Happy Media

The Telegraph  August 19, 2020 Reliance Industries on Tuesday announced the acquisition of a majority stake in Netmeds, the Chennai-based online pharmacy, for a cash consideration of around Rs 620 crore. Under the terms of the deal, RIL subsidiary Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd will pick up a 60 per cent stake in Vitalic Health and a direct 100 per cent stake in three of its subsidiaries —Netmeds Marketplace, Tresara Health Private Ltd, and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt, the Mukesh Ambani-owned entity announced late on Tuesday night. Speculation about the deal has been brewing for a while and it now sets the stage up for a battle royale in the online pharmacy space after Amazon launched its own venture that has already started accepting orders for both over the counter and prescription-based drugs in Bangalore earlier this week. It will also have to contend with existing players like 1Mg and Medlife. This investment is aligned with our commitment to provide digi...

Firstpost July 20,2020 Kavya Narayan Since the first recorded use of 'immunisation' in humans to prevent smallpox (in 1796), the development and scope of vaccines has seen some, incremental progress. A new technology in development – messenger RNA vaccines – holds the potential to disrupt the entire approach to vaccine development. An mRNA molecule developed by American firm Moderna Therapeutics –  mRNA-1273  – is among the leading candidates  in human trials  for a working vaccine against the COVID-19-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus. Since the start of the pandemic that has brought the world to a halt, the company's stock price has tripled. Moderna isn’t the only company focused on mRNA, but it is currently the front runner in developing the technology, with over  20 different mRNA vaccines in their pipeline . In 2010, the company saw the biggest initial public offering (IPO) on record for a biotech c...

India Today May 07,2020 Industrialist and Tata Group Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata has bought 50 per cent stake in a unique pharmacy chain promoted by a Mumbai teen. Tata has picked up the stake in ‘Generic Aadhar’, which is promoted by 18-year-old Arjun Deshpande, reported Business Today. Generic Aadhar is known to sell medicines at much cheaper rates than the market price. While Deshpande confirmed the deal, he denied disclosing the amount involved in the deal. Deshpande added that Tata had earlier heard the proposal three to four months ago and agreed to invest and mentor him in running the business. "Sir Ratan Tata has invested in Generic Aadhar two days ago for 50 per cent stake and a formal announcement will be made soon," he told the publication. Sources who spoke to BT said Ratan Tata had made the investment at a “personal level” and that it has no links with the Tata Group. It is worth mentioning that Tata has been known for investing in many startups ...

Bloomberg May 1,2020 Bill Gates, whose foundation is focusing  its efforts  to fight the coronavirus, doesn’t think life will return to normal until there’s a viable vaccine that can stop its spread. The good news is that it may take less time than many have been predicting. “Dr. Anthony Fauci has said he thinks it’ll take around eighteen months to develop a coronavirus vaccine,” Gates wrote in a  blog post  published Thursday. “I agree with him, though it could be as little as 9 months or as long as two years.” “I’m particularly excited by two new approaches that some of the candidates are taking: RNA and DNA vaccines,” he wrote. “It might be a bit hard to see right now, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel.” Key Quotes: “For COVID-19, financing development is not an issue. Governments and other organizations (including our foundation and an amazing alliance called the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) have made i...

The Indian Express Dated:April 7,2020 Prabha Raghavan Pharmaceutical exporters have approached the RBI, asking it to extend “at least” for six months their deadline to pay bankers dues of as much as $600 million, claiming the industry has taken a hit during the ongoing novel coronavirus outbreak. The exporters fear failure to do so may lead to their businesses shutting down, leading to shortages of several crucial medicines, the chairperson of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (PHARMEXCIL) told The Indian Express. “…we wish to inform you that our member companies, which are approximately 3,500 who generate value turnover of $50 billion divided equally into $25 billion each for domestic and exports… have approached us to request you to immediately consider at least an extension of six months for due payments against non-fund limits predominantly provided through Letter of Credit (LC) for making the payments to the bankers,” stated PHARMEXCIL cha...

Hindustan Times February 28, 2020 IMF, World Bank ready to supply funds to fight coronavirus, says spokesperson The International Monetary Fund and World Bank are ready to provide countries in need with immediate emergency funding to fight the coronavirus outbreak, a spokesman said on Thursday. While they have yet to receive a request for aid, the institutions “have now developed contingency plans. We have various financial instruments that could be used,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a press conference. As the epidemic has spread beyond China, shuttering production and closing schools in Japan, economists are increasingly worried about a slowdown in the global economy. “We have various financial instruments that could be used to support countries with balance of payment problems that arise from epidemics or natural disasters,” Rice said, noting that the lenders rapidly deployed funds during the Ebola epidemic. He singled out China, saying the IMF rem...

Moneycontrol February 24, 2020 How coronavirus could impact Indian economy, financial markets While coronavirus may not have impacted the country directly as much, but the Indian economy, which is just about showing some signs of recovery, may not escape unscathed. The green shoots could get nipped in the bud. India's annual trade with China is ~$90 billion--India imports goods worth $75 billion and exports goods worth $15 billion. On account of factory closures in China, supply chains would get disrupted and this could result in shortages, especially of electronic goods and medicines. A lot of pharma companies rely on APIs (active pharmaceutical ingredients) sourced from parts of China that are worst affected by the virus outbreak. We may see a temporary contraction in imports till the time some semblance of normalcy is restored in China. Trade deficit prints may be lower for the next couple of months. We may see the price of consumer durables inch higher....

www.moneycontrol.com Viswanath Pilla Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) VG Somani’s notice to regulators of all states and Union Territories (UTs) to prohibit sale of medicines through unlicensed online platforms has perturbed the e-pharmacy industry which employs thousands of people. The curbs are to be in place until the government comes up with rules to regulate e-pharmacies in India. Currently, online pharmacies operate in a regulatory grey area, leading to conflicting court orders. Most e-pharmacies operate in the country without a drug licence as there are no rules framed for the sector. The DCGI order itself was based on the Delhi High Court order dated December 12, 2018. “The order which is being referred to, was issued on December 12, 2018 by the Delhi High Court. The Delhi High Court’s order relied on an earlier single judge’s order by the Madras High Court. The said order was then stayed by a Divisional Bench of the Madras High Court. As per the bench, ...

Two persons are being treated at a Beijing hospital for pneumonic plague, a contagious disease, which could cause a fatal outbreak if not treated and contained immediately. The two, who hail from the Chinese province of Inner Mongolia, have received “proper treatment,” local media reported. “At present, the two patients have received proper treatment in relevant medical institution of Chaoyang District and relevant disease prevention and control measures have been taken,” official news agency Xinhua reported. The two individuals were being treated at a central hospital in China’s capital city — home to over 21 million inhabitants — on Tuesday, local authorities said. The World Health Organisation is monitoring the situation. “The [Chinese] National Health Commission are implementing efforts to contain and treat the identified cases and increasing surveillance,” Fabio Scano, China head of WHO said, reported UK newspaper The Guardian. “The risk of transmission of the...

A cash crunch at HLL Biotech Ltd (HBL) has left the government enterprise falling short on fulfilling its mandate of making affordable vaccines for the country’s Universal Immunisation Programme. The liquidity crisis, which has resulted in HBL waiting for over Rs 300 crore in additional funds, has also made it difficult for the company to pay its employees since June,  The Indian Express  has learnt. Advertising This fund crunch also raises questions over HBL’s ability to act as a backup in the event that the country needs extra supply of oxytocin — a lifesaving pregnancy medicine that the Centre has been trying to ban private firms from making in India since 2018. HBL has been struggling financially as it awaits the execution of a proposed disinvestment of its parent firm HLL Lifecare Ltd (HLL), pending which decisions on its requirement of additional funds have been stalled, as per sources. In the meantime, the firm’s Integrated Vaccine Complex (IVC), te...