By Debaleena Basu A healthy 21-year-old youth was admitted to a hospital for an elective surgery. All preoperative physiological parameters were normal. On the surgery day, the commonly used drug bupivacaine was administered to induce spinal anaesthesia. Following the injection, he immediately went into shock. His blood pressure dropped, pulse weakened, and his breathing became … Continue reading When pills make us worse: Monitoring the adverse effects of medicines
Drug companies
Drug resistance: The antibiotic red line of control
A much-needed public awareness campaign to highlight the dangers of misuse and irrational use of antibiotics was recently launched by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Called ‘Medicines with the Red Line’, it comes at a time when the consumption of antibiotics in India has increased sharply while the effectiveness of these drugs to … Continue reading Drug resistance: The antibiotic red line of control
Editorial: Time for pharma course correction
The Finance Ministry’s decision to withdraw customs duty exemptions for 76 life-saving drugs will at once make them more expensive and impact patients who are already paying a high price for such medical treatment. It is important to keep in mind that a majority of Indians meet health care costs through out-of-pocket expenditure, and any … Continue reading Editorial: Time for pharma course correction
Editorial: Merck publishes a fake journal
The spectre of Vioxx, the blockbuster non-steroidal anti inflammatory drug (NSAID), continues to haunt pharmaceutical giant Merck even five years after the drug was withdrawn from the market due to its cardiovascular risk. The latest scandal relates to the manner in which the company published several volumes of a faked ‘journal’ that closely resembled a … Continue reading Editorial: Merck publishes a fake journal
Is the doctor-drug industry nexus harming patients?
Published in The Hindu on November 8, 2007 Companies in the U.S. that produce drugs and medical devices with a turnover of more than $100 million may soon be forced to reveal the amount of money that they give to doctors to influence their prescribing patterns. A bill was recently introduced in the U.S. Senate … Continue reading Is the doctor-drug industry nexus harming patients?
Editorial: Towards greater transparency
Published in The Hindu on November 5, 2007 Pharmaceutical companies and doctors make for uneasy bedfellows. While the two cannot ignore each other, there is the growing expectation that doctors would keep drug companies at arm’s length. There is much evidence to show that pharmaceutical companies have uncanny ways of influencing doctors’ prescribing decisions. Expensive … Continue reading Editorial: Towards greater transparency
Editorial: A fine initiative
Published in The Hindu on October 24, 2007 The recent announcement of a public-private partnership by three Europe-based pharmaceutical companies and the British government, the first of its kind, for using human embryonic stem cells to assess the safety of investigational drugs gives a boost to stem cell research and clinical trials. The partnership will … Continue reading Editorial: A fine initiative
Editorial: Expanding access to HIV testing
Published in The Hindu on July 4, 2007 The new guidelines issued recently by the World Health Organisation to expand access to HIV testing mark a paradigm shift in the approach to testing people for the viral infection. By making HIV testing available at health facilities, and not just in certain designated centres, based on … Continue reading Editorial: Expanding access to HIV testing
Editorial: Developing drugs for the poor
Published in The Hindu on March 9, 2007 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken some notable steps to address infectious diseases common in developing countries and to help them gain access to drugs for diseases that are no longer endemic to them. By deciding to set up an inter-governmental working group to draw up … Continue reading Editorial: Developing drugs for the poor
Editorial: Developing drugs for the poor
Published in The Hindu on July 18, 2006 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has taken some notable steps to address infectious diseases common in developing countries and to help them gain access to drugs for diseases that are no longer endemic to them. By deciding to set up an inter-governmental working group to draw up … Continue reading Editorial: Developing drugs for the poor
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