Strong medicine for weak drug patents
Revocation of Pfizer, Roche patents for lacking inventive step signals healthy trend
The natco-pfizer test
Natco’s demand for a voluntary licence from Pfizer will establish how well the compulsory licence process works in India
Drug affordability test
Natco’s bid for a compulsory licence to manufacture a Bayer anti-cancer drug is a test of the law’s ‘reasonable price’ …
Big pharma’s dirty tricks
Drug giants from GSK, Abbott and Pfizer to Bayer have been fined for serious malpractices. They should be under close watch in India
Cost of vaccination has risen 68 times in a decade, says report
Crisis looms as donor withdraws support to African countries; MSF urges GSK, Pfizer to slash vaccine price
Make unethical drug trials a punishable offence, say experts
Current laws do not fix penalty if such practices are found
Drug trials: Irked NHRC issues notices to Centre and Andhra Pradesh government
Says respond else face action
US piles on the pressure
Patent law, domestic content rules in solar and ICT policy come under attack
Standing up to the US
India does not have to be apologetic about its patents law, which is fully compliant with WTO requirements on intellectual property protection
Can activism check Big Pharma’s profit motives?
As prices of life-saving drugs skyrocket, people from diverse fields are getting together to fight Big Pharma
The world needs pharmaceuticals from China and India to beat COVID-19
Chinese manufacturers make around 40% of all APIs used worldwide; China, India are the source of 75-80% of APIs imported to US
90% efficacy for Pfizer’s COVID-19 mRNA vaccine is striking. But we need to wait for the full data
Important questions remain: It’s unclear how long protection will last and if the vaccine protects against severe disease
COVID-19 vaccines are coming – how will we know they work and are safe?
The results of the Pfizer vaccine trial are highly promising. But the road to eradicating the coronavirus is likely to be long and difficult
Lateral Thoughts: Waiting for the vaccine?
Vaccination programmes cannot be dealt with outside the purview of public health
Moderna’s COVID vaccine reports 95% efficacy. It means we might have multiple successful vaccines
It opens the door to the possibility we might have many successful vaccines, and be able to tailor different vaccines to people with different needs
COVID-19 vaccines: How Pfizer and Moderna’s 95% effective mRNA shots work
Should we expect the pandemic to be over once a vaccine is available for public use? Not exactly. A vaccine will not be perfect, and it takes …
COVID-19 vaccine: Oxford-AstraZeneca up to 90% effective in late stage trial
Adenovirus vaccine can be stored at 2-8°C; company to apply for emergency authorisation
Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine becomes first to get emergency authorisation
UK government gives nod on basis of interim results, vaccine to be made available by next week
Decision on emergency authorisation for SII, Bharat Biotech’s COVID-19 vaccines deferred
Both manufacturers have been asked for more data before a final decision can be reached
DCGI clears Bharat Biotech, SII COVID-19 vaccines but efficacy question unanswered
CDSCO official says BB vaccine to be used in public but to exclude people with COVID-19, other infections
Delaying the second COVID-19 vaccine dose: A medical expert answers key questions
The uncertainty is around how long the protective effect of the first dose will last without a second shot
Dummy’s guide to how trade rules affect access to COVID-19 vaccines
The WTO is considering whether to temporarily waive certain rules about TRIPS, to allow more countries access to vaccines, drugs needed to …
COVID-19 immunity: how long does it last?
In UK’s second wave, previously infected health workers were either completely protected from reinfection or were asymptomatic
India readies for COVID-19 vaccination but vexed questions on the solution remain
The risks the country needs to prepare for, precautions it needs to take, the logistics required and, above all, the implications of it all for …
Norway reports deaths related to COVID-19 vaccination
Situation not alarming, only ‘small exception’ affected by Pfizer mRNA vaccine: Medical director of Norwegian Medicines Agency