business/news-fdc-launches-2-variants-of-favipiravir-in-india-at-rs-55-per-tablet-covid-19-treatment-drug-644774">said</a>. According to FDC, both the variants are available in India. Favipiravir was originally developed to treat novel influenza in Japan and was sold by different manufacturers under the name Avigan, Abigan, and Fabiflu. Several other companies have launched the generic versions of Favipiravir so far in India. The cheapest version is developed by Sun Pharmaceuticals, which charges ₹35 per tablet. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Companies which launched Favipiravir </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Price </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Avigan </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹99 per tablet </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hetero </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹59 per tablet </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Cipla </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹68 per tablet </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Glenmark </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹75 per tablet. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">FDC </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹55 per tablet (Two variants) </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sun Pharmaceutical Industries </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">₹35 per tablet </td></tr></tbody></table><keyword id="44587" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Dr-Reddy">Dr Reddy</keyword>’s Laboratories, on August 19,<a href="https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/dr-reddy-s-launches-innovator-brand-of-favipiravir-avigan-at-99-per-tablet-11597844567875.html"> joined the list of companies</a> which launched their own generic version of favipiravir in India. The company has priced ‘Avigan’ at ₹99 — a premium price when compared to other versions of the same drug. The whole course of the tablet is expected to cost over ₹12,000. Earlier this month, two more Indian pharma companies — Sun Pharmaceuticals and Zendara Pharma — said they are manufacturing Favipiravir in the country to treat coronavirus. Glenmark was the first to launch the drug in India followed by Cipla, Sun Pharmaceuticals on <a href="https://www.livemint.com/science/news/at-rs-35-per-tablet-sun-pharma-launches-fluguard-for-covid-treatment-11596532805116.html">August 4 announced </a>the launch of Favipiravir, under brand name FluGuard, at ₹35 per tablet for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 in India. The stocks of FluGuard will be available in the market from this week. "We are launching FluGuard at an economical price to make the drug accessible to more and more patients, thereby reducing their financial burden. This is in line with our continuous efforts to support India's pandemic response," Sun Pharma said. Hyderabad-based Zenara Pharma on August 5 <a href="https://theprint.in/health/zenara-pharma-latest-indian-firm-to-get-nod-for-covid-drug-favipiravir-to-call-it-favizen/475666/">announced that it has received approval</a> from the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and sell Favipiravir tablets as a treatment option for patients with mild to moderate symptoms of Covid-19. The tablet, which will be sold under the brand name 'Favizen', is being manufactured at Zenara's US FDA approved state-of-the-art facility in Hyderabad. Zara Pharma, a fully-owned subsidiary of Biophore India Pharmaceuticals, is in talks with multiple state institutions and several hospitals in India to ensure that Favizen is readily available for the patients in need. Favipiravir has demonstrated positive clinical outcomes in some trials and has already been approved for use to treat Covid-19 in Russia and parts of the Middle East. Advance stage trials are currently underway in several countries, including India. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/defense/news/india-military-options-against-china-explained-by-experts/articleshow/77743778.cms">Experts explain India’s 'military options' against China</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/boris-johnson-plans-to-resign-in-6-months-because-of-lingering-coronavirus-health-problems-according-to-dominic-cummings-father-in-law/articleshow/77739903.cms">Boris Johnson plans to resign in 6 months because of lingering coronavirus health problems, according to Dominic Cummings' father-in-law</a>

FDC launches two variants of COVID-19 drug Favipiravir in India at ₹55 per tablet

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The term "truth serum" refers to a number of mind-altering drugs.</li><li>These drugs make you incapable of lying, or so the theory goes.</li></ul>Humans have known since the time of the Roman Empire that we're more readily truthful while under the influence. That's where the idea behind the term "truth serum" comes from.Truth serum refers to a number of mind-altering drugs that are supposed to make you incapable of lying, but the reality is no drug is powerful enough to grip the human mind so tightly as to make it impossible to lie.Some truth serums, like sodium thiopental, slow the speed at which your body sends messages from your spinal cord to your brain.As a result, it's more difficult to perform high-functioning tasks, such as concentrating on a single activity like walking a straight line or even lying. It's this concentration you need to think up a lie that truth serum removes. So in that way, lying can be more difficult, but not impossible.The same thing happens when you're nodding off and reaching that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-twilight-sleep-2015-11">twilight state</a> where you're in between consciousness and sleep. If you're not a compulsive liar, then it's likely more difficult for you to lie than tell the truth.As the famous American author wrote in "Mark Twain's Notebook" (published posthumously in 1935): <a href="http://www.twainquotes.com/Truth.html">"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."</a>That said, there's no way to really know if someone is telling the truth, ever.Numerous accounts and scientific reports suggest that you're more prone to tell the truth under the effects of truth serum drugs, but the drugs have other side effects. Most concerning among them is that they might make you say something to please someone else, even if it's not true.Furthermore, not only are truth serum drugs not all that useful, they are illegal under <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ap-cia-considered-potential-truth-serum-for-terror-suspects-2018-11">certain circumstances, including interrogation</a>.Although many of the first drugs that the CIA, police, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-nazi-scientists-inspired-the-cia-to-use-lsd-2014-2">Nazi interrogators</a> used throughout the '20s, '30s, and '40s are still around today, they have other uses, including ingredients in medicines that prevent motion sickness and for lethal injection.Here's a list of the most common mind-altering, manipulating medicines that have used as truth serums.<h2>Sodium Pentothal</h2><div type="image" title="Image of Marilyn Monroe in a green top, smiling with her hand on her chin." height="835" width="1024" msid="98432103" hostid="261" sizebytes="81934"></div>Sodium pentothal is a type of barbiturate, which is a series of drugs that are central nervous system depressants, colloquially known as "<a href="https://www.dhs.state.il.us/page.aspx?item=33606" target="_blank" rel="noopener">downers</a>." Downers slow your body's process to transmit information to your brain and are common prescription medicines for pain relief, sedation, muscle relaxation, and lowering blood pressure.An overdose of barbiturates can be lethal and has led to a number of celebrity deaths, including Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland, and Jimi Hendrix. The drug was also one of the first <a href="https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/lethal-injection/overview-of-lethal-injection-protocols">used in lethal injections</a> in the US and is most often administered intravenously.Until 2011, it was sometimes used as an anesthetic because patients usually pass out within 30-45 seconds after taking the drug. But the US has stopped using the drug.In 2011, the Italian company that produced the drug announced it was ceasing production, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/jan/23/lethal-injection-sodium-thiopental-hospira">The Guardian reported at the time</a>. The company was worried that Italian authorities would use it in executions and as a result, the US lost its only viable supplier.There are still accounts of this drug's use as a truth serum. In 2007, police in New Delhi, India administered sodium pentothal to a wealthy businessman, Moninder Singh Pandher, and his servant, Surinder Koli, who were suspects in the infamous <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ghaziabad/nithari-case-ghaziabad-cbi-court-awards-death-sentence-to-surinder-koli-his-tenth-conviction-so-far/articleshow/68235457.cms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Noida serial murders</a>. While under the influence, they confessed to <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/news/world/truth-serum-used-on-serial-child-killers/2007/01/12/1168105166282.html">luring children to their home</a>, raping, and then killing them. The servant, Koli, was given the death sentence and is <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ghaziabad/koli-gets-13th-death-sentence-as-cbi-court-finishes-hearing-last-nithari-case/articleshow/91695616.cms">still in jail</a>, and Pandher received a seven-year sentence.<h2>Scopolamine</h2><div type="image" title="Tends of black seeds extracted from the Datura stramonium plant." height="1345" width="2229" msid="98432106" hostid="261" sizebytes="135006"></div>Scopolamine was first promoted by <a href="https://io9.com/5902559/what-truths-does-truth-serum-actually-reveal" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dr. Robert House</a> as a truth serum in the early 20th century, and was the first drug to adopt the name "truth serum."Throughout the <a href="https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2368&amp;context=uclrev">1920s and '30s some police departments in the US used scopolamine</a> on suspects, and — in some cases — judges permitted the statements the subjects gave up while under the influence.Scopolamine was the truth serum drug of choice for many back in the day because it also wiped a subject's memory clean so they didn't know what they said after waking up, Gizmodo reported.The drug comes from the seeds of a tree, which locals in Colombia where it grows call the "<a href="http://www.rense.com/general38/frug.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">get-you-drunk</a>" tree. While some Nazis used it in interrogation, today it's in many medicines to help prevent motion sickness and tremors of Parkinson's disease. It's also used as a <a href="http://www.damninteresting.com/the-truth-about-truth-serum/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">date-rape drug</a>.Scopolamine can be ingested orally through a pill, or in one bizarre case, as a rub. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/414fd05b42e75b3a0e2e68df3f45a7ad" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reports</a> recount three young women in the Colombian capital, Bogota, who smeared the drug on their breasts luring men to lick it off. Once the men were incapacitated, the women would drain their bank accounts.<h2>Sodium Amytal or Amobarbital</h2><div type="image" title="Photo of three soldiers during army training taken on May 1, 1942." height="684" width="1024" msid="98432108" hostid="261" sizebytes="146348"></div>Sodium Amytal is also a type of barbiturate, or downer. It was widely used <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2424120/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">during World War II</a> as an anti-anxiety drug for soldiers with the psychological disturbance called shell shock.But like all truth serum drugs, sodium amytal is a powerful sedative, and that side effect combined with the dis-coordination and cognitive impairment it induces is why soldiers stopped using it.Moreover, sodium amytal is highly addictive. This drug is sometimes used to treat insomnia and is often administered intravenously, although it can come in powder form for oral ingestion.Take too much of this drug and it can be lethal. The maximum dose for an adult is <a href="https://www.rxlist.com/amytal-sodium-drug.htm#overdosage">one gram</a>.This drug is no longer used as a truth serum because subjects sometimes develop <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-skeptical-psychologist/200907/michael-jackson-truth-serum-and-false-memories" target="_blank" rel="noopener">false memories</a> after the fact.<h2>Ethyl Alcohol</h2><div type="image" title="A stock image of people holding wine." height="3517" width="5275" msid="98432110" hostid="261" sizebytes="364858"></div>That's right. Booze!The Italian phrase "In vino veritas," which is Latin for "In wine there is truth", is attributed to a Roman philosopher known as Pliny the Elder.So, humans have known for roughly 2,000 years about alcohol's ability to loosen the tongue.Whether you're drinking it down or taking it intravenously in pure, ethanol form, ethyl alcohol can make you more prone to spilling your secrets.But as you probably know, it doesn't make you incapable of a little white lie every now and again.<h2>Do truth serums work?</h2><div type="image" title="lie detector polygraph" height="1312" width="2000" msid="98432112" hostid="261" sizebytes="134462"></div>As <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/19/AR2006111900891.html">Washington Post reporter David Brown</a> wrote in 2006: "The answer appears to be: No. There is no pharmaceutical compound today whose proven effect is the consistent or predictable enhancement of truth-telling."Despite the fact that truth serum's magical capabilities seem to be mostly fictional, US courts have in special cases allowed their use.One example was with with suspect in the 2012 Aurora, Colorado, theatre shooting — <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/truth-serum-draws-skepticism-case-accused-aurora-shooter/story?id=18717816" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a judge allowed the use of sodium pentothal</a> to determine if his claims of insanity were real.Just because no truth-inducing drug exists today, doesn't mean there couldn't be one in the future, according to Mark Wheelis, a professor and expert on the history of biological warfare and biological weapons control at the University of California Davis."There is a large number of neural circuits that we are on the verge of being able to manipulate — things that govern states like fear, anxiety, terror and depression," <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/19/AR2006111900891_3.html">Davis told</a> the Washington Post in 2006. "We don't have recipes yet to control them, but the potential is clearly foreseeable. It would absolutely astonish me if we didn't identify a range of pharmaceuticals that would be of great utility to interrogators."<h2>A truth serum experiment</h2>To find out if truth serum works, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG1zEUIYu60&amp;ab_channel=BBC" target="_blank" rel="noopener">TV journalist Michael Mosley</a> experienced it for himself in 2013.To investigate sodium thiopental, one of the more popular truth serum drugs, Mosley took two different doses of it. After administering the first dose, a doctor asked Mosley what he did for a living and — through fits of giggles — Mosley managed to lie and say he was a world-famous heart surgeon.In less than a minute after the drug was administered, Mosley was all laughs from the light-headed, tipsy feeling he said he experienced from the drug. He said the feeling was akin to drinking a glass of champagne.After the second, larger dose of sodium thiopental, Mosley experienced something he was not expecting. When the doctor asked him what he did for a living he immediately responded:"I'm a television producer. Well, executive producer, well, presenter, some, mix of the three of them."Mosley explained later that when asked the question, it didn't even occur to him to lie, so he didn't.But is this evidence that truth serum works? Not exactly.One of the biggest problems with using truth serum for interrogation, is the warm, friendly feeling it gives the subject toward their interrogator. Combined with a state of severe disorientation, this can lead a subject to tell their interrogator what they think the interrogator wants to hear, which could be true or not.This is partly why any statement made under the influence of a truth serum drug is inadmissible in US courts and has been for 60 years. In <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1962/8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">1963, the US Supreme court ruled</a> that confession statements made under the influence of truth serum drugs were "<a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/372/293">unconstitutionally coerced</a>" threatening citizens' rights under the Fifth Amendment and were therefore inadmissible.So, when it comes to drugs that alter your state of mind, disorient you, and loosen your tongue, believe what you will about their abilities to enhance truth telling. The evidence shows that statements revealed under the influence have a chance of being more complacent or outright false than true.Moreover, truth serums are mostly "useless", <a href="https://io9.com/5902559/what-truths-does-truth-serum-actually-reveal">Esther Inglis-Arkell wrote for io9</a>, "not because no one could get information, but because everyone could get too much." And sifting through the statements trying to pull out the ones that are true versus complacent is, frankly, impossible.But researchers continue to look for something more reliable.<h2>The future of truth-telling drugs</h2><div type="image" title="A person holding a tiny pill container filled with orange tablets." height="1414" width="2121" msid="98432114" hostid="261" sizebytes="57526"></div>As we learn more about the brain and discover new drugs we could be on the verge of a new type of truth-telling and trust-enhancing drug.One of the more recent drugs examined for its truth-telling affects is oxytocin, known to women in labor as <a href="https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2014/018261s031lbl.pdf">Pitocin</a>.In 2005, <a href="https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/2250/9/2005_KosfeldM_Nature_Oxytocin-incr.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">two researchers at the University of Zurich examined</a> the trust-promoting effects of the drug by studying 128 college students, some of whom were given a snort of oxytocin while the others received a placebo.They were asked to play an investing game in which they had to trust a stranger to give them back a portion of their winnings. The students given oxytocin were more trusting and transferred more money, on average. More importantly, 45% of the students on oxytocin transferred all of their money, showing maximal trust, twice as many as students who took the placebo.These new drugs that increase trust could be a next-level advancement in truth serums — they would actually encourage truth-telling instead of just making the teller say whatever makes their questioner happy.Don't worry too much — your secrets are safe for now.

'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine can manipulate the brain.

<ul><li>India has decided to partially lift the ban on the export of the ‘wonder drug’ <keyword id="4751090" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Hydroxychloroquine">Hydroxychloroquine</keyword>, an anti-malaria drug that is used to treat <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword>. </li><li>The move comes as the US President Donald Trump appealed to the Indian government for an urgent supply of the drugs. </li><li>Trump said that he was unaware of the development and didn’t “like that decision.” </li><li>Scientists and experts are still uncertain of its impact in controlling Coronavirus in particular, though it is effective against viral infections in general. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=coronavirus&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Follow the comprehensive coverage of the coronavirus pandemic and its impact, and other useful resources that can help you in the fight on Business Insider India.</a></li></ul>India has decided to partially lift the ban on the export of the ‘wonder drug’ Hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug that is used to treat Coronavirus. <a href="https://theprint.in/diplomacy/india-partially-lifts-ban-on-export-of-hydroxychloroquine-hours-after-trumps-threat/396792/">According to</a> a report by ThePrint, both paracetamol and hydroxychloroquine will be supplied to ‘clear the existing orders’. While all other medicines under the ‘free’ category will also be shipped now. The move comes after the US President Donald Trump appealed to the Indian government for an urgent supply of those two drugs and even warned of a retaliation. India had banned the export of hydroxychloroquine recently after its own cases rose. However, Trump said that he was unaware of the development and didn’t “like that decision.” Trump believes that the combination of two drugs — antibiotic azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine — a ‘game changer’ for treating Coronavirus. It works for virals but can it cure Covid-19? Though Trump has called this drug ‘a gift from heaven’, most scientists and experts have their doubts of its impact in controlling Coronavirus in particular. It is however effective against viral infections in general. <div type="image" title="corona2" msid="74809541" hostid="261"></div> India too seems to be banking on the drug. "Hydroxy-chloroquine is found to be effective against Coronavirus in laboratory studies and in-vivo studies. Its use in prophylaxis is derived from the available evidence of benefit as treatment and supported by preclinical data," IANS reported citing the advisory by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. International experts however are divided. David Sullivan, professor of microbiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an infectious disease physician<a href="https://time.com/5808894/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus/"> believes that if the drug genuinely worked for Coronavirus infection</a>, the healthcare professionals would know it by now. “Right now we have no clinical evidence that it works,” he said. Yet, Covid-19 is a fairly new infection and there are few studies on its workings and hence the drugs that can contain it. Clinical trials can help extract critical information on its use and dosage, <a href="https://time.com/5808894/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus/">said</a> Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force. French and Chinese studies support US’ claims Right now, the only evidence medical professionals around the world have are a few random studies. A French study which examined infected patients showed that the level of virus in blood <a href="https://time.com/5808894/hydroxychloroquine-coronavirus/">dropped after medication</a>. <div type="image" title="close-up-1853400_1920" msid="74809570" hostid="261"></div> Another Chinese study reiterated the same results. Approximately 100 patients were tested in China, where the disease first started, and the combination of the two drugs — antibiotic azithromycin and hydroxychloroquine — was found to reduce viral infection. However, as far as the lab studies of Hydroxychloroquine are concerned, the researchers found that it could stop viruses like influenza and SARS-CoV-2 from infecting human cells. But, there is still a lag. “The problem is that what happens in the lab often doesn’t predict what happens in a patient,” Dr Otto Yang of the University of California, Los Angeles <a href="http://v">told</a> the TIME. <div type="image" title="laboratory-3827745_1920" msid="74809614" hostid="261"></div> Side effects of hydroxychloroquine The drug however is strictly prohibited for those below 15 years and above 60 years due to possible side-effects on kidney and heart. In spite of stamping on the drug, Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) scientist Raman Gangakhedkar warned against self-medication. "Do not go for the COVID-19 test just on suspicion or consume hydroxychloroquine without a doctor's prescription because the medicine has its side effects,” he told IANS. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/those-who-violate-coronavirus-lockdown-could-be-jailed-for-2-years-and-fined/articleshow/74807160.cms">Those who violate Coronavirus lockdown could be jailed for 2 years and fined</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/coronavirus-death-cases-in-india-all-those-who-died-of-coronavirus-their-age-medical-and-travel-history/articleshow/74787832.cms">All those who died of Coronavirus in India, their age, medical and travel history</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-how-a-21-day-lockdown-might-help-break-the-covid-19-chain/articleshow/74802999.cms">Here's how a 21-day lockdown might help break the Covid-19 chain</a>

The US is banking on India’s Hydroxychloroquine medicine — yet experts have their doubts

<ul><li><keyword id="6355455" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-railways">Indian Railways</keyword> launched ‘Plan Bee’ to prevent elephants getting hurt on rail tracks, thereby reducing the elephant death toll. </li><li>Bee sounds can be heard from 600 metres away, as the train approaches the vulnerable gangway. </li><li>Northeast Frontier Railway (NRF) has won ‘best innovation’ award in Indian Railways in 2018-19 along with a cash reward of ₹300,000. </li><li>The railways have included nearly 50 amplifying speaker systems at over 12 possible corridors.</li></ul>Amid increasing number of elephant deaths in the country, the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) came with an innovate ‘<a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/transportation/railways/plan-bee-gets-elephants-to-buzz-off-trains/indian-railways-plan-bee/slideshow/70161138.cms">plan bee</a>’ to prevent their deaths on the tracks. Nearly 2,330 elephants have died on the tracks in six years. And the initiative involves keeping them away from the tracks by scaring them. As strange as it sounds, elephants are afraid of bees and the buzz of beehives. The Railways included nearly<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/honour-for-plan-bee-that-helped-save-jumbos/article28335811.ece"> 50 amplifying speaker systems</a> that produce sound of honey bees to keep wild elephants away. This initiative is live at over 12 possible corridors, even as there are 29 elephant corridors under NFR. This move was recognised and accorded with ‘best innovation’ award in Indian Railways in 2018-19 along with a cash reward of ₹300,000. The ‘bee sounds’ can be heard from 600 metres away, as the train approaches the vulnerable gangway. Elephants have been making their way into the non-migrant areas as well, often leading to increased deaths. “NFR’s Rangiya Division and Forest Department field officials worked on certain deterrents and provide a solution to the problem,” NFR spokesperson Pranav Jyoti Sharma <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/honour-for-plan-bee-that-helped-save-jumbos/article28335811.ece">told</a> The Hindu. As many as 67 elephants were killed by trains in Northeastern states of <keyword id="6354915" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="assam">Assam</keyword> and West Bengal, according to media reports. Assam forests are home to 6,000 elephants — accounting for 20% of the total elephant population in the country. Given that, the NFR tested the amplifying device on the domestic and wild animals in 2017, before actually using it. Since 2014, the Northeastern railways have been able to keep 1,014 elephants safe by implementing such measures. Elephant mishaps occur largely due to local humans, electric fences, and railway tracks. More elephants have been cut down by trains or died of electric shocks, instead of hunting. As many as 80 <a href="https://www.oneindia.com/feature/plan-bee-how-the-indian-railways-is-preventing-elephant-deaths-on-tracks-2917045.html">elephant deaths</a> occurred due to human targeting. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/wildlife-activists-in-india-are-outraged-after-assam-government-decided-to-send-4-elephants-by-train-on-a-stressful-3-day-journey-for-a-festival-in-ahmedabad/articleshow/69893147.cms">Wildlife activists in India are outraged after Assam government decided to send 4 elephants by train on a stressful 3-day journey for a festival in Ahmedabad</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/railways-fixes-water-deluge-in-ac-coaches-after-video-goes-viral/articleshow/70050480.cms">Railways fixes water deluge in AC coaches after video goes viral</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/union-railway-budget-2019-public-private-partnership-ppp-proposal-updates-and-news-nirmala-sitharaman/articleshow/70085380.cms">Union Budget 2019: Indian Railways has been opened up to private partnerships for faster development</a>

Indian Railways introduce ‘buzzing bees’ to keep elephants away from train tracks

<ul><li>Generic drugs from India and China may clash with a campaign in US led by former Ranbaxy whistleblower Dinesh Thakur.</li><li>In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Thakur revealed his plan to force regulatory changes in US.</li><li><keyword id="7651171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="katherine-ebans-new-book">Katherine Eban's new book</keyword>, <keyword id="7651172" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bottle-of-lies">Bottle of Lies</keyword>, raises alarming concerns about generic drugs in the US.</li><li>This will be an added challenge for Indian drug makers already faced with pricing pressures in US.</li></ul>These are not the best of times for Indian pharma companies. Recently, a US lawsuit alleged that Sun Pharma’s Taro amongst other generic drug makers colluded with each other to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/seven-indian-pharma-companies-are-being-dragged-into-a-us-lawsuit-over-high-drug-prices/articleshow/69318841.cms">keep prices high</a>. The news spooked pharma stocks and lost nearly 10% of their value in less than a month. But, there is more bad news to come. A <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/us-generic-drugs-risk-rises-for-indian-pharma-after-new-book-launch/articleshow/69332570.cms">frightening new book</a> called ‘Bottle of Lies’ by Katherine Eban accuses generic drugs of poisoning. This exposé sounds a death knell to Indian generic drug makers, who sell off-patent drugs to US and Europe. At the heart of this ‘cheap generics’ argument is a man called Dinesh Thakur who was a director at Ranbaxy ten years back. He blew the lid off of illegal practices by Indian pharmacos cutting corners and compromising on quality, <a href="https://dineshthakur.com/about-2/">before quitting the company in 2005</a>. Now, he is going a bit further to bring in a law where a consumer can know “where” the medicine in manufactured. Will he win the campaign to make drugs safer? Business Insider caught up with the man at the centre of this freshly brewing storm. Here are the edited excerpts. Katherine’s book and the whole conversation around it, is it coming across as something that is targeting Indian companies? The issue of data integrity is not unique to India. We see these problems here in the US as well. We see these problems in China, we have seen similar problems in Europe. The issue is what is it that we are going to do differently. Up until now, the people who really talked about this were people who worked in the industry or policymakers. A book like this puts the issue in the hands of common people who are patients and consumers. So, the conversation is much broader. To answer the question that you are asking, you know, does this mean we are trying to bash India, absolutely not. There is discussion about a big US manufacturer in there. It’s not just limited to India. What will be your next step in the US? In the US context, there is clearly a model that the FDA has followed. In 2012, the US Congress broadened the remit of the FDA, which was a local agency until then. It did not have offices outside of the country (US). Now we are pushing Congress to look at the data and see if the model works. If it’s not, what do we need to do differently. We are asking the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees the Department of Health and Human Services, under which FDA comes, we are asking the committee to hold public hearings and have this discussion. That’s on the regulatory side. There are things that can be done from the patient’s side. For example, there is no legal requirement right now for the retail medicine to disclose where a certain product is manufactured. One of the things we are pushing for is for the Congress to make a law to disclose this. What it does is to put the power in the hands of the people. When I go and buy my medicines from a local pharmacy here, I can look it up and say this medicine was made in Shanghai in China, or this was made in a facility in India, and I can then decide whether I want to buy that medicine or not. Today, we don’t have that information. Do you have any political backing for this? We have a bunch of like-minded people trying to create some public awareness and in the Congress. Isn’t this against the tone taken by the Trump administration, which wants to make medicines affordable. Adding compliance costs might not help. Do you the government will go for this? The discussion on price, especially in the US, is centered around patented medicines, because those are really, really expensive. Most of the medicines made in India and China have very low price points -- typically between $10-$15 for a 30-day course. A part of what we are trying to do is highlight, that you can only cut the bone only so thin. After a point, there is not going to be any meat on it. The discussion is also about how low can you go before you stop manufacturers from cutting corners. This argument again plays into the hands of the multinationals, as we call them here. It takes the argument away from the cost of drugs to the quality and safety. My answer was in the US context. In India, the context is completely different. We have price controls. We have the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), which determines the prices of essential medicines. There is no equivalent of that in the US. But Indian companies are also focussed more on the US. They are more worried about what’s happening in the US. I agree with you completely. The advocacy we do in India will be very different from what we do in the US. What has been the political response in the US so far? The book has just come out. We are just starting this campaign. We had a similar campaign in 2015, after the Ranbaxy case broke. But at that time, the response was---we have this new law and we have to give it some time for it to take effect. We have an election next year. The price of prescription drugs is a big issue. When the Ranbaxy case came to light, one of the arguments as that the standards cannot be the same for US, a developed market, and India, where providing medicines itself is a big challenge. Will that challenge remain in India? I believe so. Unfortunately, the big difference between India and the US is that we have a lot of data here (US). The institutions here make decisions based on data. Unfortunately, India doesn’t do that. The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) is the most opaque of organisations. I have been dealing with them for six years right now. Having said that, how do you make the case that someone who is making Rs 500 a day and has to spend Rs 200 on medicines, and if the medicine doesn’t work, what system do we have capture that information? In India, we don’t even a system to recall drugs. Your next few months of advocacy will be focussed on the US. Is there another Ranbaxy kind of incident that you have come across in the recent months, which will be a part of your campaign? In the book, there are two or three companies that there is a deep dive into. So, the book does a deep dive into Ranbaxy on what really happened there. There is also a deep dive into Wockhardt. Now that the book is public, I can talk about it. There is also a deep dive into Mylan, which is a West Virginia, US-based company. On the question of regulations, do you think there is a need to revisit the settlement process? The book goes into detail about jurisdiction. While the FDA has the mandate to inspect a foreign facility, how do you prosecute in a foreign jurisdiction? Who will serve a subpoena in a foreign country? I think that’s a discussion that has to happen at the Congressional level but I am not qualified to answer that. Can the FDA have a SEC kind of approach while dealing with violations? There are examples in the book that will make your hair stand. Why is it that the penalties we impose on serial wrong-doers are purely financial? That’s a good question. To what extent can we hold individuals accountable, not just impose financial penalties, which is cost of doing business. You take a risk and if you get caught, you just pay money and move on. Unless you hold individuals accountable, some of this behaviour won’t change. Hopefully, this book will create that level of awareness among people so that we can demand, when it comes to healthcare, it should not be a SEC kind of settlement. Do you think Indian companies have come a long way in the last six years? I think so…. But we really have to change the attitude that we have one set of standards for the local market and another for the export market. Unless that changes, all the improvements we are trying to make… What have we spent money doing? We have upgraded our plants, we have made them clean, sterile, and we got new equipment. We have invested a lot in third-party training. We have hired consultants who charge $8,000 a day. That’s what we have been doing for the last five years. Right? But the real problem is where do send the people you hire at the bottom for training? You train them to make products for India and you train them to cut corners. Two years later, when they ask for a promotion, where do you promote them to? Export market. You think all that you taught them in the first 3-4 years, they are going to forget it the moment they work on an export market? It doesn’t work like that. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/us-generic-drugs-risk-rises-for-indian-pharma-after-new-book-launch/articleshow/69332570.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">A frightening new book on the safety of generic drugs could send India’s pharma industry into an even deeper pit</a>

You Searched For "northeast india drug problem" and got 12 results

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'Truth serum' drugs do exist. Here's how medicines like sodium pentothal and scopolamine can manipulate the brain.

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