India was hit hard by dengue cases this
year while the Mexican government gave the green signal to the world’s
first anti-dengue vaccine, called Dengvaxia, developed by France-based
Sanofi Pasteur. It may however be quite a while before Indians have
access to it.
“The vaccine is currently in the third
phase of clinical study. At present, only the Mexican government has
approved it. This vaccine has still not been approved globally but if it
passes the third phase it will get the required approval,” Rajesh
Kumar, senior consultant (internal medicine), Paras Hospital, Gurgaon,
told IANS on the phone.
The total number of dengue cases in
Delhi reached over 12,000 in October. The city recorded the highest
number of patients of the viral disease in 19 years.
Climate change was one of the reasons
attributed to by researchers for this surge and continuance of the
disease into the winter months.
While the wait is on for India to give
its nod for the vaccine, the nation gave a breather to patients of
chronic hepatitis C with the Drug Controller General of India okaying
the launch of generic hepatitis-C drug Harvoni by two Indian drug
makers.
It is estimated that 12-18 million patients are infected with hepatitis C in India.
Looking back, the country also made good on its attempts to harness the power of the small: nanotechnology.
It entered the select league of nations
(the US and Ireland) which have the technology to manufacture raw
material for generating nano-crystal based medicines.
The National Institute of Pharmaceutical
Education and Research (NIPER), Mohali, designed and licensed the
technology for producing nano-crystal based medicines that could bring
down costs.
Drugs in the form of these nanoparticles
with crystalline characters, act faster and are more efficient than
conventional ones. Dubbed NanoCrySP, the solid dispersions are water
soluble and, therefore, easily absorbed.
NIPER has already got an Indian patent for the technology and has now applied for the US and European patents.
Apart from nanotechnology, examples of
use of 3D printing of prosthetics, implants and surgical aids signalled
the next wave of innovation in India.
In 3D printing, successive layers of
material are laid down under computer control. Thanks to a Mumbai-based
company, a 3D printed heart model aided experts in the surgery of a
two-month old baby with a difficult form of heart disease earlier this
year.
Led by the NarendraModi government’s
Make in India campaign, the US-based Stratasys, the world’s largest 3D
printing company, set up its India operations to tap into the growing
manufacturing activity.
India’s potential in this sector has
been vouched for by Dutch orthopaedic bio-engineering expert
NicoVerdonschot, a foreign faculty member for India’s Global Initiative
of Academic Networks (GIAN) programme, who said the country’s technical
capabilities could augment the 3D printing sector for profitably
manufacturing implants.
Another area where researchers and
doctors were active is the application of light-based technologies and
photonics in cancer screening and diagnosis.
While the US and countries in Europe,
such as Germany, have already made a mark in this field, India is waking
up to it, given the increasing incidences of cancer, according to
Nirmalya Ghosh, who heads IISER-Kolkata’s Bio Optics and Nano Photonics
(BioNaP) group, one of the few teams in the country to work on such
techniques.
(The premier Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research are spread across seven locations in the country.)
Incidentally, 2015 which happened to be
the International Year of Light and Light-based Technologies, also saw
researchers in India and the US testing a handy solar-powered device for
early detection of oral cancer which could be integrated with mobile
technology, enabling faster and accurate diagnostics in rural areas.
In its race to the top, India’s
department of biotechnology announced it plans to scale up start-ups in
the biotechnology sector to at least 1,500 in the next two to three
years to boost technological interventions in the health and agriculture
sectors.
A US report earlier this year also
brought cheers to people who had been avoiding high-cholesterol foods
such as eggs or butter in the fear of hurting their heart health. A top
nutrition advisory committee said that people, except those with certain
health problems such as diabetes, no longer have to be worried about
eating foods that are high in cholesterol.
The committee’s report will help shape the next version of the US Dietary Guidelines, set to be released later this year.
The year just ending was also remarkable
as for the first time in 30 years researchers discovered a new
antibiotic named teixobactin. The new compound, which is expected to be
available for use within five years, could play a major role in the
fight against bacterial infections such as tuberculosis (TB). It could
also lead to antibiotics that are likely to avoid development of
resistance.
This discovery could have major
implications for India, as according to a report published earlier this
year in The BMJ, each year, India has 2.2 million new cases, more than
300,000 deaths, and economic losses of $23 bn from TB, making it India’s
biggest health crisis.
The RajyaSabha’s proceedings were once again repeatedly disrupted on Tuesday – four times in the pre-lunch session – over alleged corruption in the Delhi and District Cricket Association issue as Congress members
raised slogans against the government.
