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Showing posts from August, 2018

Going to celebrate 🎉 world pharmacist day

Pharmacy related quiz competition

Harvard study reveals healthiest way to consume carbohydrates

Presented by: M. Mirza Riyaz Beig  A Harvard study found eating a well balanced diet, which included carbohydrates in moderation, is the healthiest, the Daily Mail reported. In a study that included 15,400 people, researchers also found too much or too little of it can damage your health. Cutting out potatoes and pasta or consuming an excess amount won't do any good to your body and increase the risk of an early death. However, the key is eating it in moderation and incorporating vegetables, lentils and nuts to your diet. "We need to look really carefully at what are the healthy compounds in diets that provide protection," Dr Sara Seidelmann, a researcher of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, told the Daily Mail. Adding, "Low-carb diets that replace carbohydrates with protein or fat are gaining widespread popularity as a health and weight loss strategy. "However, our data suggests that animal-based low carbohydrate diets, which are prevalent in North Americ...

Diabetes drug may help treat fatty liver too

A medicine used commonly for diabetes treatment has shown positive result  when used to treat fatty liver for which there are few approved drugs at present. A study was conducted on 50 people suffering from diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). They were divided into two groups – one received standard treatment for diabetes while the other was given a drug called empagliflozin for 20 weeks in addition to the standard treatment. Dr Ambrish Mithal, one of the authors of the study, said they found significant reduction, around 4%, in liver fat among the second group of patients. “If someone had 10% fat in liver, it reduced to 6% with the administering of this drug in 20 weeks,” said Dr Mohammad Shafi Kuchay, another researcher. Both of them work at Medanta Medicity in Gurgaon. Dr Kuchay added that nearly 60% of all diabetics suffer from NAFLD, which can progress to steatohepatitis (NASH) and eventually to cirrhosis or even cancer in a...

Pharma companies bag 40% of US generics

MUMBAI: The  volume  share of Indian pharma companies in the US generic market has grown to nearly 40 per cent in August despite regulatory woes and pricing pressures. A steady increase in drug approvals and portfolio rationalisation by  MNCs resulted in India’s volume share rising by 5 per cent over the last few months, though value is still impacted due to price erosion. The US, the most lucrative generics market valued at around $60 billion, accounts for 40-60 per cent of revenues of most domestic companies — including Sun Pharma, Cipla, Lupin and Aurobindo — with an overall share of around $10 billion. Over the last couple of years, channel consolidation and deep pricing pressure has hit generic companies, leading to biggies like Teva, Mylan and Sandoz recently rationalising their portfolio. This has given ground for Indian companies to increase their hold in the US market and it can continue to rise as the portfolio rationalisation ...

Big discovery by scientists: Turmeric extract can be used to kill cancer cells, says study

Extracts of turmeric – a condiment commonly used in Indian cuisine – can be rendered soluble and delivered to tumours to kill cancer cells, scientists say. Turmeric is known for its therapeutic effect and as a way to kill germs present in raw meat. Recently, scientists have also discovered that curcumin, a naturally occurring substance isolated from turmeric, is an effective agent for killing cancer cells. “Until now, however, curcumin is what we call in pharmaceutical science as a ‘false lead’ – it is therapeutic, but the full effect can’t be utilised because it’s poorly soluble in water,” said Dipanjan Pan, an associate professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US. “When you try to deliver a drug, it requires solubility in water, otherwise it won’t flow through the bloodstream,” said Santosh Misra, a post-doctoral researcher working with Pan. Researchers including those from the Universi...

Sun Pharma launches Kapspargo Sprinkle in US; drug can treat chest pain, high blood pressure

Sources: MoneyControl News By: M. Mirza Riyaz Beig  India’s largest drug maker Sun Pharma, has launched Kapspargo Sprinkle in the US. The drug is used in the treatment of chest pain, heart failure and high blood pressure. Kapspargo Sprinkle, approved by USFDA is a patented formulation of metoprolol succinate, the only extended-release sprinkle formulation of the beta1-selective adrenoreceptor blocking agent called beta-blocker. The metoprolol succinate extended release tablets have sales of around $600-700 million sales per annum in US. Kapspargo Sprinkle pellets can be sprinkled over soft food or administered via a nasogastric tube, and are designed to facilitate long-term, once-daily administration, particularly for patients who have difficulty in swallowing tablets. "Roughly 40 percent of patients requiring long-term care have difficulty swallowing, a problem that may result in patient non-adherence to medications as well as medication errors," said Abhay Gandhi, CEO-North...
Books recommended to a Pharmacy undergraduate student   By: M. Mirza Riyaz Beig 1. Pharmaceutics Remington Essentials of Pharmaceutics Ansel's Pharmaceutical dosage forms and drug delivery system Martin's Physical pharmacy and Pharmaceutical science  Physical Pharmacy FastTrack Hospital and Clinical Pharmacy by M. Aqil Ananthanarayan and Paniker's Textbook of Microbiology Hugo Russell Textbook of Microbiology Tutorial Pharmacy by Cooper and Gunn Pharmaceutical Compounding and dispensing FastTrack  Pharmaceutics- The Science of Dosage form by M.E. Aulton Harry's Cosmetology Forensic Pharmacy by C. K. Kokate Forensic Pharmacy by N. K. Jain N. K. Jain Dispensing Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Engineering by Subramanyam Libermann and Lachmann: Industrial Pharmacy 2. Pharmaceutical Chemistry  Vogel's Textbook of Quantitative chemical analysis Ashutosh Kar- Pharmaceutical Drug Analysis   Modern Analytical and inorganic Chemistry Physical C...