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Govt may supply essential medicines free: Azad 

Government of India proposes to start an initiative for free supply of Essential Medicines in Public Health Facilities in the country aiming to provide affordable health care to the people by reducing out of pocket expenses of medicines. This initiative will promote rational use of medicines and reduce the consumption of inessential, unscientific and hazardous medicines. This was stated by Ghulam Nabi Azad, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare at Amsterdam, Netherland today.

Addressing the Conference on “Responsible Use of Medicines” Azad said responsible and rational use of medicines is a crucial part of the national health policy and access to medicines is one of the vital tools needed to improve and maintain health. Considering that provision of affordable medicines is the responsibility of the public sector and the State, a fine balance has to be maintained between the private sector which operates on the demands of the market and the responsibility of the State for ensuring a positive benefit risk profile of available medicines.

He said there is very high out of pocket expenditure on health in India, of which a larger part is on medicine. We need to look at adherence to Standard Treatment Guidelines, curbing unethical promotion of medicines by the drug manufacturers, better regulatory control over prescription and dispensing of medicine and also to make the consumer aware the hazards of self medication.

Azad said India is facing an increasing threat of Anti Microbial Resistance. To tackle the threat and also to promote rational and responsible use of antibiotics in India, the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare has developed the National Policy for Containment of Anti Microbial Resistance which aims at prudent use of antibiotics, prevention of emergence of drug resistance and prevention of spread of transmission of resistant bacteria.

SC asks Govt to inform date of notification of Essential Drug Prices by Oct 9

The Supreme Court has granted the government time until Oct 9 to inform it the final date of notification of prices of some essential drugs, reports said.

A Group of Ministers (GoM), led by Sharad Pawar, has proposed price control for 348 drugs, up from the present 74. A recommendation was made to bring the drugs under the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM).

While industry estimates the average price reduction at about 11%, the reduction on some medicines from many large companies, domestic and foreign, could be as high as up to 75%.

The apex court has said that the formula of drugs should not be changed while fixing the price.

The government has informed the court that the panel of ministers has decided to notify prices of essential drugs, reports said.

Sidharth Luthra, the lawyer representing govt, has said that at least three months were needed for final notification that would ensure generic drugs at cheaper rates, reports added.

Infocus

IIFL on Pharma :Sigh of Relief

IIFL Institutional Equities, a part of the IIFL Group, one of the leading players in the Indian financial services space, in a recent report on Pharma sector said that the central Group of Ministers yesterday finalised thenew pharmaceutical pricing policy, extending the coverage of price control from current 74 APIs to 348 APIs.
According to IIFL Institutional Equities,the details are not yet officially public, we believe that they are mostly in line with the recommendations of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council. We expect a 6-8% hit to the overall market in thefirst year.
However, given the lifting of the current controls and the provision for inflation-related price increases, the industry should be able to recoup all losses over two years.
Most companies welcomed the policy with relief; we expect only low-to-mid single-digit impact at the Ebitda level for most companies. Glaxo Pharma and Cipla may see more impact due to higher exposure to the domestic market,brokerage added.
The report was published by IIFL’s Institutional Equities Research desk.
IIFL Institutional Equities recommends 'Sell' on Ranbaxy Labs

Domestic News

Sun Pharma Board approves fund raising of up to Rs. 80bn

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced that the Board of Directors of the Company have, by Circular Resolution approved, subject to the approval of the Shareholders of the Company at the ensuing Annual General Meeting to be held on November 8, 2012 and subject to such other approvals as may be required.

The raising of funds at an appropriate time through Domestic/ international offerings including to Indian or Foreign Institutional investors/Foreign Mutual Funds/Overseas Corporate Bodies/Foreigners/other Foreign parties/ Indian Financial Institutions / Alternative Investment Funds/Qualified Institutional Buyers/Companies/individuals/other persons or investors, whether or not they are members of the Company, etc. pursuant to Section 81, 81(IA) of the Companies. Act. 1956 for an aggregate sum not exceeding Rs. 80 (Rupees Eighty ) bn.

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International News

6$ Million to address non-communicable diseases :Medtronic Foundation:

One year after the historic United Nations High Level Meeting on Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), Medtronic today announced a five-year, $6 million (U.S.) philanthropic commitment in India to accelerate programs specifically designed to expand access to quality care and management of diabetes and heart disease, two of the world’s leading killers. 

“Coming out of the U.N. High Level Meeting, it’s been our pledge to help drive action at the country level, and then share those results globally,“ said Dr. Jacob Gayle, Executive Director of the Medtronic Foundation and Vice President, Medtronic Community Affairs.  “By focusing on diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we hope to strengthen overall health systems in order to expand access in underserved communities.  Given both the need and opportunity in India, it was clear that we needed to ramp up our support to help those already working to improve care.”

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is currently the leading cause of death in urban and rural India, killing three million people each year. India is also home to more than 60 million diabetics — more than any other country.

On Sept. 20, the Medtronic Foundation convened a multi-sectoral group of community health experts, non-profits, academia and the private sector in New Delhi.

Among those attending were several Medtronic Foundation grantees in India including Dr. D. Prabhakaran from the Centre for Chronic Disease Control in New Delhi. Dr. Prabhakaran and Dr. Nikhil Tandon from All India Institute of Medical Sciences recently launched a pilot program funded by the Medtronic Foundation in Himachal Pradesh using high-tech healthcare tools and community health worker training to better screen, diagnose and treat diabetes and CVD patients.Read more…

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