💊 Indian pharma (Global Pharma) takes a beating; Cholera lands in South Africa; The Pandemic Fund ready to actually release funds

#270 | Diamonds? There's a lab for that; Stressed? There's a chat for that; Pandemic? There's a bat for that

Hello, and welcome back to a brand new week with The Kable. Not much was moving and shaking over the weekend but Indian pharma has found itself in the eye of a fresh quality storm again.

Plant-based Covid vaccine maker Medicago, whose tobacco-relative-derived vaccine stood no chance of clearance from the WHO, but which was nevertheless approved in Canada last year is shutting down. Medicago’s last shareholder, Mitsubishi Chemical Group, is ceasing all operations at Medicago and also stopping sales (what sales?) of its Canada-approved vaccine, Covifenz.

In the US, new rules for nutritional changes in school meals will result in a limit in sugar for the first time. Being the US, we predict a new "take my sugar from my cold, dead hands" style alternate response.

India has lately made a lot of announcements on climate change and biodiversity even if actual work on the ground is lacking. The UAE has not been especially known to work on these issues either. The French government too has waxed and waned when it comes to balancing the environment and energy. Only apt then that these three countries form a new alliance to work on climate change and biodiversity.

In India, scientists are setting up a new centre... to grow diamonds.

Gavi has announced a new partnership with the Indian government with $250 million in funding to vaccinate millions of zero-dose children.

Nigeria has a new strategy to close healthcare staffing gaps thanks to its ongoing exodus of trained professionals overseas. The strategy? Replace every person that goes with another one. Wow!

Malawi's cholera outbreak, which has so far claimed well over a thousand lives, has now reached South Africa.

The UAE has launched a new national drug tracking system to track and trace all pharmaceutical products in the country.

And finally, Australia is well and truly over Covid and returning to normal.