Pharma News

A new discovery by Indian researchers suggest that brain cells also have different moods, a finding that could impact artificial intelligence and management of healthcare issues like autism and alcoholism. These brain cells called Purkinje cells, located in the cerebellum at the base of the brain, are essential for our body's balance, co-ordination and the capacity to learn new skills such as riding a bicycle or playing a piano.

A cheap, widely available drug used to treat gout could help heart attack survivors live longer and healthier lives, a new study led by an Indian-origin scientist in Australia has found. The study led by Dr Sanjay Patel from the Heart Research Institute (HRI) shows that an anti-inflammatory medication used to treat gout and combat arthritis also improves the heart health of people who have suffered a heart attack or other major heart event. The researchers said they have proved that the widely available drug is both safe and profoundly effective in reducing local cardiac inflammation.

Nearly one billion people could be at risk of blindness by the middle of the century if an emerging short-sightedness (myopia) epidemic is ignored, said researchers.

The ebola virus has again been detected in a Scottish nurse who first contracted it in December 2014, a media report said.

Researchers have identified a type of vaginal bacteria that can protect women from the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) as well as other sexually transmitted infections.

A team of researchers from the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore, has succeeded in sequencing the genome of Tulsi, a step which will help identify the genes responsible for production of compounds with potential medicinal benefits. The team which included researchers from NCBS, inStem and CCAMP (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms), all members of the Bangalore Life Sciences Cluster, used five different types of Tulsi, (Ocimum tenuflorium subtype Rama, O. tenuflorium subtype Krishna, O. gratissimum, O. saccharicum and O. kilmund) to collect the genomic data.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries announced that Ranbaxy Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Ranbaxy), a wholly-owned subsidiary, along with its partners, Cipher Pharmaceuticals Inc. (Cipher) and Galephar Pharmaceutical Research, Inc. (Galephar) have entered into a settlement agreement with Actavis Group (Actavis) that dismisses the patent litigation suit relating to Actavis’ Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) for a generic version of Absorica (isotretinoin capsules). Absorica is the registered trademark of Ranbaxy Laboratories Inc.

Researchers have developed a new smartphone app that help food inspectors inconspicuously collect data related to food safety observations in restaurants and supermarkets without any fuss. The study was published in the journal Food Protection Trends.