Author: Biotech Express

Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham announced on Thursday that it has got approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for conducting a pilot clinical trial for a novel bone graft developed jointly by Amrita School of Nanosciences, Amrita School of Medicine, and Amrita School of Dentistry, Kochi. The synthetic bone graft, named Nanotex Bone, provides a first-of-its-kind solution in the world for patients who lose part of their lower jaw (mandibular bone) due to cancer, injury, or trauma. The product, patented by Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, can enable patients to lead a close-to-normal life even after losing a portion of…

Conspiracy theorists claim that monkeypox cases are seen in countries that have vaccinated their population with AstraZeneca, which uses a chimpanzee adenovirus. As the world reels under the after-effects of the deadly coronavirus pandemic, conspiracy theorists have now begun to link the Covid-19 vaccines to monkeypox, the cases of which have been reported in a few countries over the last two-three weeks. Their theory? Covid-19 vaccines contain a chimpanzee virus that’s causing the monkeypox outbreak. The theory is based on the fact that the AstraZeneca vaccine developed by the University of Oxford (available in India under the label Covishield), contains a…

Concerns are mounting for people who have been given Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment regimen after contracting COVID-19, only to become positive for the infection once again after completing the treatment. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health officials have stepped in to clarify the rise in infections, issuing a warning for the unlucky patients who experience symptom recurrence after treatment with Paxlovid. U.S. health officials have acknowledged reports of rising COVID-19 infections over the last month. From mid-April to mid-May, reports of new COVID-19 cases have jumped from 12,000 to almost 20,000. Death rates have remained…

Moderna told a Delaware federal court that it was immune from patent-infringement charges over the COVID-19 vaccine because it supplied the vaccine for a U.S. government effort. Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc is required under a longstanding federal law to sue the government directly over shots used in its nationwide vaccination effort, Moderna said in a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Alnylam sued Moderna and Pfizer Inc in Delaware in March, seeking royalties for the lipid nanoparticle (LNP) technology their vaccines use to deliver genetic material known as mRNA. Moderna made a motion for the courts to dismiss patent challenges…

The European Commission has authorized two genetically modified (GM) crops for food and animal feed. The Commission’s authorization decision does not allow for the cultivation of the two GM crops, maize, and soybeans in the EU. The GM crops have gone through a comprehensive and stringent authorization procedure, which ensures a high level of protection of human and animal health, and of the environment. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has issued a favorable scientific assessment concluding that these GM crops are as safe as their conventional counterparts. The authorizations are valid for 10 years, and any product produced from…

The Ayush Ministry and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on Wednesday signed an MoU for mutual collaboration to explore the possibility of cooperation, convergence and synergy to bring out the expertise under one platform towards evidence-based biotechnological interventions in the Ayush sector. In a statement, the Science and Technology Ministry said the joint R&D efforts ranging from fundamental science to validation and thereafter product development will significantly help in the growth of Indian contributions to this important sector not only nationally but internationally as well. Emphasis would be given to mechanistic studies of Ayurveda Therapeutics, it said. The…

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved a proposed deal involving Serum Institute Life Sciences, Covidshield Technologies and Biocon Biologics. Once the deal is complete, Serum Institute Life Sciences Pvt Ltd will have about 15 per cent stake in Biocon Biologics Ltd, according to the notice filed with the regulator. Covidshield Technologies Pvt Ltd (CTPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serum Institute of Life Sciences, will be merged into Biocon Biologics. In a tweet on Wednesday, the watchdog said it has cleared the “merger by absorption of Covidshield Technologies into Biocon Biologics in consideration for acquisition of approximately 15 per cent equity shareholding of Biocon Biologics by Serum Institute Life Sciences.” CTPL…

An Aurangabad resident has approached Bombay High Court seeking compensation of Rs 1000 crore from the Maharashtra government, Centre and Serum Institute of India claiming his daughter, a medical student, died due to side effects of the Covishield vaccine that she was administered in January 2021. Since the covid vaccination started many individuals are complaining about serious vaccine side effects, most of them reported in Covishield and include blood clotting events in various parts of body. These adverse events are creating many unexpected outcomes in patients like blindness, heart attacks and many more as reported in article appeared in Biotech…

A new article looks at how producers of such products as commercial milk formulas, processed foods, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals and electronic gaming software have been ramping up efforts to influence United States policy toward the WHO. Has the World Health Organization become collateral damage in the wars over global commerce? Producers of such products as commercial milk formulas, processed foods, alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals and electronic gaming software have been ramping up efforts to influence United States policy toward the WHO. This, University of California, Davis, researchers suggest in a new paper, compromises a global health governance system that should be…

Last month a letter signed by many health professionals was sent to Hon’ble President of India, to report the shortcomings and harm which can arise after passing of current draft of Public health bill. The letter discussed various aspects which I am putting forward as an article. While the media houses have got the Bill in preparation for Monsoon session, it is not shown to We the People of India, yet. But from whatever we gather from media is that it would be 2017 bill which was placed before public for pre-legislative comments plus more definition of lockdown. So, our…