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Moderna Inc. announced on Monday that it was moving forward with two Omicron vaccine candidates for the fall, one of which was created to protect against the BA.1 variant and the other to protect against the BA.4 and BA.5. Updated vaccines are being developed by vaccine producers like Moderna and rival Pfizer Inc. to combat the quickly spreading Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, which have recently expanded to the United States. Moderna claimed that a variety of market preferences for jabs against the subvariants informed its choice to develop the bivalent vaccines. The older 2020 variant and the more recent Omicron variants of the coronavirus are the two separate coronavirus variants that are targeted by bivalent vaccines. New clinical data for Moderna’s BA.1 variant-targeting mRNA-1273.214 vaccination revealed noticeably greater neutralising antibody responses against the fast-spreading BA.4 and BA.5 compared with the currently permitted booster, the firm says. The second booster candidate being researched by the company, mRNA 1273.222, is based on the BA.4/5 strain and is being created in compliance with current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Although the company’s BA.1 subvariant-targeting booster has improved durability and antibody response, according to Jefferies analyst Michael Yee, the original Omicron variant has already moved in the United States, and the FDA is likely to approve future BA.4/5 boosters. Source: Reuters

The Darjeeling district administration has issued a warning on insect prevention after the acid fly or Nairobi fly infection has caused fear in a number of North Bengali communities. The insect primarily infects children and people with delicate skin. According to officials, the virus originally surfaced in Sikkim and has since spread. The virus has currently infected over 100 students at North Bengal University (NBU), Siliguri. Numerous students have left their hostels in a state of such anxiety and panic to return home. “We have issued an advisory on preventive measures such as wearing full sleeves, avoiding going outside in the evening, using mosquito nets, and using dim light inside houses,” said Darjeeling District Magistrate S Ponnambalam. Infected individuals should seek medical attention right away. According to the director of the Darjeeling District Hospital, the issue is merely a skin disease. In Darjeeling, there are now 3–4 cases, but none of them necessitate hospitalisation. People need to be cool and not panic because nothing seriously threatening would occur in this situation. In actuality, we are unsure whether the three to four patients who arrived coincidentally suffered an insect bite. I will however request a thorough explanation from my seniors. The District Magistrate declared, “Our goal right now is to control the infection and trace the breeding places. I request people not to panic.”

New Delhi: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya proposed to G20 members an institutional structure to allow for speedy sharing of genome sequencing data, as well as a neutral and aggregate data-sharing approach among countries, on Monday. He went on to say that this could be done across various pathogens with equitable benefit sharing under the Nagoya protocol, which he was virtually addressing at the G20 Health Ministers meeting in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. “A boost to digital health data systems to enable seamless interoperability of data and creation of longitudinal electronic health records within a country and at the global level is crucial”, Mandaviya added. Mandaviya added that India agrees to mutual recognition of vaccine credentials, including its wider application for interoperability of health data, and expressed hope that the continuous lowered trajectory of COVID-19 is a hopeful sign that the pandemic’s end is near. “The ongoing pandemic has posed multiple challenges on the health systems across the globe, developed and developing countries alike. The present pandemic has highlighted the fault lines in the global health governance and has brought to the fore the importance of strengthening Global Health Architecture. It has reinforced the need to assess health ecosystems, health financing and their linkages in light of the experience in managing the current pandemic”, Mandaviya added while addressing the session. The Union Health Minister advocated for an inclusive, agile and responsive emergency management framework that is supported by a global mechanism of surveillance, sustainable financing and equitable distribution of medical countermeasures.”G20 countries account for 80% of the world’s GDP and share 80% of the world’s cross-border trade, so G20 involvement and leadership will manage the world’s health architecture and future health emergencies. It is essential for strengthening, “said Mandavia. Emphasizing the need for global cooperation, the Minister of Health said, “global health resilience must be created by working towards mutual recognition of vaccine credentials to aid seamless cross-border travel, and the need for expanding research network, m-RNA manufacturing hubs and distributed manufacturing of medical countermeasures with particular focus on the global south.” “G20 countries must prioritize establishing an ecosystem for VTD research, technology transfers and regional manufacturing hubs, especially in Global South. India will also support this endeavour and will collaborate proactively to develop an mRNA vaccine hub in the global south by extending its manufacturing and research capacity”, he added. Source: IANS

From July 1, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has urged online food platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato to ensure compliance with its standards regarding the display of nutritional value by food service establishments. FSSAI has asked all e-commerce Food Business Operators (FBOs) to ensure provisions on their platforms, including mobile apps, for the display of calorific value and nutrition and allergen information. FBOs would be able to feed data into online platforms as a result of this. In 2020, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued labelling and display requirements for food service establishments. FSSAI said in a letter that “all e-commerce food business operators are hereby directed to enable provision in their online platforms including mobile applications for display of nutritional information… so that FBOs registered on your respective platforms would be able to feed and update such information in respect of each dish/food they are offering for sale.” When contacted, a spokesperson for Zomato stated, “We already showcase nutritional and allergen status where a restaurant voluntarily shares the required information with us. As per the FSSAI guidelines, we are working with the restaurant partners who have now been mandated to enable our customers to make an informed choice.”  Swiggy, on the other hand, did not comment. The FSSAI has also directed its regional directors to ensure that e-commerce FBOs comply with the regulations. The FSSAI directed that the regulations for “Display of Information in Food Service Establishments, as per the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations” 2O2O, which will take effect on July 1, 2022, be followed. Food service enterprises with a central licence or outlets in 10 or more locations are required to list the calorific content (in kcal per serving and serving size) against the food items shown on menu cards, boards, or booklets, according to these laws. They should also give nutrition, allergen, and ingredient information, among other things. The FSSAI also stated that the laws require e-commerce FBOs to obtain the necessary nutritional information from their respective food business operators and post it on their websites where relevant. According to the food regulator, this information will only be displayed for FBOs that meet the standards. Menu labelling will apply to food service enterprises with a central licence, outlets with ten or more locations, and e-commerce FBOs selling food items of those foods that are required to be declared under menu labelling. These requirements do not apply to event caterers or food service establishments that operate for less than sixty days in a calendar year (consecutively or non-consecutively).

The Union Cabinet approved a Memorandum of Understanding between India and the United States on Wednesday, allowing the two countries to collaborate on the development of new, improved, and innovative biomedical tools and technologies to prevent and treat HIV, tuberculosis, Covid-19, and other emerging infectious and neglected diseases. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Department of Biotechnology have signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in the United States. “This Memorandum of Understanding will further boost relations between India and the United States within the context of international scientific and technology collaboration in domains of mutual interest,” according to a Cabinet statement. “Govt led by PM @NarendraModi Ji approves the signing of MoU between India and USA in the field of the health sector. This will further strengthen relations between both countries in fields of mutual interest. #CabinetDecisions,” Mansukh Mandaviya, the Union minister of health and family welfare, tweeted shortly after the cabinet announcement.

Sun Pharma reported a surprising loss of Rs 2,277 crore in the March quarter, owing to one-time charges related to settlement costs and operations restructuring in some countries. In the previous fiscal year, the pharma had a net profit of Rs 894 crore. The Rs 3,936 crore one-time exceptional charge is mostly due to a $485 million (about Rs 3,761 crore) antitrust settlement on three Ranbaxy drugs — Valganciclovir, Valsartan, and Esomeprazole — announced on March 23. A one-time expense of Rs 56 crore is also included in the item, which is related to restructuring operations in several regions. After deducting exceptional items (Rs 3,936 crore) and exceptional tax gain of Rs 76 crore, the company’s adjusted net profit for the quarter was Rs 1,582 crore, up 18 percent over the previous quarter. The company’s revenue increased 11% year over year to Rs 9,386 crore, with India formulation sales jumping 16 percent to Rs 3,095 crore. Revenue from formulations in the United States reached $389 million (about Rs 3,016 crore), up 5% from the previous year. “FY22 was a good year with strong top line and ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation) growth,” Sun Pharma MD Dilip Shanghvi said. Despite increased prices, all of our geographies have had double-digit growth, and profitability has improved. The specialty business is continuing to grow rapidly, with global Ilumya sales increasing by 81 percent to $315 million in FY22. Our India business continues to outperform the market, resulting in a larger market share. We’re still concentrating on building our global speciality business, as well as all of our other businesses and improving operational efficiencies.” For the first time, the company exceeded $5 billion in sales for the entire year, with an adjusted net profit of $1 billion. For the whole year, consolidated sales from operations totaled Rs 38,426 crore, up 15.6 percent from the same period last year. Adjusted net profit for FY22 was Rs 7,667 crore, up nearly 29% year-on-year, excluding exceptional items. The reported net profit for FY22 was Rs 3,273 crore, up from Rs 2,904 crore the previous year, a 13 percent increase.