AstraZeneca India will organize a seminar to address the current challenges in atherosclerosis at New Delhi on May 27. This is part of a series of symposia to be held across the country.
The keynote address will be delivered by Prof Andrew Tonkin, chairman of the Steering Committee for the Australian National System for Monitoring Cardiovascular Disease. Eminent doctors who will be chairing the symposia include Dr. Brian Pinto (Mumbai), Dr Kasliwal (New Delhi) and Dr Sivakadaksham (Chennai).
Current projections suggest that by the year 2020 India will have the largest cardiovascular disease burden in the world and account for one third of all deaths, with one fifth of the deaths in India resulting from coronary heart disease.
According to Dr Brian Pinto, chief of Cardiology, Holy Family Hospital, Mumbai, many young Indian succumb to heart diseases which occurs 8 to 10 years earlier than in the West. Epidemiological studies have shown that Indians have narrower arteries that are more prone to cardiovascular disease compared to patients in the west. Even women are prone to the risk as one in four women in urban India and every eighth woman in rural India is suffering from high cholesterol. In this context this symposium has special relevance.
Over the last decade significant work has been done in the area of atherosclerosis and lipid management to manage cardio vascular diseases. Prof Tonkin's particular interests include coronary artery disease, preventive cardiology, epidemiological and clinical trials. He has carried out extensive research on prevention of Atherosclerosis, which is quite prevalent among South East Asians. These studies have shown that Lipid management can play a key role in prevention of cardiovascular disease. For instance recent research done on Rosuvastatin has shown that in addition to having a marked effect in lowering LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) and also triglycerides (unsaturated fat), it can increase HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), which is relevant to cardiovascular disease, stated Prof Tonkin.
Atherosclerosis is the process when plaque, composed of cholesterol, fatty substances, builds up on the inside walls of the arteries. As plaque builds, it hardens and narrows the arteries, which can eventually lead to cardiovascular disease. This often causes chest pain (angina) heart attack, heart failure and stroke.
AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacturing and marketing of meaningful prescription medicines and supplier for healthcare services. AstraZeneca is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of US$ 31.6 billion and is a leader in gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infectious disease medicines.
In India, with over 1500 employees, AstraZeneca's presence includes: AstraZeneca Pharma India Limited (AZPIL) and AstraZeneca India Pvt Ltd. (AZIPL). The former is the operating company, with products in Oncology, Cardiovascular, Maternal Healthcare, Gastrointerstinal, Infection, Respiratory & Neuroscience and a manufacturing unit conforming to WHO current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP).
The latter is the centre of excellence set-up in 1996, and is an integrated part of the AstraZeneca R&D network. It is focused on tuberculosis research. Its Process R&D facility helps maximize the scientific interactions.