MNCs demand stent price revision
While multi-national companies are pushing for an increase in the price of cardiac stents, domestic manufacturers are more than happy with the price ceilings introduced by the Centre last year.
In less than two weeks, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will decide whether the prices of cardiac stents should be revised or not. In lieu of the impending decision, the pricing regulator held a stakeholders’ consultation earlier this week with multinational companies, domestic manufacturers, importers and distributors as well as civil society representatives, to take in their views.
The price for the drug-eluting stents have been capped at a little less than Rs 32,000 while for bare metal stents the capping is at a little less than Rs 8,000. Earlier, the price of DES ran into over Rs 1-2 lakh.
Giving a lowdown on whether benefits of making stents cheaper have been passed on to the masses, NPPA Chairman Bhupendra Singh said, “Stent price capping has enabled poor patients to afford new generation Drug Eluting Stents (DES), instead of old Bare Metal Stents (BMS). Use of BMS drastically reduced by over 30% and were replaced by DES. Affordability matters, so do the poor.”
The domestic manufacturers could not agree less. Upto 12 domestic manufacturers across India attended the consultation. While earlier MNCs commanded 70% of market share, while the rest 30% was catered to by domestic companies, after the price capping, the MNC shared has tanked to 60%, while the domestic companies have registered a rise to 40%. “After the price cap, a void was created in the Indian market, as MNCs stopped supplying stents because they did not want to reduce valuation of their brands,” said Pratap Surve, CEO, Veritas Bioventions, a Gujarat-based stent manufacturing company. “We are fine with current stent prices. However we have told the NPPA to not discriminate between MNCs and domestic companies, if at all prices are being revised. There should not be differential pricing between the two.”
While Surve’s company had sold 4,000 stents two years back, he said after the price cap last year, the sales doubled to 8,000. The stent market in India is swelling, with annually five lakh angioplasties and six lakh stents being used, according to latest data and the trend only points to a year-on-year increase in stent use.
However, the MNCs and industry groups like Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and others are unhappy with price ceiling. Upto 11 top representatives like Heads of Government Affairs and Directors or Associate Directors (Finance) of MNCs including Abbott Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Biotronik Medical Devices India Pvt. Ltd., and so on were present for the NPPA consultation. Anil Sharma, Business Unit Head – Vascular of Berlin-based Biotronik Medical Devices India Pvt. Ltd. said that the price cap is choking innovation. “Clinical trials of Magnesium Scaffold stent, a new metal absorbable stent that we are developing have been stopped in India after the price cap. Ten centres including All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), and Christian Medical College (CMC) were involved in the clinical trials. There is no point in conducting trials now as the price cap is unaffordable for us,” Sharma told dna.
While earlier profit margins for MNCs and hospitals were huge, at 8%, MNCs say their profits have plummeted substantially. However, insiders in the manufacturing industry said that the production cost of a stent is not more than $100 or Rs 8000. “Even with the price cap, every manufacturer has a substantial scope for making profit,” a domestic manufacturer, who did not wish to be quoted, told dna.
CII during the meeting even wished to submit a formula for revision of stent prices and demanded that the ‘margin,’ aspect of the formula be fixed by the industry. NPPA officials refused to accept any such proposal in the meeting and asked CII to mail their views through the formal channels.
FOR A HEALTHY HEART
NPPA held a stakeholders’ consultation earlier this week with multinational companies, domestic manufacturers, importers and distributors to take in their views.
The price for the drug-eluting stents have been capped at a little less than Rs 32,000 while for bare metal stents the capping is at a little less than Rs 8,000.
Source: http://www.dnaindia.com/health/report-mncs-demand-stent-price-revision-2582801
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Good News: National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority reduces price of stents
The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) Monday further slashed prices of the expensive cardiac stents while marginally increasing the cost of the basic stents.
After several rounds of consultation with various stakeholders, the NPPA cut the price of drug-eluting stent (DES) by Rs 1,710 (from Rs 29,600 to Rs 27,890) while increasing the price of bare metal stent (BMS) by Rs 400 (from Rs 7,260 to Rs 7,660).
The trade margin has been capped at 8%, the NPPA said in an order, which makes the current rates valid till March 31.
“All manufacturers of coronary stents, selling branded or non-branded… at prices higher than the ceiling price… shall revise the price of all such stents downward not exceeding the ceiling price,” the order said.
The order mandates hospitals to provide a clear break-up of the prices levied for other items used in medical procedures.
While there was fear of NPPA giving into industry pressure and increasing the price, experts feel the price could have been decreased further. “It is not really slashing of the price. There was scope for further reduction,” says GS Grewal, core committee member, Alliance of Doctors on Ethical Healthcare.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/national-pharmaceutical-pricing-authority-reduces-price-of-stents/story-3yxo4QkQTEuFijtkCh8smK.html
Photo: Dmitry Stolyarov, a heart surgeon, holds a stent.(REUTERS File Photo)
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Hormone therapy could help reduce age-related curvature of spine in women
It is well documented that the significant declines in estrogen experienced during the menopause transition contribute to accelerated bone loss. Now, a new study has found that undergoing hormone therapy may be effective in reducing age-related curvature of the spine in post-menopausal women.
Hyperkyphosis, sometimes called dowager’s hump, is an exaggerated curvature of the spine that creates a forward stooped posture.
Beyond its adverse aesthetic effects, hyperkyphosis is associated with poor physical function, an increased risk of falls and fractures, and earlier mortality.
Women who reported continuous or remote past hormone therapy use had less pronounced kyphosis by the time they were in their mid-80s than never-users.
The results support the argument for hormone therapy as a possible early post-menopause treatment for women concerned about their posture and fracture risk, the researchers said.
“Women who reported early use of hormone therapy were less likely to develop age-related kyphosis, and the protective benefits continued even after stopping the therapy,” said JoAnn Pinkerton, Executive Director at the North American Menopause Society (NAMS) — a US-based non-profit organisation.
“This supports a benefit of prescribing hormone therapy close to menopause,” Pinkerton added in a paper published in the journal Menopause.
It is well known that the significant declines in estrogen experienced during the menopause transition contribute to accelerated bone loss. Hormone therapy has been known to help reverse bone loss and prevent fractures.
Given that hyperkyphosis is also associated with bone loss and vertebral fractures, the researchers hypothesised that hormone therapy may also be effective in helping prevent exaggerated spine curvature.
The team involved more than 9,700 women aged 65 years and older who were evaluated over a 15-year period.
During the first three years of hormone therapy use, bone density has been shown to increase steadily and then is maintained during continued use.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/new-study-says-hormone-therapy-could-help-reduce-age-related-curvature-of-spine-in-women/story-dTFtNKWSH0nbgJuRiXOZ6L.html
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Researchers identify new drug that may extend women’s fertility by 6 years
As studies attempt to unearth the various causes of infertility among women, a new drug has shown promise in potentially extending women’s fertility by three to six years.
Researchers at the Princeton University in the US have identified a drug that extends egg viability in worms, even when taken midway through the fertile window, thus paving the way for fertility treatments among women.
“One of the most important characteristics of aging is the loss of reproductive ability in mid-adulthood,” said Coleen Murphy, a professor at the Princeton University.
“As early as the mid-30s, women start to experience declines in fertility, increased rates of miscarriage and maternal age-related birth defects. All of these problems are thought to be caused by declining egg quality, rather than a lack of eggs,” Murphy added.
The team used a microscopic worm, Caenorhabditis elegans (C.elegans), as they share many of the genes as humans, including longevity genes.
They found that a group of proteins called Cathepsin B proteases “downregulate”, or lead to lower-quality oocytes (unfertilized eggs), as one ages.
When the team administered the Cathepsin B inhibitor halfway through the worms’ reproductive period, they found that even a late administration of the drug could extend the worms’ egg quality.
Another experiment that knocked out the cathepsin B genes entirely succeeded in extending worms’ fertility by about 10 percent.
If applied to humans, Nicole Templeman from the varsity said, “It could be a three to six-year extension of your reproductive period”.
The reproductive decline is a hallmark of aging, but despite its prevalence, interventions to slow the loss of reproductive capacity are lacking, researchers said.
However, the cathepsin B inhibitor is nowhere near ready for testing in humans, Murphy said, yet it could one day do something mid-reproduction to improve the rest of reproduction.
The study was published in the journal Current Biology.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/researchers-identify-new-drug-that-may-extend-womens-fertility-by-6-years-2083851
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Protecting diabetics from the risk of advanced blood vessel disease
According to a study conducted by University of Washington Health Sciences, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S, the novel approach will help prevent vascular disease in diabetes.
A new approach has been found for protecting people with diabetes from their higher risk of advanced blood vessel disease, which sets the stage for early heart attacks and strokes, a new research has suggested.
According to a study conducted by University of Washington Health Sciences, in collaboration with Novo Nordisk A/S, the novel approach will help prevent vascular disease in diabetes.
Cardiovascular problems from atherosclerosis – plaque-like lesions forming in artery walls – are the major cause of death in people with type-2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome.
People with metabolic syndrome exceed the normal range for several clinical measurements – blood pressure, blood sugar levels, harmful lipids, body mass index and belly fat. The researchers studied mice with metabolic syndrome. The mice were obese and had impaired glucose tolerance, a sign of pre-diabetes.
In the study, an insulin-mimicking synthetic peptide called S597 was shown to both reduce blood sugar levels and slow the progression of atherosclerotic lesions. Insulin, even when it controls diabetes, does not prevent atherosclerosis.
While Karin E. was the senior author, Jenny Kanter was the lead author. They are scientists at the UW Medicine Diabetes Institute. This study showed that when S597 binds to insulin receptors, it preferentially activated a signalling arm known as the Akt arm, which is associated with lowering blood sugar levels and with other beneficial effects.
The researchers were impressed by the mechanisms behind the S597 slow-down of atherosclerotic lesions.
Atherosclerosis starts with fatty streaks appearing in blood vessel walls. As the atherosclerotic lesion grows, inflammation provoked by obesity and recruitment of immune cells can speed the growth of the plaque.
Certain white blood cells, particularly monocytes that participate in inflammation, and macrophages, or “big eaters” that are supposedly the bloodstream’s cleanup crew, are among the culprits. They can become overladen by engulfing lipids and can turn into foam cells. These cells gather and then perish. The core of the lesion fills with dead cells and other debris. If it ruptures, a clot can rapidly form in the vessels of the heart or brain.
In mice given S597, the problem with excessive white cells in the lesion seems to be nipped at its source: the early stages of production of inflammatory monocytes and macrophages. In fact, the amount of blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow was lowered to levels observed in lean, healthy mice. These stem cells exhibited less activity from the undesirable signalling pathway originating in the insulin receptors.
The numbers of macrophages dying in the lesion were also fewer. While the number of intact cleanup cells rose, the relative content of macrophages in the lesion cores did not go up. The S597 may have either kept more macrophages alive longer or impeded their pile up.
Probably because of all this influence on white cells, the lesions did not grow with the rapidity expected in diabetes and metabolic syndrome. The researchers also saw that lesions with debris-filled cores were less common in these mice. The researchers noted that the S597 did not alter cholesterol levels in the plasma or systemic inflammation overall. The study is published in the journal Diabetes, a peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Diabetes Association.
Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/health/protecting-diabetics-from-the-risk-of-advanced-blood-vessel-disease/story-01B6Eusoek7maEucFRo1SI.html
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Google rolls out health ‘Symptom Search’ feature in India
Are you among those people who consult Google for any health issue before visiting an actual doctor?
Well, Google, it seems heard you and on Tuesday, rolled out its feature called “Symptom Search” in India that lets users find quality health information on their smartphones.
The tech giant, in collaboration with a team of doctors from Apollo Hospitals, will add tailor-made information about commonly-searched symptoms in its Search.
When a user searches for symptoms like “cough and pain”, the app will show a list of related conditions (“common cold, acute bronchitis, flu, pneumonia, chest infection”).
For individual symptoms like “headache,” the app – currently available in English and Hindi – will show digital cards, providing users an overview description along with information on self-treatment options and what might warrant a doctor’s visit.
“This is a significant trend and we are happy to have partnered on this initiative with Google. At Apollo Hospitals, we have always made optimal use of digital technology for the benefit of patients,” Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said in a statement.
“With the launch of the ‘Symptom Search Project’, we aim to provide quality healthcare information which can be accessed by a billion Indians,” Reddy added.
It is to be noted, however, that the search results are strictly for informational purposes and Google has cautioned users to always consult a doctor for medical advice and treatment.
Roughly one percent of searches on the search are symptom-related and with this, Google aims to help users navigate and explore health conditions related to various symptoms and quickly get to the point where they can talk to a health professional or do more in-depth research on the web.
Source: http://zeenews.india.com/health/tech-giant-google-rolls-out-health-symptom-search-feature-in-india-2084907
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