Pakistani Consumers have reason to rejoice due to withdrawal of GST on medicines. After about six-month vigorous efforts Pakistan citizens could win their demand. Government levied GST on all medicines on 21st March and later due to fierce reaction by both consumers and industry decided to withdraw GST on life saving drugs only on 29th March. However citizens had kept the pressure on for withdrawal of GST from all medicines, given the context of poverty and health services available in Pakistan.

Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP) started its campaign against GST and demanded withdrawal of GST on ALL medicines. CRCP lobbied with the Chief Executive Secretariat and the Ministry of Finance and urged that the government should not levy GST on medicines, and instead consider alternative sources of revenue generation. It was also asserted that the imposition of GST would not only add to the miseries of the poor, but would also adversely affect the indigenous drug industry. CRCP asserted that government must consult all the stakeholders before taking such decisions.

Gift rules erode drug promotions

The number of entertainment events to which drug makers invited doctors as guests in US dropped 37 percent in July, according to a survey.

And meetings at entertainment venues, which accounted for 8 percent of interactions with drug company sales reps in June, accounted for 2 percent. The steep declines came after the pharmaceutical industry adopted voluntary guidelines on July 1 prohibiting the use of such freebies as dinners, trips and theater and sports tickets as a way to influence a doctor's prescribing habits. A promotion-research firm in Mount, USA that surveyed 2,000 doctors about their interactions with drug makers found that the voluntary regulations are having an impact.

These regulations followed over a growing controversy about the use of expensive promotions as a tool to increase brand-name drug sales. The practice reflected increasing pressure on drug makers to lift stock prices with new blockbusters, which must replace older medicines facing lower-cost generic rivals. Drug makers spent nearly $5.5 billion last year swaying doctors and hospitals, up from $3 billion in 1996, according to market researcher IMS Health. Such spending has drawn fire from consumers and politicians, who say the cost of marketing contributes to rising drug prices.

A study by the American Medical Association in 2000 found doctors who spent more time with sales representatives were less likely to prescribe lower-cost generics. The trend is causing a backlash. In June, Vermont became the first state to enact a law requiring sales reps to report gifts to doctors that are valued above $25. A group of medical students recently organized a nationwide campaign banning gifts.

Does a statin a day keep the doctor away?

Already widely prescribed worldwide, statin therapy may be indicated for millions more. The results of the Heart Protection Study (HPS), originally presented at the 2001 American Heart Scientific Session and published in the July 6 issue of The Lancet, found that statin therapy, traditionally prescribed to high-risk patients with elevated cholesterol levels, also benefits alternative high-risk patient populations. Seen as one of the primary tools in preventing adverse cardiac events in high-risk patient populations, recent studies also suggest that statins may be able to lower the lifetime risk of developing Alzheimer's disease, lower the cardiovascular risk in older patients, benefit postmenopausal women, and reduce cardiac events following PCI.

The Outlook for Japanese R&D

For a number of years, several Japanese companies have been expressing their intention to globalise but have taken only small steps in this direction. However, the recent economic problems in Japan have now prompted many companies to put definitive policies into place to achieve growth abroad and thus become less reliant on the Japanese market. . In fact, the global spend on R&D has shown a year on year increase of around 10% for the last ten years, but the number of innovative new drugs reaching the marketplace has shown a steady drop.

Yet, Japanese companies, who have spent less than their Western rivals on R&D, have produced a number of important products during this period. Some of the world's leading drugs, such as Bristol-Myers Squibb's pravastatin for high cholesterol, TAP's lansoprazole and Daiichi's levofloxacin were discovered in Japanese laboratories. Many companies have started to focus on diseases of the elderly and this will tie in well with the plans of Japanese companies to globalise.

A recent survey by the JPMA (Japan Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association) shows that a greater percentage of its member companies' sales are now coming from overseas than before. . In its 1998 survey of its members, less than 12% of sales were coming from overseas, but by 2000 this had increased to nearly 21%. A number of Japanese companies are also increasing their global presence by cooperation with foreign organisations and by building up their foreign operations and employing local staff. Partnerships are not only developing between pharmaceutical companies, but also with CROs.

Caffeine vs. skin cancer

Caffeine may protect you from skin cancer -- if you're a mouse, anyway. A recent study found that mice who were smeared with lotions containing caffeine or EGCG (a compound contained in green tea) after ultraviolet light exposure developed fewer skin tumors than mice who didn't get the lotions. Researchers exposed 90 mice to high levels of ultraviolet radiation twice daily for 20 days. The mice were then divided into three groups: One group was treated with caffeine lotion, one was treated with EGCG lotion, and one was treated with lotion containing neither chemical.

After 18 weeks, the researchers found that the mice in the caffeine group had 72 percent fewer and mice in the EGCG group had 66 percent less malignant skin cancer compared to mice in the no-chemical group. The mice treated with caffeine or EGCG also had fewer non-malignant tumors, The Associated Press reports. The researchers say caffeine appears to protect against sun-induced cancer by causing abnormal cells to kill themselves, rather than growing into cancers. The AP quotes other experts who caution that findings in animals don't always translate to humans. The study was published online on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences site

Vitamins after angioplasty

B vitamins may help keep arteries open after angioplasty. That's the finding of a study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which says that folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12 can prevent a recurrence of blocked arteries. The study followed up on 205 people who had participated in an earlier six- month study looking at the vitamin combination, and added 348 new participants. All the people studied had had coronary angioplasty to open blocked arteries. In the new study, the researchers had participants take either a B vitamin combination or a placebo for six months. During one year of follow up, the researchers found that people taking B vitamins were 38 percent less likely to need a repeat angioplasty or bypass surgery. The earlier study had already shown that the vitamins led to a 48 percent reduction in re-narrowing of the arteries, The Associated Press reports. The researchers hypothesize that B vitamins help the heart by reducing levels of homocysteine, a protein linked to higher heart attack risk.

Compiled from WWW by
Dr. Venkat Appaji Padmanabhuni
email : appajipv@hotmail.com