💊 Novartis and Biogen cut down on R&D; Biological threat in Sudan; Bird flu transmission in mammals

#327 | Sun Pharma halts production; Indian pharma affects Africa; Hidden viruses hidden no more

Hello there. Welcome back to an eventful news day, as per usual, with The Kable.

India’s cough syrup fiasco seems to have no end in sight. Cough syrups contaminated with unacceptable levels of diethylene glycol and ethylene glycol, made by the country’s QP Pharmachem and marketed by Trillium Pharma, have been found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia. There are as yet no reports of children having fallen sick from consuming the syrups. While the manufacturer claims that tests of samples from the exported batch were satisfactory, the WHO has issued a medical product alert.

Novartis is continuing to ride the life sciences industry’s “trim the fat” trend. Yesterday, the company announced it is discontinuing or licensing out about 10% of its R&D projects. Early-stage projects, especially, are seeing their end already.

Biogen is no different. The company wants to focus efforts on Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi and experimental depression treatment, Zuranolone, and is pausing or discontinuing at least four other experimental drug studies.

The sun is going down on production at Sun Pharma’s facility in Mohali, India. This action by the company is in response to a recent Form 483 from the US FDA. Sun Pharma is undertaking corrective measures, including bringing on board an independent cGMP expert, before resuming operations here.

After granting Medtronic’s insulin pump MiniMed 780G its approval, the US FDA is now also giving the go-ahead to Insulet’s Omnipod Go system. While the former is designed for people with type 1 diabetes, Insulet’s device is indicated specifically for those with type 2.

Healthcare shift workers keep the world up and running, but who’s keeping the shift workers up and running? Good sleep. Researchers from Monash University in Australia have developed SleepSync, the first of its kind personalised sleep app to help shift workers improve their sleep quality and overall mood.

Meanwhile, researchers from the Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology in Guwahati, India, have fabricated a flexible bio-electronic uric acid detecting device. The device can be used for wearable sensors, point-of-care diagnostics and other applications that involve monitoring the crucial antioxidant that maintains blood pressure stability.

In Sudan, the political crisis is naturally spilling over into healthcare delivery as well. In a dangerous development in the conflict, one side has taken control of a national health lab which is home to biological materials, including polio, measles and cholera isolates. In addition to the refugee crisis caused by the fighting, the biological risk from the public health lab in Khartoum is huge, with all technicians kicked out and power cuts in the region. Accidental leaks from the lab are highly possible, and if intentionally weaponised… we don’t even want to go there. As if threats to the lives and health of the 219,000 pregnant women and everyone else in the fighting-hit areas weren’t enough. Hospitals have shuttered, aid workers have been killed, and medical supplies, food and fuel are running low across the country. If the situation doesn’t improve soon, the health system will be on the verge of collapse.

The WHO has been plagued by reports of misconduct of various kinds in recent years. In 2018, senior WHO directors were made aware of sexual harassment allegations against Dr Temo Waqanivalu of the non-communicable diseases department. No formal action was taken earlier, but now, after another such allegation, Waqanivalu has been dismissed from the WHO.

It’s hard to stay hopeful in the face of global crises like the Covid pandemic and climate change. Although young people feel they have the power to make a difference, translating that sentiment into action isn’t as easy. This study explores how young Indians are responding to our collective crises and outlines recommendations to shape a better future.

Speaking of crises, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the current measles outbreak has claimed 1,193 lives from among 80,000 cases in 2023 so far.

And finally, bird flu is spreading like never before in Canada’s Quebec, with 13 outbreaks reported this month alone. Since the start of the year, Quebec has become home to 22 infected sites and 700,000 dead or culled birds. Already, there are more cases this year than all of last year.

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