Habil Khorakiwala, founder and chairman, Wockhardt Synopsis Wockhardt’s Habil Khorakiwala has seen the most harrowing days. From a payment default to bond holders to troubled factories, Khorakiwala pulled the company out of its biggest...

India, home to the world’s largest low- and middle-income (LMIC) population, is now facing a weighty challenge — literally. It accounts for a staggering 15% of the global obesity burden, and by 2040, almost...

“It is a small emergency,” says Amit Bakshi, chairman of Ahmedabad-based drugmaker Eris Lifesciences. He points to the recent decision of Novo Nordisk, the world’s top seller of insulin, to gradually phase out a...

It is important for state-run health insurance to ensure more hospitals join to provide a safety net to the poor....

Genetic structure could hold some answers to the vexed issue of cancer. A reference set of genetic variants, specific to India’s diverse ethnic groups, can improve disease modelling and treatment....

Getty Images Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) test, a rare disorder where the body’s immune system damages nerve Synopsis Guillain-Barré Syndrome is a rare nerve disorder. It is not a communicable disease. Why is it spreading...

Cyril Konto, CEO, Ichnos Glenmark Innovation and Glenn Saldanha, CMD, Glenmark Pharma; image credit: Glenmark. Synopsis The drug has given promising results for the treatment of multiple myeloma, a rare form of blood cancer....

Umang Vohra, Global CEO, Cipla. Will Cipla’s big bet work?; image credit: Company. Synopsis Millions of diabetes patients have to take a painful insulin injection to keep sugar levels in control. Cipla is introducing...

Private equity investors have been investing large sums of money in hospitals. Certain types of hospital chains are delivering healthy returns for such investors....

Navjot Singh Sidhu with wife Navjot Kaur Sidhu Synopsis Navjot Singh Sidhu claimed his wife’s advanced-stage cancer was cured through alternative remedies, sparking controversy. His suggestion that fasting could kill cancer cells drew criticism....

Doctors are grappling with a raft of unsparing hospital-acquired superbugs broadly known as anti-microbial resistance or AMR. Are bacterial infections the next big lethal adversary for mankind?...

Collage by Manali Ghosh Synopsis 23andMe, a pioneer in genetic testing, struggles to maintain its early success. As quickly as it soared, its market value plummeted, leaving the company’s future uncertain. ET Prime examines...

Is the pharma market, which is currently at INR2.17 lakh crore (USD25.8 billion), getting too crowded? While some industry experts believe a few clear signs of fatigue have emerged, many say it is not...

Synopsis Most Indians are sleep-deprived and are turning to melatonin for a better night’s rest. The global melatonin market reached USD2.15 billion in 2022, and India’s sleep aid market is projected to generate USD289...

In the crosshairs of the latest controversy on whether a drug is spurious or “not of standard quality” is the Indian patient. The pharma industry suffered a body blow recently after government agencies pulled...

Chaitanya Sarawate, president and CEO of GE HealthCare South Asia and managing director of Wipro GE Healthcare; image credit: company. Synopsis GE HealthCare is riding high on the India opportunity. Speaking exclusively to ET...

Infertility, once shrouded in cultural taboos and superstition, has emerged as a critical health issue worldwide. In India, the narrative is no different. Let’s reflect on Bimla’s story. She struggled with chronic anxiety due...

Doctor holding blood sample for mpox virus test Synopsis The mpox virus that started from Central Africa has now reached Europe and closer to home, Pakistan. While it’s too early to gauge the threat...

Kolkata woman PGT doctor rape-murder: Junior doctors hold protest in state-run hospitals Synopsis The tragic case in Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College once again exposed the deep flaws in India’s healthcare system. While there...

Synopsis Last year, Sun Pharma infused over INR4,688 crore to buy US-based Concert Pharma. That deal gave it rights to a drug that helps hair growth in patients suffering from alopecia areata. Leqselvi, the...

Visualisation by Sadhana Saxena via Ai Synopsis A recent animal study has proven green jackfruit flour’s potency in treating fatty liver and liver cancer. An expert group of doctors, scientists, and researchers are coming...

Ranjan Pai is among India’s most influential investors. So, when he makes a move into senior care, it is time to sit up and take notice of the sector, not to mention the broader...

Dilip Shanghvi , founder, chairman and managing director, Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Limited. Synopsis Selling weight-loss drugs is an opportunity no pharma company wants to miss. Now a leading drug maker from India joins this...

Sarah McMullen, USFDA India director Synopsis In the past, many within the Indian pharma industry looked at US FDA audits as motivated and a larger conspiracy against it. But this senior official, who heads...

Image credit: Compiled by Manali Ghosh via AI Synopsis Advent controlled-BSV has charted an exceptional turnaround over the last five years, seeing a 3x jump in its valuation. Its specialised products in women’s health...

Sudhir Srivastava (centre) with his expanding team at SS Innovations; image credit: SS Innovations Synopsis In an exclusive interaction with ET Prime, cardiac surgeon Sudhir Prem Srivastava, the man behind 1,500 successful robotic surgeries,...

Japanese researchers are soon embarking on human clinical trials for a medicine that will help regrow teeth....

Shares of Sun Pharmaceuticals, India’s largest drug manufacturer, gained more than 50% over the last one year. In its latest results, the company also posted a 34% on year jump in Q4 profit. While...

Credit: illustration by Sadhana Saxena via Ai Synopsis Something as cool as a J-Labs can be a welcome step. From fear of failing, scientists can look at the opportunities of scaling. On its part,...

As per a recent report in The Lancet, the incidence of prostate cancer is expected to double in India over the next few years. A crucial weapon in averting a severe health catastrophe will...

Rakesh Singh took on the tincture syndicate in Agra during his tenure as excise inspector between 2019-23; image credit: N Sundaresha Subramanian Synopsis A well-oiled syndicate of producers, wholesalers and retailers operating across several...

Offer Exclusively For You Save up to Rs. 700/- ON ET PRIME MEMBERSHIP Avail Offer Offer Exclusively For You Get 1 Year Free With 1 and 2-Year ET prime membership Avail Offer Offer Exclusively...

Illustration by Sadhana Saxena via AI. Synopsis Advent, which merged Suven Pharma with Cohance Lifesciences in February, looks to take advantage of the China+1 wave and other geopolitical tailwinds. While the skills of its...

Synopsis With an alarming rise in cancer diagnosis rate in India, especially among the younger cohort, timely screening and therapeutic intervention are the need of the hour. One small state has devised a unique...

An overlooked mental health challenge faced by new mothers. A powerful new drug could be critical in fighting back. It should have been an obvious match. Yet things may not turn out that way...

Getty Images Synopsis The new government notice tries to prevent the pharmaceutical companies from inducing doctors to prescribe their medicines through vacations, gifts, and free educational material. It is unlikely to succeed. No free...

Ranjit Shahani, former chief of Novartis Synopsis Ranjit Shahani will be remembered for his astute leadership and trademark calmness amid chaos. As chief of Novartis in India for nearly two decades, his tenure coincided...

Officials from enforcement agencies with the accused charged with making and supplying spurious drugs; image credit: Telangana Drug Control Administration Synopsis In a rare breakthrough, the Telangana drug administration has unearthed a well-oiled network...

Chris Boerner, Global CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb; image credit: BMS Synopsis “We are building to be one of the fastest-growing companies by the end of the decade,” says Chris Boerner, CEO, Bristol Myers Squibb....

As long-haul infections continue to surge, and climate change pushes ticks into new habitats, finding out the causes of these conditions and coming up with cures will become ever more essential....

Getty Images Synopsis Orchid Pharma had outlicensed its experimental antibiotic drug to Allecra Therapeutics of Germany. After years of research that drug has won crucial approvals from the US FDA and European drug regulatory...

The ImmunoACT team that worked on India’s first approved CAR-T therapy NexCAR 19; image courtesy: ImmunoACT Synopsis NexCAR 19, India’s first cell therapy to treat a specific form of blood cancer, is showing encouraging...

Synopsis While Ramesh Juneja has led Mankind Pharma for three decades, his brother Rajeev kept in tow and took charge of key operations. Suave and yet rustic, the younger Juneja has a unique style...

Illustration by Sadhana Saxena via AI Synopsis The recent successes of leading pharmaceutical products show that drug companies have been plain lucky to hit the jackpot. While long-term strategies continue to be important, drug...

Maziar Mike Doustdar, executive VP, Novo Nordisk; image credit: Company Synopsis Novo Nordisk, the most valuable pharmaceutical company in the world, turned 100 last year. While it is largely known for its insulins, its...

India’s smaller cities and hinterland remain a neglected lot even as five-star specialty hospitals flourish in the metros. To have its healthcare parameters on track, India needs an urgent flow of investments in tertiary-care...

Rajeev Singh Raghuvanshi, the Drug Controller General of India; image credit: Vikas Dandekar Synopsis The pharmaceutical industry, and the central drug regulatory agency, faced a severe reputation crisis following the deaths of 70 children...

Bhikaji Nirgun (on wheelchair), who underwent a heart transplant with Pravin Kulkarni (extreme left), the lead heart transplant surgeon at Jupiter Hospital, Thane. Synopsis The success of a heart transplant hinges on several factors...

Last week, Global Health Ltd, the company which operates hospitals under the brand Medanta, made a strong debut on the Indian stock exchanges. Its shares gained 19% on the listing day. At Thursday’s close...

A sharp surge in the number of diabetes patients, 77 million and counting, has turned India into a hotspot for deals to buy or sell prestigious medicine brands to treat the chronic disease. In...

Epidemic control workers wear PPE as they wait to remove medical waste from apartments where people who have tested positive are doing home quarantine on December 6, 2022 in Beijing, China. Synopsis In many...

Nandini Piramal, chairperson, Piramal Pharma; image courtesy of Piramal Pharma. Synopsis Piramal Pharma’s management is optimistic that with revenue growth and margin expansion, it will be able to trim debt over the next five...

An Indian nurse (L) collects a blood sample from a policeman using a glucometer at a free diabetic health check-up camp on World Health Day in Hyderabad on April 7, 2016. Synopsis India nurses...

His name splits the Indian drug industry down the middle. Dinesh Thakur is either admired for his tireless zeal to bring about reform in India’s drug-regulatory system, or tempers flare up at the mention...

Glenn Saldanha, managing director and CEO, Glenmark pharmaceuticals; image credit: Agencies Synopsis Coping with a tough US generics business and high R&D spends, Glenmark’s earnings growth has been muted. To realign with the changing...

Canadian physician William Osler is said to have once remarked that medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability. The quote by Osler, known as the father of modern medicine, has...

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is scaling new heights. After a setback in the US generic-drugs business, India’s largest drugmaker has gradually moved up the value chain and built a sizeable specialty-drugs business over the last...

Dr. Rajendra Achyut Badwe, Director, Tata Memorial Center. Synopsis Badwe, director of Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Centre, has reset the rules to revolutionise treatment standards. His views on disease management and research protocols count not...

The convenience of ordering medicines online has attracted millions, especially the elderly. While it may have made life easier for patients, questions have cropped up, leading up to a clash between corporate titans that...

Technicians fly a drone to deliver medical supplies during testing at Gauribidanur, near Banglore. Synopsis The use of drones in healthcare is in its test phase. There are already instances of medical drones transporting...

“I feel exhausted all the time.” Cheryl (name changed on the condition of anonymity), a 30-year-old artist from New Delhi, was suffering from heavy menstrual bleeding, hot flashes, and chronic fatigue. All of that...

Workers unload cartons of a Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine being delivered from India to Myanmar Synopsis The pandemic has catapulted India to the high table of global health diplomacy. Using its position as the world’s...

Shyam Bishen, chief of health and healthcare division, World Economic Forum; image credit: Twitter Synopsis The scars from the pandemic will take time to heal. Shyam Bishen, chief of health and healthcare division at...

Prof. Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam(extreme right) with his team of senior scientists; image credit: IIT Madras Synopsis Using indigenous proprietary technology, scientists at the institute are slicing the brain down to one-fifth of a human hair...

Synopsis At a conference last year, India’s new drug controller general Rajeev Raghuvanshi, who was then the scientific director at the Indian Pharmacopeia Commission, cited examples of drugs found to be less effective than...

Three months ago, Robert M Califf, commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) visited India to strengthen efforts on development, supply, and quality of drugs. For the US, where more than nine...

For most diabetics, an age-old challenge has been the inability to lose weight despite workouts. For millions of others, tweaking their diet to get slimmer hasn’t produced much of a result. Now, a new...

Dheeraj Jain, founder and MD, Redcliffe Labs; image credit: Redcliffe Labs Synopsis Having set itself a target to reach INR5,000 crore in revenue by 2029, Redcliffe Labs is expanding rapidly and spending big on...

Regulatory lapses have been hurting the industry since long. In several instances earlier, such issues had eroded the financials of top-tier companies. Of late, many companies have again come under the USFDA’s lens. Why...

Rajeev Juneja, Vice Chairman & Managing Director at Mankind Pharma Ltd. image courtesy: company. Synopsis Adopting a contrarian strategy, Mankind Pharma chose to tap into small-town markets — an approach that paid rich dividends....

Dilip Jose, Managing Director and CEO at Manipal Hospitals Synopsis Of late, Manipal Health has been focusing on getting bigger and improving operational efficiencies. With an aggressive and execution-oriented management and backing of marquee...

Synopsis Ronapreve came as a boon at the peak of the Delta wave in 2021. But as the injection turned ineffective against the Omicron variants, stocks piled up. While Novacare, the distributor, says Max...

Concept by Vikas Dandekar and Muhabit ul haq. Synopsis The World Health Organization has lifted the emergency status of the pandemic. With most of the world dropping guard against the virus, it was a...

Getty Images Synopsis Discussing sexual disorders is no longer a taboo. Young Indians are leading the way to bring out the most secretive healthcare issues around sexual and reproductive health. Startups like Allo, that...

A bird flies past the logo of Sun Pharma installed on the facade of its corporate office in Mumbai, India. Synopsis Dilip Shanghvi’s Sun Pharma made a bold move entering the specialty-drugs business which...

Synopsis Phages — microscopic viruses that infect bacteria — were discovered over a 100 years ago, and a small band of scientists quickly realised their potential. However, within a few decades of discovery, they...

Synopsis A recent study found that 101 million Indians are living with diabetes. From 70 million just four years ago, that’s a jump of over 40%. What’s worse, another 136 million are on the...

Healthtech company PharmEasy seems to finally be able to hold its head above water. The unicorn, which has been struggling with slowing growth, debt burden, and steep valuation cuts by investors, had something to...

Himanshu Gadgil, CEO, Enzene Biosciences; Enzene Biosciences in Pune; image credit: Enzene Synopsis Anti-cancer drugs are beyond the reach of average Indian patients. Early-stage patients spend up to INR6 lakh on medicines alone. For...

Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, global CEO, Novo Nordisk; image credit: Company Synopsis Lars Fruergaard Jørgensen, the CEO of Novo Nordisk, the world’s largest producer of insulins, shares his thoughts on how to arrest the growing...

By Jessica Hamzelou The baby baboon is wearing a mesh gown and appears to be sitting upright. “This little lady … looks pretty philosophical, I would say,” says Eli Katz, who is showing me...

Nikhil Chopra, CEO, JB Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Image credit: Special Arrangement Synopsis When PE firm KKR took control of JB Pharma in 2020, it was struggling for growth. Competitors had cornered the four...

Friends, I represent the Third World. I represent the needs and aspirations of the Third World. I represent the capabilities of the Third World. And above all, I represent an opportunity…. We all have...

YK Hamied, non-executive chairman, Cipla Synopsis Cipla may be privately owned, but effectively it has been a ‘national asset’ — with each brick representing Indian ingenuity, enterprise, and strength of character. While shareholders will...

Apollo Hospital in Mumbai, India. Synopsis Strong financial and operational performance marked the last five years, a consolidation phase for the company. While the robust balance sheet will provide Apollo with a headstart in...

Doctors have earned a place of reverence and high esteem in Indian society. They have been known to selflessly care for patients, a trait that was in ample display during the pandemic. Some of...

Synopsis If Torrent Pharma were to acquire Cipla, which is 2.5 times its size in sales, it would be a bold move. While the acquisition would catapult Torrent to the top of the heap...

Contract research and manufacturing company Syngene International has had a fabulous run this year. Its stock price has risen over 40% since January amid robust growth and a positive outlook for the business. Syngene’s...

“When I started practice in India about 30 years ago, I would see a person under 30 years or between 30 and 35 years with some heart trouble only once or twice in a...

Health workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) take part in a mock drill to check preparations of Covid-19 facilities at JLNM hospital in downtown Srinagar on April 10, 2023. Synopsis Analysing the factors that...

Yan Chow, global healthcare leader, Automation Anywhere Synopsis The healthcare industry is on the verge of a transformation due to the increasing demands and the challenges it faces. Historically, advances in healthcare technology benefited...

Getty Images Mark Cuban. Synopsis Most of the large Indian pharma companies earn a big chunk of their revenue by supplying drugs to the US market. Shark Tank attraction Cuban’s online pharmacy launched last...

Cyriac Abby Philips, popular on X as Liverdoc, has waged an unyielding battle against alternative medicines like Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Unani and Siddha. This is a daunting task given the deep cultural belief, is and...

Liver specialist Cyriac Abby Philips says there are no approved medicines for treating NASH or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Synopsis November 14 was World Diabetes Day. With over 100 million patients, India is in the grip...

Cui Xiaotian, Zhao Jinzhao, Zhou Xinda, Hua Ang, Chengxi, Tan Chen, and Han Wei Liu Ping, a 25-year-old living in Beijing, is queuing up outside the obesity clinic of the Peking University People’s Hospital...

Synopsis Improving financials of hospital chains, future growth prospects of the sector itself have attracted investors to hospital stocks. But while Apollo Hospitals and Max Healthcare led the gains post Covid-19, this calendar year...

Getty Images Synopsis The irreversible lung disease is affecting a large part of India’s population, especially the elderly. It is the biggest cause of mortality after heart ailments, while the rising number of cases...