Pharmapedia

Introduction
At least one article is seen in newspaper on obesity on daily basis; no other disease is searched (and articles are read on) as frequently as obesity. Such is the menace of obesity that even fast food giant McDonald's has put an advice in few of its offices “not to eat too much fast-food”. Obesity is defined as BMI (body mass index) 30kg\m2 or more. A person with a BMI between 25 and 29.9 are considered over weight but not obese. BMI is a simple index of weight-for-height that is commonly used to classify overweight and obesity in humans. It is also defined as a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of his height in meters (kg\m2). As per world health organization (WHO), BMI greater than or equal to 25 is overweight and BMI greater than or equal to 30 is obese. Obesity is a foremost health problem not only in developed nations but also in developing countries. It increases the risk of other diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular ailments, fatty liver and some forms of cancer1.

Obesity is now so common in various geographies that it is beginning to replace conditions arising from malnutrition and infectious diseases as the most significant contributor to ill health. Obesity is measured using BMI and further evaluated in terms of fat distribution via the waist–hip ratio and total cardiovascular risk factors2. BMI is closely related to both percentage body fat and total body fat3. The global epidemic of obesity results from an amalgamation of such factors as genetic susceptibility, increased availability of high-energy foods and diminished need of physical activity in prevailing situation in modern society. Obesity is no more a cosmetic issue affecting certain individuals, but a pandemic threatening global well being because it exacerbates a large number of health-related problems, both independently and in association with other ailments^4,5.

About Authors:
Rohit Gujarati, T.M.Pramod Kumar, Parasiya Sachin R.
Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs Group, Dept. of Pharmaceutics,
JSS College of Pharmacy, JSS University, S.S Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India
rohitgujrati@gmail.com
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Abstract
India has one of the best developed pharmaceutical industries, and produces about 20 per cent of the world’s drugs. Currently many top Indian companies are exporting generic drugs worth Rs 45,000 crore every year to many countries including the US and Europe. But ironically, drugs are beyond the reach of people in India itself, especially the poor, because their prices are very high. It is not that the cost of R&D and manufacturing is high, but that the profit margins are exorbitant and in many cases exploitative, which can be explained by reasons like, lack of proper regulation on price control (except for few DPCO drugs), prescription made by the doctors, lack of awareness in public about the generic drugs.

Government of India is taking certain steps in providing cost effective drugs to the public without compromising with the quality of the medicines. Recently Union government and regulatory bodies appear to be serious in ending the pharma-doctor nexus and curb unethical marketing practices. In its latest effort, the Medical Council of India (MCI) has directed doctors, hospitals and medical colleges to prescribe generic medicines as far as possible. This has not benefited much to the public. This Paper give a brief scenario about the various measures taken by the Govt. of India to scale down the rates of high cost medicines, among which, the concept of “jan aushadhi”, which talks about various measures taken by the Govt. of India on increasing the availability of the generic drugs throughout the country, has been highlighted.

The main animus of a drug is to enhance human happiness by elimination or suppression of of disease and symptoms and to improve the quality of life. Although death is inevitable. But the drug facilitate in reducing health related human suffering and gives a shape to our lives with new hopes, aspirations and remnant of dignity.

About Author:
Mr. Piyush Tripathi
Kota College of Pharmacy
Kota, Rajasthan.
piyushtripathi1992@rediffmail.com

With millions of aging baby boomers, the hottest trend in the cosmetics industry is cosmeceuticals. Cosmeceuticals are topical cosmetic-pharmaceutical hybrids containing biologically active ingredients intended to enhance the health and beauty of skin. These ingredients include cleansing agents, surfactants, emollients, fats, mineral oils, herbal extracts, and enzymes. The concept propounded by Dr.

INTRODUCTION
As pharmaceutical companies are progressing rapidly in manufacturing prefilled syringes to meet patients needs, one area where their convenience is appreciated, is by patients who need to self-inject. The first prefilled syringe-based reusable auto-injector was launched in the 1990s by Glaxo Smith Kline for treating migraine.

Scientists from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have discovered bee venom can kill the HIV virus without harming the body.