💊 Indian-made cough syrups under WHO scrutiny; Global Fund falls short of target; More than drugs needed for diabetes

#188 | The African Medical Centre takes shape

Hello and welcome back to The Kable in what has been an eventful week for launches, but not necessarily of the good kind.

In response to South Korea and the US launching missiles yesterday in response to North Korea launching missiles the day before, now North Korea has launched two more missiles today, saying its recent missile tests are necessary countermeasures against joint military drills by the two countries. Phew, that was a mouthful of a sentence, but you try clubbing so many launches into one.

In separate - and obviously unrelated - news, the US is stocking up on radiation sickness drugs, coughing up (no pun intended) $290 million to Amgen for its blood disorder med Nplate. The drug is approved to treat blood cell injuries linked to acute radiation syndrome (ARS) in kids and adults.

In The Netherlands, authorities are asking poultry farmers to impose a curfew on the social lives of their birds because bird flu. Across Europe, a combination of disease (bird flu and swine flu, most prominently) and weather (heat, drought, wildfires, rains, floods) have resulted in lower meat and dairy production so far this year. The prognosis does not look so good for the rest of the year, either.

Speaking of Europe, government offices in France are bracing for an extra-cold winter this year. The government won't supply hot water to any public offices in an energy-saving measure.