India To Expand NLEM 2011: A Step In The Right Direction

Responding to growing discontentment on the flawed National List of Essential Medicines 2011 (NLEM 2011) and equally vociferous demand for its urgent rectification, on May 5, 2015, in a written reply to the Lower House of Indian Parliament (Lok Sabha) … Continue reading

With Free Medicines In, Would The New Government Revisit ‘Universal Health Coverage’ Soon?

Friday last, the new Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan reportedly announced that the his ministry would soon start work on distributing free medicines through public hospitals across the country. For this purpose the Minister would soon call a meeting of the … Continue reading

Why Try To Reinvent The Wheel With So Much Of Hullabaloo?

A recent IMS study, apparently ‘authorized’ (whatever it means) by the Planning Commission of India has reportedly suggested various ‘ways to make drugs affordable in India’. Though there does not appear to be anything new in the reported suggestions, the … Continue reading

Astronomical Prices of Patented Cancer Drugs: A Solution in Sight?

Astronomical prices of patented anti-cancer dugs have become a subject of great concern not just in India. It is becoming an issue across the world. After issuing the first ever Compulsory License (CL) for Nexavar of Bayer in India, the … Continue reading

Two Paintings on the Same Canvas: ‘Truth About Drug Companies’ and ‘Protecting Access to Medicines’

As the saying goes, “Great people think alike”, many thought leaders of very high credibility across the globe, seem to think almost in similar lines when it comes to improving access to medicines for a large section of the global … Continue reading