Who’s treating you? New data shows extent of non-MBBS docs practising allopathy in India

We already knew it was happening. Now there's data to show us how pervasive it is. A large-scale physician and chemist census across India's top 120 cities and towns by Mumbai-based market research and consultancy firm IMS Health has found that non-M.B.B.S doctors i.e. doctors who don't hold a degree in medicine accounted for 16 …

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India’s safety culture: an oxymoron?

The regularity with which some or the other Indian company is making news for  taking short cuts has got to be alarming. First it was pharma company Ranbaxy, then Wockhardt. And now it is auto firm -General Motors' Indian factory.  In each case, employees took short cuts to beat the system and ended up jeopardising …

Guest column : Implications of the #Januvia patent lawsuit in India

The banning of diabetes drug pioglitazone (now looking set to be revoked) has put Merck’s patented drug sitagliptin or Januvia back into the limelight in India. Critics of the ban have highlighted the added expense of moving patients from pio to sitagliptin, a possible alternative. This is a good time to take another look at …

The pioglitazone ban : My column in The Indian Express

Today's edit page of The Indian Express has my column on the Indian drugs regulator's decision to ban pioglitazone, an anti-diabetes drug reportedly taken by 30 lakh patients. I have argued that India is paying for its historically casual attitude to pharmacovigilance or tracking drug safety. I have reproduced parts of the IE column below …

Praise for Apothecurry in MedicinMan

Apothecurry finds mention in the pages of the July issue of MedicinMan, the drug industry's go-to mag on field force excellence, as one of two best Indian pharma-focused blogs. "Apothecurry is easily one of the best blogs on current issues pertaining to Indian pharma," the magazine says. "Up-to-date and crisp, Apothecurry gives you the news behind …

Guest column : In defence of India’s pioglitazone ban

There is some debate on whether the Indian regulatory agency ought to have banned anti-diabetes drug pioglitazone given the large diabetic population in India. The decision to ban is a correct and proactive step considering the harm that it may cause in patients who have been taking the drug for over two years. Since hardly …