New Delhi: AstraZeneca's India-arm has partnered with National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Raebareli, to build clinical research capabilities at 25 emerging geographies in a bid to extend pharmaceutical research beyond metros. Under the collaboration, the two partners will adopt 25 clinical trial sites, assessing their capabilities, providing targeted training in documentation and support processes related to ethics, safety and trial feasibility. AstraZeneca India will contribute clinical development expertise to design and deliver the programme, and support the participating sites through training, workshops, governance and site-readiness. The Department of Pharmaceuticals will provide strategic direction and endorsement as part...

Following a bumpy regulatory road that involved a refusal-to-file, ImmunityBio has won FDA approval to expand Anktiva into papillary-only non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC). Wednesday’s approval comes nearly three months ahead of the FDA’s target decision date. The go-ahead covers Anktiva, given with Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), in BCG-unresponsive NMIBC patients with high-grade papillary-only tumors. The drug’s original FDA approval in 2024 is in patients with carcinoma in situ (CIS) with or without papillary tumors. To expand Anktiva’s label, the FDA adopted a novel approach to how it evaluates treatments for BCG-unresponsive NMIBC, the agency noted in an Oct. 14 press release....

New Delhi: Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has said its board of directors has approved a proposal to raise funds of up to Rs 10,000 crore through the issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs). The decision was taken at a meeting of the company's Board of Directors held on October 12, Sun Pharma said in a regulatory filing late on Monday evening. The board approved the issuance of listed, rated, unsecured, redeemable NCDs on a private placement basis in one or more tranches and/or series for an aggregate amount not exceeding Rs 10,000 crore. The company said that disclosures required under Regulation 30...

In a Trailblazing approach, Aakash Healthcare Surgeons rebuilt Children’s Lower Limbs using Mothers’ Bone New Delhi: A 16-year-old girl whose thigh bone was destroyed by chronic infection in 2021 is now five years past surgery, and the bone rebuilt with her mother's own fibula is still growing well. Her case led surgeons at Aakash Healthcare Super Speciality Hospital to use maternal fibula grafts in children's legs, claiming not tried before. Surgeons adopted maternal fibula grafting, previously reported only for the upper limb, to treat children with bone cancer and chronic infection in lower limbs The surgical team was led by...

AiMeD welcomes, also offering help design a Uniform National Framework for Holistic Transparency New Delhi/ Bangalore: Central government and Karnataka government have initiated measures to bring about greater transparency in the pricing on hospital bills to ensure ease of treatment for patients. Central health ministry and Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration have moved forward to rationalize hospital bills. While Association of Indian Medical Device Industry (AiMeD) has welcomed the initiatives of both Central and Karnataka governments for transparency in bills, it has at the same time stressed the need of holistic transparency all along the supply chain of utilities...

NEW DELHI: Medical technology innovation is entering a new phase, with advanced cardiac implants, incisionless brain surgery, blood-based cancer screening, smart insulin delivery and real-time kidney-function monitoring among the technologies attracting international attention in 2026. A report published by Medical Design & Outsourcing on October 9, 2026, titled “The most innovative medical devices of 2026”, identifies 23 medical technologies nominated in the Best Medical Technology category of the 2026 Prix Galien USA awards. The nominations span several medical specialties, from cardiovascular disease and cancer to hearing loss, urinary incontinence and respiratory disorders. The Prix Galien programme recognises advances in medical...

Patna: Three people were arrested and sent to jail after a large quantity of liquor bottles was found at Cellulas Pharma Private Limited in Kankarbagh during a raid by the Bihar drug control department on Friday. Acting on a tip-off, a team led by the state drug controller, assisted by Kankarbagh police, inspected another firm at D-167, PC Colony, on Thursday. “The team found that the establishment failed to produce medicine purchase and sale records and other mandatory documents. The prescribed signboard was also missing, while storage arrangements were found unsatisfactory,” an official press release stated. The firm’s drug licence...

Anton Paar India hosted the first day of NEXUS 2026 at Ramada by Wyndham, Navi Mumbai, bringing together leading experts, scientists, researchers and industry professionals from the pharmaceutical sector for discussions on how advanced analytical technologies can address evolving challenges in product development, quality, regulatory compliance and manufacturing. The two-day industry forum, being held under the theme “Industry Insights. Technology. Experience,” combined expert-led sessions with live demonstrations of analytical and measurement technologies. Nitin Prabhakar, managing director, Anton Paar India, said “NEXUS is designed to take analytical science beyond theoretical discussions and connect it directly with the challenges faced by industry....

New Delhi / Mumbai: The seventh edition of the National Formulary of India (NFI 2026), an authoritative reference manual for prescribing, dispensing and administering medicines, includes multiple drugs or their variants that have not been approved by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), according to a report by The Economic Times. The Drug Controller General of India (DCGI), who heads the CDSCO, has flagged the issue in a formal communication to the Indian Pharmacopoeia Commission (IPC) and sought the rationale for their inclusion. The 7th Edition of the NFI was released on September 21, 2026, by Union Minister of...

This World Mental Health Day (10th October), six mental health and medical organisations from India and the United Kingdom- India Mental Health Alliance (IMHA), the Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS), Indian Teachers of Psychiatry (IToP), World Psychiatric Association Zone 15 (WPA), Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (UK) and Accept Support Help Another (ASHA Kerala); have come together to launch the ‘Humanising Medicine India Initiative’. Dr Kavita Arora, Founding Cohort, IMHA, Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, and Co-founder at Children First said, “It is a national initiative aimed at fostering a culture in which medical professionals can acknowledge their own lived experiences of...

According to official sources in the Department of Pharmaceuticals, the new measure is expected to result in reductions of up to 70% in the MRP of certain cancer medicines. The government estimates that the move could lead to annual savings of around Rs 2,500 crore for patients. Cancer treatment can place a heavy financial burden on patients and their families, as the cost of medicines form a major part of the overall expense. The issue recently came under scrutiny after the Supreme Court questioned the huge gap between the Price to Retailer (PTR) and Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of some...

Gandhinagar: State food and drugs control administration (FDCA) has taken action against four firms in Vadodara and Surat districts for allegedly illegally storing and selling drugs. The licences of two firms have been cancelled, an official statement said on Thursday. Based on the information provided by the Maharashtra unit of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), a joint raid was conducted at Chamunda Pharma in Karjan of Vadodara district, the statement said. “During the inspection, 13,938 bottles of Anarex (codeine), a cough syrup, which falls under the NDPS Act, worth an estimated Rs 27.8 lakh, and 12,240 tablets of Tramadol worth an...

Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) recovers nitrazepam and alprazolam tablets sold on streets as ‘buttons’ during midnight raid The Mumbai Police’s Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) seized 9,800 nitrazepam and alprazolam tablets, valued at ₹2.53 crore, and arrested one person in Govandi during an operation between 10.40 p.m. on October 6 and 12.40 a.m. on Wednesday (October 7, 2026). Acting on specific information, the Worli unit of the ANC searched a residence in Dr Zakir Hussain Nagar, Govandi, where a person was allegedly storing and selling the prescription tablets for recreational use. The tablets are allegedly sold on the street as “buttons”,...

Four Members, including a 13-Year-Old, Underwent Iconic Procedure in Sir Ganga Ram Hospital New Delhi: The family was in vice like grip of morbid obesity and all four members gasped for breath. All of them underwent weight loss and life saving bariatric surgery in Sir Ganga Ram one by one. The youngest member of the obesity clan, 13- year-old-boy who went last under the knife weighed 186 KG. His father, mother and uncle had already undergone the iconic procedure here. The boy underwent this surgery in August last and has already shed 20 KG weight in just hardly two months!...

The inspections raised concerns that medicines containing different active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) were being marketed under closely similar brand names, creating a potential risk of patients receiving the wrong medicine. The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has cancelled the sales and distribution licences of three CFA warehouses of Cadila Pharmaceuticals Ltd. in Pune, Nagpur and Thane over regulatory violations involving medicines sold under the Aciloc and Aciloc+ brands. The action follows inspections conducted in July 2026 at the company's CFA warehouses in Bhiwandi in Thane district, Wadki in Pune and Nimji in Nagpur district. The inspections raised concerns that medicines...

Adults suffering from Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) tend to have less diverse diet, lower micronutrient adequacy and food habits that may promote inflammation compared to healthy individuals, said researchers at the ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition (ICMR-NIN) here in Hyderabad. Rheumatoid arthritis is a long-term autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues, particularly the joints, leading to pain, swelling and reduced mobility. While genetic and environmental factors are known to contribute to the disease, the role of dietary patterns in the Indian population has not been extensively studied. In this case-control study involving 615 adults aged 18...

The three pharmacies raided were located in RR Nagar, Chamarajapete and Thalaghattapura. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the medicine racket has raided three pharmacies in Bengaluru as part of its efforts to trace the sale of counterfeit medicines and identify the hospitals, distributors and other pharmacies that may have received the drugs from the accused. The raids were conducted based on information gathered during the interrogation of key accused Prashanth and distributor Veeresh Jain. SIT officials identified pharmacies allegedly involved in purchasing counterfeit medicines from the accused and searched their premises. The three pharmacies raided were located in RR...

The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration on September 18 cancelled the licences of 16 retail and wholesale pharmaceutical firms across Bengaluru. It suspended the licences of eight others, including pharma major Pfizer’s depot. The Karnataka High Court on Monday stayed the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) order cancelling Fortune Medical Solutions’ licence and suspending Vivanta Pharmaceuticals’ licence for allegedly selling spurious products. The Karnataka Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) on September 18, cancelled the licences of 16 retail and wholesale pharmaceutical firms across Bengaluru and suspended those of eight others, including global pharma major Pfizer’s depot, as...

The complaint was lodged by Sridhar Kumar Shetty, managing director of Nemus Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. According to the complaint, the company recently came across a counterfeit SLC face wash purchased by a customer through an e-commerce portal. The Central Crime Branch (CCB) has registered a case after a pharmaceutical company complained that counterfeit versions of its popular face wash were being sold online using its name, manufacturing licence number and packaging details. The complaint was lodged by Sridhar Kumar Shetty, managing director of Nemus Pharmaceuticals Pvt. Ltd. The company’s head office is located in BTM Layout and operates a cosmetic...

Hyderabad: A wrong diagnostic report can do more than create confusion for a patient — it can alter the course of treatment itself. Yet, in Nirmal town, diagnostic centres and laboratories are being set up without proper registration, with some operators relying more on their experience in the field than on the mandatory legal requirements. Under the Clinical Establishments (Registration and Regulation) Act, 2010, medical and diagnostic establishments are required to register before starting operations. The registration is intended to ensure that such centres meet prescribed requirements and that the services offered to patients are subject to regulatory oversight. However,...