💊 Pandemic who? WHO ends Covid emergency; Lupin’s new French connection; Sudan loses a million polio shots
#335 | Flipping the switch on autoimmune conditions; Artificial data for artificial intelligence; A case for WFH
Hello there, dear reader. Welcome back to The Kable, the first one in a world in which Covid-19 is not a public health emergency of international concern. Yay! But pandemic or not, the life sciences industry is keeping things exciting with acquisitions, lawsuits and recalls galore.
For starters, Mumbai-headquartered Lupin is saying Salut to France as it acquires Medisol and its portfolio of 7 injectable products in the therapeutic areas of pain management, inflammation, cardiovascular disease and obstetrics. The upto €18 million deal includes an upfront payment of €14.5 million.
In Egypt, a new company EZ International is being launched as a one-stop shop for the country’s pharma companies, with offerings ranging from logistics and administrative support to distribution and trade services. Funded by the Sovereign Fund of Egypt’s healthcare and pharma subfund and private equity firm B Investments, EZ International is a partnership with the pharma chain El-Ezaby Pharmacy.
Swiss firm Vifor International, meanwhile, is suing Indian pharma manufacturers Cipla and JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals in a bid to protect its patent on Ferric Carboxymaltose (FCM), its water-soluble iron carbohydrate complex drug, which is used intravenously to treat iron deficiency and iron deficiency anaemia when oral preparations are ineffective. The patent is due to expire in October this year.
Sun Pharma continues to see less-than-sunny days; the company is recalling 24,194 pre-filled syringes of Fyremadel, used to treat infertility in women, in the US. The US FDA reported that a piece of glass was found in a pre-filled syringe.
Meanwhile, Zambia has a not-so-unique health worker crisis brewing. But it’s manifesting in a unique way: drug theft.
And finally, in the Indian state of Odisha, 12 cases of anthrax have been reported, with one person losing their life during treatment.
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