Author: Biotech Express

Professor Joyoti Basu is in Department of Chemistry, Bose Institute. Her areas of specialization are Molecular and Cellular Biology with special reference to mycobacteria. Dr Basu was awarded the INSA Medal for Young Scientists (1989) and the National Bioscience Award of the Department of Biotechnology (2002). She is a Fellow of Indian Academy of Sciences, Bangalore and National Academy of Sciences (India), Allahabad. According to the retraction on 24 Feb 2022, Following the publication of this article “Novel Role of Phosphorylation-Dependent Interaction between FtsZ and FipA in Mycobacterial Cell Division”, concerns were raised regarding the results presented in several figures.…

The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed it has suspended the supply of Covaxin, produced by city-based Bharat Biotech, through UN procurement agencies and recommending to countries that received the covid vaccine to take actions as appropriate. A statement issued by WHO on Saturday said the suspension is in response to the outcomes of its post EUL (emergency use authorisation) inspection held between March 14-22, 2022 and the need to conduct process and facility upgrade to address recently identified GMP (good manufacturing practice) deficiencies. There will be interruption of supply of Covaxin due to suspension of production for export, WHO…

It may be years before we fully realize the ramifications of the lockdown policies governments around the world have imposed on their citizens in response to covid-19, but evidence of the costs is starting to trickle in. A recent study (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a5.htm?s_cid=su7103a5_x) conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed thousands of high school students on the effects of the pandemic. “Since the beginning of the pandemic,” the study reports, “more than half of students found it more difficult to complete their schoolwork (66%) and experienced emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in their home (55%),”…

Indian biotechnology and biopharmaceutical company Biological E has been selected as a recipient of mRNA technology from the World Health Organization (WHO) technology transfer hub. Bio E already manufactures a number of critical vaccines, including Corbevax, a second-generation vaccine for COVID-19. “After reviewing a number of proposals from India, WHO’s Product Development for Vaccines Advisory Committee (PDVAC) today selected the company BiologicalE (Bio E) as a recipient of mRNA technology from the WHO technology transfer hub,” the WHO said in a statement issued on Friday. “WHO and partners will work with the Indian government and Bio E to develop a…

Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories Ltd. (BSE: 500124, NSE: DRREDDY, NYSE: RDY, NSEIFSC: DRREDDY, along with its subsidiaries together referred to as “Dr. Reddy’s”) and MediCane Health Inc. (along with its subsidiaries together referred to as “MediCane”) today announced the launch of its medical cannabis product in Germany. As part of a collaboration between Dr. Reddy’s and MediCane that started in 2021, MediCane will supply the medical cannabis products to Dr. Reddy’s from its EU-GMP-certified facilities in Portugal along with providing logistical and regulatory support. As the exclusive distributor of the products in Germany, Dr. Reddy’s will provide access to MediCane’s medical…

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was left reeling on Friday after a High Court ruled that her vaccine mandate represented a “gross violation of human rights” for New Zealanders. The landmark case means that the police and NZDF cannot be fired for refusing to take the experimental vaccine. This case will be used to overthrow all of Ardern’s illegal mandates in New Zealand. Justice Francis Cooke ruled that ordering frontline police officers and Defence staff to be vaccinated or face losing their job was not a “reasonably justified” breach of the Bill of Rights. Nzherald.co.nz reports: The lawyer for…

The Union Ministry of Science and Technology’s Technology Development Board (TDB) has decided to provide financial support to a Visakhapatnam-based startup company for the development and commercialisation of a range of medical implants, robotic surgical instruments, and devices using metal injection molding (MIM) process. Dr. Srivari Chandrashekhar, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology, and Chairperson, TDB, said, “Currently, surgical instruments are either imported or made with casting or forging technologies and are not suitable for robotic surgical instruments or critical care surgical instruments applications. The global surgical instruments market currently comprises of only 2-3 global players, namely Johnson & Johnsons,…

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has announced the low-risk determination for the marketing of products derived from genome-edited beef cattle. The decision is the first low risk determination for marketing of products from an intentional genomic alteration (IGA) in an animal for food use. IGA refers to changes introduced into the DNA of animals using biotechnological techniques, including genome editing. The IGA in the beef cattle led to a short-hair coat trait present in some conventionally bred cattle, known as a “slick” coat. After the FDA’s review of scientific data, the product was determined as low-risk and does not…

Prof Ashok Pandey is the top scientist who is having h-index at 117, 2nd highest in India. His major research and technological development interests are in industrial and environmental biotechnology, which span over biomass to fuels & chemicals, waste to wealth/energy, industrial enzymes, solid-state fermentation, etc. Professor Pandey is currently Distinguished Scientist at Centre for Innovation and Translational Research, CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research (IITR), Lucknow, India and Honorary Executive Director at the Centre for Energy and Environmental Sustainability- India. Formerly, he was Eminent Scientist at the Center of Innovative and Applied Bioprocessing (CIAB), Mohali and Chief Scientist & Head…

One in four Australian medical researchers involved in drug trials failed to declare money they had received from pharmaceutical companies when submitting journal manuscripts, a study reports. The authors cross-checked statements on financial conflicts of interest listed by Australian authors of 120 drug trials published in the first eight months of 2020 against a database of company-made payments reported to Medicines Australia, the country’s pharmaceutical-industry association. The research, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine1 this month, is one of only a few studies outside the United States to examine discrepancies between drug-company payments made to health professionals and…