Health and Medicines

Dr Reddy's Lipitor

2009-11-08T12:21:00.001+05:30

Biotechnology firm Dr Reddy's Laboratories has developed a generic version of Pfizer's Lipitor, the world's largest selling cholesterol-lowering drug. "We have filed an ANDA (abbreviated new drug filing) for atrovastatin and notified Pfizer accordingly," Dr Reddy's told Reuters in response to an email query.

So far, Ranbaxy is the only other Indian drugmaker to develop a generic for the drug, whose U.S. patent expires in 2010. Under a settlement with Pfizer, Ranbaxy has agreed to launch its generic by November 2011.
Reuters

Ayurveda experts and modern medicine

2009-10-19T06:00:00.003+05:30

Ayurveda experts from across India met at Nagpur's Baidyanath Bhavan this week. Rajesh Shukla, a retired medical officer from Sagar, strongly believes that medicinal plants should be preserved and grown in their natural environment without using any chemicals like fertilisers. This prevents the plant from absorbing any heavy metals. Govind Asati, a teacher at government Ayurved College in city, holds the Ayurvedic practitioners and researchers responsible for the delay in required recognition to Ayurveda as a national system of medicine. "We have failed to take this science to even our own people in the right way," he says.
TOI
Snehlata Shrivastav
Brahmanand Nayak, an MD in Ayurveda from Bangalore, has been bringing out a research journal, first and only one of its kind published from 12 countries simultaneously. "Medicine is a science and so is Ayurveda. But we have not been able to share this fact with the world. Though research in Ayurveda may be in infancy stage, evidence is fast pouring in on how the plant-based medicines work at molecular levels.

B P Tamrakar, a professor of Ayurveda from Bhilai, says, "Ayurveda can cure sickle cell to about 90%, turn hepatitis B and E positive patients to negative and prolong the duration between blood transfusions required by a thalassemia patient. But this is possible with right integration of modern medicine with Ayurveda." He has treated 150 sickle cell patients, 70 hepatitis infections and is conducting research with the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and College of Pharmacy, Delhi.

Biocon insulin pill

2009-10-02T13:01:00.002+05:30

The world's first oral insulin pills will hit the markets in 2011, after human clinical trials reached their final stages, says Biocon Managing Director Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw. "This is a product that we see to be a game-changer," Mazumdar-Shaw, 53, said. "It has huge potential and certainly can be a multibillion dollar blockbuster."
Bloomberg
Of the estimated 246 million people affected by diabetes worldwide, about 5 percent to 10 percent have the type 1 form that’s marked by the inability to produce insulin, a hormone that turns blood sugar into energy, according to the International Diabetes Federation. India is the worst-affected by diabetes, with about 41 million sufferers, followed by China and the U.S.

Biocon has also purchased IDL Speciality Chemicals, which makes Active Pharmaceuticals Ingredients (API), the basic raw material used in the manufacturing of medicines. Biocon has bought IDL from Gulf Oil Corporation, a Hinduja Group company.

Ranbaxy generic Rocaltrol

2009-09-04T14:07:00.000+05:30

Reuters

Indian drugmaker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Thursday it would launch in the United States a generic version of Rocaltrol used in the treatment of ailments arising from renal failure. Ranbaxy will market the drug, which has annual sales worth $70 million, in an agreement with Validus Pharmaceuticals, a U.S.-based company focused on acquiring and marketing prescription drugs.

Ranbaxy, in which Japan's Daiichi Sankyo bought about 64 percent last year, said in a statement it would launch the drug immediately and expected to be the only firm offering the generic version of Rocaltrol.

Neem patents

2009-08-12T11:33:00.003+05:30

The neem tree in full bloom in Bikaner. Across India the neem tree, and its leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit, are used in traditional medicine, religious ceremonies, and food preparations. Its Latin name is Azadirachta Indica, which is based on the Persian term for this ancient Indian tree: Azad-daracht-e-Hind or free (standing) tree of India.

In Rajasthan it is said that the temperature under a Neem tree is always two or three degrees cooler than in the shade of any other tree. Neem twigs are used for cleaning the teeth and gums, its leaves keep away moths and termite, neem bark paste is used for treating skin problems like eczema, psoriasis, ulcers. Animals eat Neem leaves as fodder in the desert regions of Rajasthan and Gujarat, and the seeds of the fruit are ground to make a natural pesticide.

While Indians have used neem for medicinal purposes in wound healing, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and skin care, US companies appear more interested in obtaining neem patents in the areas of biodiesel production, fertilizers, dental formulations, food packaging, and pharmaceutical compositions. A new study by Dolcera has confirmed that India has indeed lived up to the competitive neem research and development efforts from the West. The study reveals that while the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has the single most neem patents, individuals (41.84%) and private companies (31.63%) hold the majority of neem patents in India. Government institutes (which include CSIR, the Defense Research and Development Organization, and others) hold 26.53% of patents on India’s ancient asset.

Eating rat meat

2009-08-03T08:13:00.003+05:30

Excessive meat eating increases the risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and is generally bad for health. It is also bad for the environment and may put a strain on our ability to feed the increasing global population. The livestock that we eat, consume grasses and grain, which need to be produced on land and it is estimated that 8 kg of grain is required to produce 1 kg of meat. The tradition of eating domesticated animals in temperate countries is different from countries located in warmer climes; thus in the west livestock provided food in the lean winter months, while this was not the case in tropical countries, where plant food was available throughout the year.

In the Indian context, affluence and higher class status, led to dietary restrictions while the lower classes indiscriminately ate the meat of numerous animals. In the west affluence led to more meat eating, and now this has become the case in modern India as well. People eat meat because they are conditioned to do so, for the taste, or for the protein. This businessworld article says that per capita meat consumption in India could reach 18 kg in 2020, compared to 10-12 kg now. According to some estimates, the available fodder can meet the demand of only 40 per cent of livestock. One solution for increasing demands of meat could be met by rat meat, like in Cambodia:

Rat meat is rich in protein and tastier than chicken. A traditional rat eating community in India, called Musahars, usually hunt rats in paddy fields. Eating rat meat would control the rat population, which consumes a large portion of precious foodgrain stocks. Those who eat meat for its taste, or for the protein, should get over any stigma associated with eating rats and do their bit to reduce the pressure on land, and save the environment!

Shantha Biotechnics sale

2009-07-27T09:36:00.002+05:30

Protein purification equipment at Shantha Biotechnics

Hyderabad-based Shantha Biotechnics is up for sale. Its majority stakeholder, French biotech bioMérieux, plans to offload half its holding, as the Indian company failed to deliver the expected returns. While Shantha’s founder K.I. Varaprasad Reddy claims that bioMérieux may close the deal with UK drug giant GlaxoSmithKline or France’s Sanofi-Aventis within a month, industry insiders say that bioMérieux is unlikely to find takers so easily.

Shantha signed a technology agreement with Switzerland’s Berna Biotech (later acquired by Dutch biotech Crucell) to manufacture the pentavalent vaccine (five in one) back in 2007. Shantha recently received an order for 350 million doses from the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef). However the agreement included a clause stipulating that if there was a change in majority shareholder, the agreement would become void. Mr. Reddy though says that Shantha Biotechnics could manufacture the vaccine using a different technology.

After launching India’s first recombinant vaccine for hepatitis B in 1997, Shantha Biotechnics introduced a set of other combination vaccines that offered immunization against multiple ailments. Another promising vaccine for rotavirus—which causes infant diarrhoea—funded by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, is slated for launch in 2012. Shantha Biotechnics also has a product line from Pegylated Proteins. Most analysts say they don’t know the real reason for the sale. Emails and phone calls to bio-Mérieux weren’t answered.

Livemint
Businessworld

Methi health benefits

2009-07-19T10:10:00.002+05:30

Methi, or fenugreek, is a green vegetable known for its medicinal properties in India. Methi is grown in the winter season (rabi) in India and is resistant to frost. It's leaves and stems are cooked as a vegetable while the yellow seeds are used as spices in other dishes. Methi seeds are also used to make chutneys, pickles, curries, or are crushed into powder. Methi is most well-known for its curative properties in diabetes. A teaspoonful of methi seeds, 50 to 100 gm, can be taken daily by diabetics with a glass of water or milk.

Methi seeds give a nice scent to cooked dishes, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. A herbal medicine company, Indus Biotech, is working on a pharmaceutical based on methi seeds extract for diabetes patients. According to the Ayurveda, methi seeds lower blood sugar, increase the appetite, aid digestion, relieve flatulence and acidity, and are useful in controlling heart disease. A paste made from methi seeds is good for the skin, and was used in ancient times for leprosy sufferers.

Biocon Mylan

2009-06-29T15:04:00.002+05:30

Indian biotechnology firm Biocon Ltd said on Monday it has signed a definitive agreement with Mylan Inc to develop, manufacture and supply high value generic biologic drugs globally. As part of the agreement, both companies will share development, capital and other costs to bring the products to market, it said in a statement. Mylan will have exclusive commercialisation rights in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and in the European Union countries through a profit sharing arrangement with Biocon. Mylan will have co-exclusive commercialisation rights with Biocon in all other markets.

Shares of Biocon rose 2.67% to Rs 232.80 at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). “Through this partnership, we hope to deliver high quality affordable bio-generic antibodies and biologics, thereby addressing a need to lower spiraling healthcare costs in both the developed and the emerging economies,” Biocon chairman and managing director Kiran Mazumdar Shaw said.

Pharma numbers

2009-06-22T14:14:00.001+05:30

Businessworld
Noemie Bisserbe

The pharmaceuticals export Promotion Council (Pharmexcil), set up by the ministry of commerce, and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) are painting two very different pictures of the state of India’s drug exports in the run-up to the budget. According to Pharmexcil’s figures, exports to the US recorded a healthy 25.1 per cent growth to Rs 6,380 crore in the 11 months ended February 2009 compared to the same period last year.

However, a Ficci study released last month says that the global economic downturn has hurt the pharma industry, and drug exports to the US fell 37 per cent to $478 million (Rs 2,307 crore) in the five months ended February 2009, compared to $756 million (Rs 3,648 crore) in the same period last year. The different time frame as well as the currencies selected for the studies could be the reason for the stark difference. Still, the contrast is startling.

Biotechnology trade show Bangalore

2009-06-10T04:14:00.003+05:30

The ninth edition of Bangalore Bio, organised by the State Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science and Technology, and the Vision Group on Biotechnology, will be held from June 18 to 20. The show will host 100 biotech speakers including Nobel Laureate Richard J. Roberts, who will deliver the key-note address.

Discussions will be held on process development and bio manufacturing, medical devices diagnostics and informatics, animal cell culture, development of vaccines, and industrial biotechnology among others. Bangalore Bio this year will see 120 exhibitors from the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa, United States, Italy, Spain, Singapore and Japan. Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon, which sponsors the annual biotechnology show, said, "Global research alliances and partnerships are critical to do research in a more cost affective, efficient and expedient way."

Meanwhile Shaw's company Biocon Limited got the BioSingapore Asia Pacific Biotechnology Award for "Best Listed Company" at the BioMedical Asia event held between 16 & 19 March 2009.

Biocon launches human insulin analogue Basalog

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw holds a vial of Basalog, a drug to control diabetes during its launch in Bangalore, India, Friday, May 29, 2009. Basalog, a long acting human insulin, will be available in 3 and 10 millimeter vials (photo: AP).

The product replaces other forms of insulin that do not act for a full 24 hours and require multiple injections. "The number of diabetics in the world, now 200 to 230 million, is expected to double by 2020. India alone may have 40 million diabetics and one out of every five diabetics in the world is likely to be of Indian origin by then," said Shaw at the launch.

Meanwhile Biocon's oral insulin drug IN-105 is in long-term human clinical trials.

Ayurveda manuscripts and medicines

2009-05-27T08:19:00.003+05:30

Many developments in traditional Ayurveda, classed under the Indian System of Medicine, and governed by the Department of Ayush under the Ministry of Health. The Drugs & Cosmetics Act of 1940 lists 54 texts, including the Charak Samhita of the 3rd century BCE, as authoritative ayurveda texts. But in a three-year project of the Indian Institute of History of Medicine (IIHM), based in Hyderabad, conducted with permission from the Ministry of Health, 30,000 ayurvedic manuscripts have been collected.

The manuscripts date back to the 15th century right through to the 19th century, and are written in Marathi, Modi, Sanskrit, Bengali, Kannada, Urdu, Persian and Hindi. They contain advice on proper eating habits, effective herbal medicines, concoctions and the like, and have been collected from various parts of India like Pudducherry, Gwalior, Nizamabad and Pune. 800 of these have been digitised and once the project is over, IIHM will upload the information on the internet for research and public usage.

Ayurvedic medicines are presently classed as herbal products and not drugs. There is a proposal with the Drug Technical Advisory Board, for amending the Drugs & Cosmetics Act to include new guidelines, which will make clinical trials mandatory for Ayurvedic medicines enabling them to be classed as drugs. This will mean that allopathic doctors will now be able to prescribe Ayurvedic drugs to their patients. Ayurvedic products for treating chronic diseases have fewer side effects. "There are no chemical drugs to treat chronic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Phytopharmaceuticals can fill this gap," adds Somesh Sharma, chief scientific officer at Piramal Healthcare.

Pharmaceutical firms in India defy slowdown

2009-04-26T12:43:00.002+05:30

Pharmaceutical firms are defying a broad-based slowdown in Indian exports. Growing demand for cheap, generic drugs is proving a particular boon, reflected in a 46% year-on-year rise in exports to the U.S. during December, the last month for which finalized data are available.

Most pharmaceutical firms In India expect their domestic market to grow at around 20% this year and to maintain their operating margins, which are often close to 50%. A study by the Organisation of Pharmaceutical Producers of India suggests that the booming contract research outsourcing industry will expand from $400 million in turnover during 2007-08 to $1.3 billion in 2011-12 and $3 billion in 2015.

These are fairly new firms, but most others have built their balance sheets over some time. The oldest is Cipla, a 65-year old company with historical associations with Mahatma Gandhi that has developed a new strategy for getting retrovirals and other acute disease treatments cheaply into developing countries, despite opposition from the large international drug firms.

Forbes

Aurobindo Pharma enlarged prostate tablets

2009-04-11T13:45:00.001+05:30

Aurobindo Pharma, a developer of generic pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients, has received its first product approval from Swissmedic, Government of Switzerland for the license of finasteride APL tablets (5mg). The drug is a generic equivalent of MERCK & CO Inc's Proscar Tablet.

Finasteride APL Tablet 5mg is used alone or in combination with another medication to treat benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH, enlargement of the prostate gland). The drug is seen very effective in symptoms of BPH such as frequent and difficult urination. In addition, it also may decrease the chance of needing prostate surgery.

Further, the drug is also used to treat male pattern hair loss (a common condition in which men have gradual thinning of the hair on the scalp, leading to a receding hairline or balding on the top of the head.)

Aurobindo Pharma Pfizer deal

2009-03-04T14:31:00.002+05:30

Pfizer Inc has agreed to license an array of generic pills and injectable medicines from Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. "Aurobindo will manufacture the products and we will be responsible for the marketing," said Pfizer senior vice-president Kevin Cooper. Pfizer’s deal with Aurobindo is its first in-licensing deal where the US-based pharma giant takes on license, products from Aurobindo.

Pfizer declined to name the medicines, saying they covered a broad range of therapy areas including cardiovascular disease and central nervous system disorders. The medicines will be sold initially in the US and European markets. Pfizer estimates that the deal with Aurobindo will boost its revenue by $200 million till 2014.

Dengue Vaccine

2009-02-19T05:35:00.005+05:30

The mosquito-borne disease, caused by four types of dengue viruses, occurs mostly in tropical and subtropical countries but is spreading to new parts of the globe. This month there have been over 300 cases of Dengue in Australia's North Queensland region. After decades of absence in the United States, dengue has broken out on the Texas-Mexico border, and experts add that widespread dengue infection in the continental US is a real possibility.

A typical dengue infection confines a patient to bed for more than a week with fever and severe limb pains, but most recover. In less than five percent of cases, however, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) and dengue shock syndrome (DSS), with often deadly complications, develop just as the fever breaks.

Dengue Vaccine is being developed by French vaccines maker Sanofi Pasteur. Its experimental tetravalent dengue vaccine was the first to reach this stage of clinical development. The trial will take place in Thailand.

Contract Research boom

2009-01-19T04:56:00.002+05:30

Indian contract research and manufacturing companies (Crams) such as Divis Laboratories, Jubilant Organosys, Piramal Healthcare, Biocon and Dishman Pharma may to benefit from the global slowdown as MNCs step up outsourcing to cut costs. India is an attractive destination for global companies for cost-effectiveness without compromising on quality, as drug development and manufacturing can be done in India at 40 per cent of the expenses in the US and Europe. India’s total CRO market in 2007 was about $323 million and is expected to grow at around 49 per cent CAGR up to 2010, according to a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).

Pharma innovator companies globally are cutting costs. GlaxoSmithKline is planning to cut 1,000 sales jobs, BMS has announced cost cutting of $2.5 billion by 2012. Aztra Zeneca is trimming its workforce by 9,000 people and Pfizer is closing down several manufacturing units and downsizing its workforce.

The Indian drug discovery services market, which includes biology and chemistry-based services and pre-toxicology services are estimated to touch $820 million by 2013, according to a Kotak Institutional Equity report. India’s chemistry skills, availability of labour, strengthened intellectual property rules and capabilities in pre-clinical development may lead to a contract research boom.

Business Standard

Dabur in Himachal

2008-12-26T11:39:00.002+05:30

Dabur India Ltd, with business interest in healthcare, personal care and food products, has got the green signal from the Himachal Pradesh government to set up another medicine manufacturing unit in the state, a senior official said here Thursday.

"The state government gave Dabur the permission to set up one more manufacturing unit in the state. It will invest Rs 130 crore," industries director Manoj Kumar told IANS. Kumar said the unit would be set up in the Baddi industrial area in Solan district, where Dabur's first manufacturing unit is located.

The single window clearance and monitoring authority for Himachal, cleared four investment proposals on Wednesday worth Rs 177.62 crore, which included Dabur's second plant in Baddi.

As per the company's proposal, Dabur will set up an allopathy and ayurvedic medicine manufacturing unit. "Dabur will provide direct employment to more than 400 people," Kumar said.

Sify

Clinical study death

2008-12-16T09:39:00.000+05:30

Surendar, a 25-year-old who enrolled in a clinical study to establish the similarity between two versions of widely used blood pressure drug felodipine, died last week after complaining of chest pains.

Surendar was given his first dose of felodipine on 26 November, but he died on 5 December before a second dose could be given, says Hyderabad-based GVK Bioscience, which conducted the study. GVK observes that Surendar used to participate in medical studies by other companies, implying that he might have had doses of other drugs between 26 November and 5 December. Generally, a gap of three months between clinical studies is desirable to avoid harmful drug interactions.

But since there is no system to monitor this, there is no way of knowing if a volunteer, who is paid to participate, has enrolled in more than one study simultaneously or within three months. A biometric fingerprinting system could help track these volunteers who offer themselves for drug experiments to make a quick buck.

Businessworld
Gauri Kamath

Traditional Mediterranean diet

2008-12-10T04:32:00.002+05:30

A traditional Mediterranean diet rich in fruits and vegetables can do miracles for people fighting obesity and obesity-related diseases. But adding nuts to this spread may help manage metabolic syndrome, a group of health problems including abdominal obesity, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and high glucose levels, all known as risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

The Mediterranean diet has long been associated with a lower risk for metabolic abnormalities. The Mediterranean diet bases mostly on a high intake of fruits and vegetables, grains, fish and poultry, foods said to be high in antioxidants and omega 3, offering the body its most needed elements necessary in keeping it young and thus in preventing diseases.

The new study involved 1,224 people in Spain aged 55 to 80 who were at high risk of heart disease. One group received advice on a low-fat diet while two others followed a Mediterranean diet, one getting an extra liter of alive oil per week and the other receiving an additional 30 grams of mixed nuts daily.

Two thirds of the participants met the criteria for metabolic syndrome at the beginning of the study. However, after one year, the condition decreased by about 14 percent among those who ate nuts compared with 7 percent in the olive oil group and 2 percent in the control group on a low-fat diet. Weight didn’t change among the participants after one year. But those on the Mediterranean diet plus nuts knew a drop in waist size, triglycerides and blood pressure compared with those on the low-fat diet.

Efluxmedia
By Anna Boyd

Avesthagen IPO shelved

2008-11-21T07:40:00.002+05:30

Looking at the current financial turmoil in the markets the Bangalore-based biotech company Avesthagen, has shelved plans for an initial public offering (IPO) and will look instead to raise money from private investors, reports the Economic Times.

Villoo Morawala Patell, chairperson and managing director of the company said they were looking to raise $30 to $50 million to ensure that their nine products, which are scheduled to be developed for the next two years, reach the market on time. She had earlier denied stake divestment stating abundant private equity partners as the reason and had proposed to take their product line to the public and market.

This decision comes on the heels of news that Nestle Nutrition has rejected seven out of eight nutritional bioactive molecules that were developed as part of a joint venture with Indian biotech company Avesthagen Ltd, sources have said. Nestle's health food and nutrition division's move has shelved a proposal to use these ingredients in health food for diabetics that the Swiss giant had planned to launch globally.

The source cited Nestle R&D communications head Hilary Green as confirming the collaborative agreement with Avesthagen had been terminated.

Villoo Morawala Patell was quoted as saying: "Nestle has returned some of the compounds to us, and we are free to further develop them on our own or with other partners."

Dr Reddys going green

2008-11-12T04:05:00.002+05:30

Pharma major Dr Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd (DRL) will focus on "green chemistry" to make the process of drug design and manufacture more environmental friendly.

"We have been trying to be sustainable in our drug production for the last five years. However, we will focus more on this front and initiate internal measuring of green chemistry," says Mr G.V. Prasad, Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Dr Reddy’s.

"This can be defined as making a given molecule with maximum atomic efficiency, i.e., using least number of atoms," Mr Prasad explained.

The company is also taking other measures such recycling some of the by-products to other sectors in which they can be used effectively. "Sodium sulphate, for instance, is being sent to the construction industry where it can be used in producing other materials," he said.

The company is also in the process of making its building "green", he added.

The Hyderabad-based company has been bringing out a sustainability report since 2004 to mention its efforts in creating additional value to shareholders, environmental protection practice and corporate social responsibility.

Dr Reddy's new drugs and business prospects

Just as Biocon had losses due to exchange rate changes, Dr Reddy's forex losses in the September 2008 quarter were Rs 296 crore. However the pharma company believes it can grow revenues by 25 per cent in the current year from Rs 5, 006 crore in FY08.

Betapharm, a German firm that DRL bought in February 2006, fared reasonably well in the September quarter with revenues up 68 per cent. Betapharm’s performance helped boost DRL’s revenues which grew a robust 28 per cent Rs 1,615 crore. Revenues were also driven by the global generics business which grew by 40 per cent thanks to a good performance in key markets such as North America, Russia and Europe.

DRL continues to strengthen its pipeline by filing abbreviated new drug applications (ANDAs)—it filed two during the quarter, taking the total new drugs in its pipeline to 66, among the strongest in the industry. The company will be selling Imitrex (anti-migraine medication) exclusively in FY09 , though it's not clear for how long the exclusive period will last.

Business Standard

Bypass surgery gone wrong

2008-11-05T10:28:00.003+05:30

More than three weeks after the death of Jayant Bhuyan, deputy director general at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and chief executive officer of the India Brand Equity Foundation, at Max Devki Devi Heart and Vascular Institute in Saket in New Delhi, the hospital is yet to share the results of an internal investigation, which is expected to shed some light on the exact reasons for this death.

Bhuyan passed away on 6 October due to a medical error during a bypass surgery — an operation that today has a success rate of about 99 per cent.

While Max Hospital has admitted that "some error" was committed, what exactly happened during the operation still remains unclear. "The internal investigation is almost complete and we will share the results with the family in a couple of days," insists Dr Pervez Ali Ahmed, the hospital’s executive medical director.

Bhuyan, 58, was admitted after a minor heart attack at the Max hospital on 29 September morning. While he recovered quickly, tests showed extensive blockage in three arteries and Bhuyan was advised to go for a bypass surgery. The following Saturday Bhuyan was operated upon by Dr I.S. Virdi. In the evening, his family and friends were informed that the operation had gone well. It is only the following morning that Dr Virdi informed Bhuyan’s wife, Ramola ,that her husband’s brain had suffered extensive damage. "Dr Virdi told me that during the operation he gave my husband a wrong tube that was later removed, but that oxygen was pumped in causing a massive insult to the brain," explains Ramola.

Dr Virdi performed an on-pump surgery wherein the surgeon sutures cannulae (small tubes) into the heart to take over the functions of the heart and lungs. Alternative methods of coronary artery bypass surgery have been developed such as off-pump surgery. At Wockhardt and Apollo Hospitals, 90 per cent of bypass surgeries are off-pump — as they are less invasive and the patient’s recovery is faster.

Businessworld
Noemie Bisserbe

Biocon losses due to exchange rate

2008-10-27T09:39:00.004+05:30

A weak rupee has dragged down the consolidated net profit of biotech major Biocon by 54% in the September quarter to Rs 25.02 crore from Rs 53.97 crore a year ago. M B Chinappa, head (finance) of Biocon’s subsidiary Syngene, said the company’s forex losses were due to the currency hedge that it has taken at the exchange rate of Rs 41.50 per dollar.....which has now dropped to 50.

Without the forex losses, Biocon’s net profit for the quarter slipped by only 5%.

Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman, Biocon Ltd, said, "Biocon’s H1 F09 performance has shown resilience despite being impacted by rupee volatility, which has seen us make mark-to-market provision of Rs 60 crore." The company’s net sales for the first half of this fiscal stood at Rs 703.23 crore, up from last year’s Rs 517.66 crore.

Biocon defers plans to list Syngene

Biocon said it had deferred plans to list its subsidiary Syngene International Ltd, a custom research firm, in the market in view of the current economic scenario.

"The market is bearish," said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD of Biocon. Syngene, established in 1994, provides customised R&D services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It is remarkable then that another biotech company, Avesthagen is going ahead with its own listing.

Biocon was focussing on emerging markets like Brazil, CIS, Russia, South East Asian Countries, Middle East, North Africa, Far East countries and neighbouring countries. Biocon's Joint Venture in Abu Dhabi announced the launch of Abraxane in UAE for treatment of cancer, said Shaw.

Avesthagen

2008-10-20T03:29:00.003+05:30

Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell is the founder of Avestha Gengraine Technologies, based in Bangalore. She belongs to the Parsi community, and the name "Avestha" in her company, is the precursor of the Persian language and also means knowledge in the Zoroastrian faith of the Parsis. The biotechnology and bioinformatics company aims to determine linkages between genes, disease and environmental factors, through the Rs. 120 crore AvesthaGenome project. This project will genotype the country’s entire Parsi population -- about 69,000 people. The Parsis, thought to be genetically homogenous, are feared to be at risk owing to their religious prohibition of marriage outside of the community.

Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell is also a plant biologist and PhD from the University of Louis Pasteur; the name Gengraine combines gene with grain and as Villoo Morawala says, "The ultimate goal of our two main projects [Biopharma and Bionutrition] is to integrate agriculture with health."

The company, which officially became Avesthagen this January, recently launched an eco-friendly and biodegradable plastic for the Indian market. It is singly or jointly developing unique, scientifically proven, plant products for modern malaises: cancer and metabolic disorders; crackers and bars to ward off diabetes, heart diseases and obesity; TB-detecting biochips. Its first medicinal product will come out towards the end of 2009, with two more to follow the next year.

Dr. Villoo Morawala-Patell says, "We are partnering with French company ShigaMediX on TB and the human papilloma virus. We have positioned ourselves for the global biosimilars markets by buying a German company [contract manufacturer Siegfried Biologics] and by building a 200-litre cGMP facility here. We will make the manufacturing happen in areas where we will buy out or lease out. Except for the biopharma facility which we are building, because there aren’t such facilities in the world. If I brand and market them properly, each of my ingredients will potentially become a $200-300-million product in the next five years."

Avesthagen IPO

Money for these ambitious plans has so far come from private investors like Daninvest, BioMirieux of France, Groupe Limagrain also of France, Fidelity International, New York Life Investment Management India, ICICI Ventures, Tata Industries, Godrej Industries, Cipla, and Bennett, Coleman Co. ICICI Ventures and Tata have been investors since 2001...although the former has since sold its stake. Cipla and Godrej came on board in 2004 while the alliance with Groupe Limagrain took place in 2006.

Avesthagen has acquired seed companies and has also partnered with Nestle and Danone. Villoo Morawala says, "With Danone, we are doing two products including R&D, clinicals and co-branding; and in yoghurt. We delivered eight molecules for diabetes to Nestle."

As infrastructure, production and market demands soar, the 600-people-strong Avesthagen has felt the need for fresh capital. Avesthagen has appointed five banks, namely DSP Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, UBS and ICICI Securities, as advisors to its upcoming initial public offering (IPO). ICICI Venture may either exit through this proposed IPO or by selling its stake to another strategic or financial investor, whoever offers a better price.

Despite the falling markets, the Avesthagen IPO will be launched anytime in the next two months.