VEPACHEDU EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION
(501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation)
America: The Oldest Democracy (Under Judeo-Christian Principles and God) |
Russia: The Young Democracy (Under Secular Principles) |
Bhaarat: The Largest Ancient Democracy (A Continental Super State Under Secular Principles) |
| The
Andhra Journal of Industrial News |
|
|
| Chief
Editor: Dr. Sreenivasarao Vepachedu |
|
Issue 23 |
5107 Kali Era , Paardhiva
Year, Magha
month
2063 Vikramarka Era, Paardhiva Year, Magha month 1927 Salivahana Era , Paardhiva Year, Magha month 2006 AD, February |
Contents
Request for
Reexamination: USPTO
Former President Bill Clinton Funds AIDS Training in India
Population Politics
Former President Bill Clinton Funds AIDS Training in India
Population Politics
Carcinogens
in Teflon Manufacture
Strattera is Linked to Liver Damage
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
Kit for Diabetic Cats and Dogs
New Oral Contraceptive for Women
New Medicin for Diaper Rash
Offshoring R&D
Dr. Reddy's acquires a German Company
Collagen
Biotechnology is the next Big Thing in India
India, the Rising Mammoth
Request for Reexamination
Effective March 27, 2006, according to 37 C.F.R. 1.510(b), a request for reexamination must include the following parts:
(1) A statement pointing out each substantial new question of patentability based on prior patents and printed publications.
(2) An identification of every claim for which reexamination is requested, and a detailed explanation of the pertinency and manner of applying the cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. If appropriate the party requesting reexamination may also point out how claims distinguish over cited prior art.
(3) A copy of every patent or printed publication relied upon or referred to in paragraph (b)(1) and (2) of this section accompanied by an English language translation of all the necessary and pertinent parts of any non-English language patent or printed publication.
(4) A copy of the entire patent including the front face, drawings, and specification/claims (in double column format) for which reexamination is requested, and a copy of any disclaimer, certificate of correction, or reexamination certificate issued in the patent. All copies must have each page plainly written on only one side of a sheet of paper.
(5) A certification that a copy of the request filed by a person other than the patent owner has been served in its entirety on the patent owner at the address as provided for in § 1.33(c). The name and address of the party served must be indicated. If service was not possible, a duplicate copy must be supplied to the Office.
Former President Bill Clinton Funds AIDS Training in India
India (1.2 billion population) has more than 5 million (0.004% of the total population) cases of the illness, the second largest number of people infected with HIV after South Africa (44 million population)’s 5.3 million (21% of the total population) cases. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, speaking from New Delhi with ABC television's "Good Morning America," said that while being HIV-positive in India is still stigmatized, "it is dramatically different than it was three years ago when I began here." Clinton, who is on a private visit to the region, has made the battle against AIDS a focus of his post-presidential life. Clinton and the Indian government announced a joint plan to train nurses in AIDS care. The plan, a partnership between National AIDS Control Organization of India (NACO) and the Clinton Foundation, aims to develop training material and program for nurses, a news release by the Foundation said.
Population Politics
In Britain, the average age at which women have their first child has risen from 23.7 in 1971 to 27.1 in 2004, according to official statistics. One in five women remains childless compared with one in 10 a generation ago. The research report "Population Politics" by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) highlighted the financial differences between early and late motherhood. A woman forgoes 564,000 pounds in earnings over her lifetime if she has her first child at 24 compared to a similarly educated childless woman -- but if she waits until 28, she will lose out on 165,000 pounds. As a result, many women have fewer children than they planned because they postpone starting a family until too late in life. Moreover, almost a third of those who give birth early return to a less well paid job than before they became mothers, the report said. A fall in fertility could have serious long-term consequences for the society.
Carcinogens in Teflon Manufacture
A chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products should be considered a "likely" carcinogen, according to an independent scientific review panel advising the Environmental Protection Agency.
The recommendation included in the panel's final draft report is consistent with its preliminary finding, which went beyond the EPA's own determination that there was only "suggestive evidence" from animal studies that perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts are potential human carcinogens.
Strattera is Linked to Liver Damage
There are new safety concerns about the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drug Strattera, widely used in Europe and the United States. It's already been linked to rare cases of liver damage and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. British authorities have associated Strattera with seizures and a potentially dangerous lengthening of the time between heartbeats, called QT interval prolongation, in a handful of the more than 3.7 million people who have used the drug since it hit the market in November 2002. The warnings are based on an internal report by the British Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which is equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The News Tribune obtained the report after a Swedish court ordered it released to a drug-safety activist in that country. On Feb. 9, an FDA panel advised that Ritalin, Concerta and other stimulant ADHD drugs include a strong warning of the possibility of heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. Strattera is not a stimulant and wasn't included in the recommendation.
New Osteoporosis Drug
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that subcutaneous injections of the drug denosumab increased bone density and decreased bone breakdown in postmenopausal women. After a year, the women taking denosumab had an increase in bone mineral density in the lower back of 3% to nearly 7%, while women taking alendronate had a 4.6% increase and women taking the placebo had a loss of bone density of 0.8%. Women taking denosumab also gained bone mass in the hip, a 1.9% to 3.6% increase, compared to 2.1% with alendronate and a loss of 0.6% with the placebo and in the wrist. Women taking alendronate or a placebo both had decreases in bone density in the wrist. Women getting injections of the new drug also had fewer bone-destroying cells in their bloodstream than the other women, the researchers found. The study was designed and funded by Amgen, which manufactures denosumab.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the supplements were not much better than a placebo at relieving knee pain from osteoarthritis. However, combined they may offer some relief for people with severe arthritis pain, the study found.
Kit for Diabetic Cats and Dogs
Abbott announced the launch of the AlphaTRAK(TM), the first complete hand-held blood glucose monitoring system designed specifically for diabetic cats and dogs. The AlphaTRAK allows veterinarians and pet owners to test pets' blood sugar rapidly, conveniently and accurately with a very small blood sample, without relying on blood glucose meters designed for humans, which can produce widely variable and inaccurate results in pets. In head-to-head clinical evaluation, human glucose meter use in diabetic cats and dogs resulted in measurements that were off by as much as 39 percent compared to lab testing and the AlphaTRAK meter.
New Oral Contraceptive for Women
Warner Chilcott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its 24-day oral contraceptive, Loestrin® 24 Fe (norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol tablets, USP and ferrous fumarate tablets), for the prevention of pregnancy. Loestrin 24 Fe ("Loestrin 24") is the first birth-control pill approved in the United States that provides 24 days of active hormonal therapy and four days of iron containing placebo pills.
New Medicin for Diaper Rash
There are approximately 8 million infants under the age of two in the U.S. It is estimated that diaper dermatitis is observed in approximately one million pediatric outpatient visits each year. Additionally, it is estimated that of all diaper dermatitis cases treated by physicians, more than 40% are complicated by the yeast Candida. Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vusion™ (0.25% miconazole nitrate, 15% zinc oxide and 81.35% white petrolatum) Ointment. Vusion was specifically formulated for the treatment of diaper dermatitis complicated by candidiasis (DDCC) in infants 4 weeks and older. This inflammatory condition occurs when diaper dermatitis, also known as diaper rash, is complicated with a fungal infection caused by yeast known as Candida. The existence of Candida is readily determined by microscopic evaluation for presence of pseudohyphae or budding yeast. Vusion is the only prescription product approved for the treatment of this condition in the United States.
Offshoring R&D
Intellectual capital and university collaboration, not just lower costs, are the main things that attract companies to move research and development activities to other countries, according to a study sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The study involved more than 200 multinational companies throughout 15 industries, mostly based in the United States and Western Europe, the foundation said in a written release on February 16. The study found that reemerging ancient countries such as China and India will continue to benefit from R&D expansion in the next three years as companies seek new market opportunities, access to top scientists and engineers, and collaborative research relationships with leading universities. Among the study's more surprising findings, researchers said, was the role university collaboration plays in the decision-making process for locating R&D facilities. That factor was particularly prevalent as a reason for expanding to emerging nations, even though they provide less intellectual property protection. The study also concluded that the United States must focus on highly skilled worker immigration. The US Government, industry and universities must be alert and remove obstacles to joint research, or emerging countries will overtake US in innovation breakthroughs, and the burst of discovery that has been driving US economy for the past half-century will be over.
Dr. Reddy's acquires a German Company
Dr. Reddy's and 3i, Europe's leading private equity house, jointly announced in February that they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the strategic investment by Dr. Reddy's to acquire 100% of betapharm Group, the fourth-largest generic pharmaceuticals company in Germany, for a total enterprise value of EUR 480 million in cash. Founded in 1993, betapharm is the fourth-largest generics company in Germany with a market share of circa 3.5%. betapharm markets high-quality generic drugs with focus on long-term therapy products with high prescription rates. betapharm is the fastest growing generics company over the past 5 years in the top 10 in Germany(1) with a strong track record of successful product launches. betapharm's current portfolio comprises about 145 marketed products. Located in Augsburg, Germany, betapharm currently employs about 370 people including a sales force of about 250 with gross turnover of EUR 164 million in 2005(2).
Also, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Argenta Discovery Limited announced in February that they have entered into an agreement for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”).
Also, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd said in February it had entered into an agreement with US drug maker Merck & Co to sell generic versions of Merck's Proscar and Zocor drugs after patent expiry. There has been a rise in the United States of so-called authorised generics, unpatented versions of branded medicines that are launched by pharmaceutical groups when the medicines lose patent protection.
Collagen
Collagen from animals, principally cows, is used to rebuild tissue destroyed by burns and wounds. Commonly, it is employed in plastic surgery to augment the lips and cheeks of starlets and others seeking perpetual youth. Catgut, the biodegradable sutures made from cow or horse intestines and used in surgery to minimize scarring, is also a form of collagen. In medicine, synthetic human collagen could be used as "solder" to speed healing of large wounds. In the context of nanotechnology, collagen has appeal as a type of nanowire because it is thin -- thinner even than the vaunted carbon nanotubes hailed by nanotechnologists -- and long. Coated with gold or silver, human collagen could form the basis of implantable electric sensors. By attaching certain biological molecules to the wire, it would be possible to create sensors that might, for example, quickly alert a diabetic to falling insulin levels. Similarly, equipped with molecules to recognize specific pathogens, such a sensor could stand perpetual guard in the body and provide instant warning of invading viruses or bacteria. However, collagen has defied the efforts of biomedical researchers who have tried mightily to synthesize it for use in applications ranging from new wound-healing technologies to alleviating arthritis. Scientists were unable to synthesize the human protein because they had no way to link the easily made short snippets of collagen into the long, fibrous molecules necessary to mimic the real collagen. But now a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, writing in February in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reports the discovery of a method for making human collagen in the lab. The work is important because it opens a door to producing a material that can have broad use in medicine and replace the animal products that are now used but that can also harbor pathogens or spark undesirable immune responses.
Biotechnology is the next Big Thing in India
India's biotechnology industry is poised to record substantial growth, perhaps even overtake the robust IT industry. After IT, biotechnology may be the next sector that the global market will identify India with. India's biotechnology industry currently comprises 110 units in the healthcare products sector, 140 units in agriculture and about 300 units in industrial and other biotech products sector. According to Ernst & Young's Global Biotechnology Report 2004, India is among the top 12 global biotechnology powers.
India, the Rising Mammoth
Editor MARK WHITAKER of Newsweek says, "As George W. Bush prepares to visit, it is a nation in a hurry—with a booming high-tech and consumer market, a young work force flush with cash and confidence, and cultural stars who transcend nationality. It's a country that Americans, obsessed with the Middle East and China, need to understand better—as an economic rival, perhaps, but potentially America's best friend in Asia."
Fareed Zakaria writes in March 6, 2006 issue of Newsweek, "Every year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, there's a star. Not a person but a country. One country impresses the gathering of global leaders because of a particularly smart Finance minister or a compelling tale of reform or even a glamorous gala. This year there was no contest. In the decade that I've been going to Davos, no country has captured the imagination of the conference and dominated the conversation as India in 2006….
A much-cited 2003 study by Goldman Sachs projects that over the next 50 years, India will be the fastest-growing of the world's major economies (largely because its work force will not age as fast as the others). The report calculates that in 10 years India's economy will be larger than Italy's and in 15 years will have overtaken Britain's. By 2040 it will boast the world's third largest economy. By 2050 it will be five times the size of Japan's and its per capita income will have risen to 35 times its current level. Predictions like these are a treacherous business, though it's worth noting that India's current growth rate is actually higher than the study assumed….
India's growth is messy, chaotic and largely unplanned. It is not top-down but bottom-up. It is happening not because of the government, but largely despite it. India does not have Beijing and Shanghai's gleaming infrastructure, and it does not have a government that rolls out the red carpet for foreign investment—no government in democratic India would have those kinds of powers anyway. But it has vast and growing numbers of entrepreneurs who want to make money. And somehow they find a way to do it, overcoming the obstacles, bypassing the bureaucracy. "The government sleeps at night and the economy grows," says Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter Gamble in India….
Despite being much poorer than China, India has produced dozens of world-class companies like Infosys, Ranbaxy and Reliance. …
Young Indian professionals don't wait to buy a house at the end of their lives with their savings. They take out mortgages. The credit-card industry is growing at 35 percent a year. Personal consumption makes up a staggering 67 percent of GDP in India, much higher than China (42 percent) or any other Asian country. Only the United States is higher at 70 percent….
In 1960 India had a higher per capita GDP than China; today it is less than half of China's. That year it had the same per capita GDP as South Korea; today South Korea's is 13 times larger. The United Nations Human Development Index gauges countries by income, health, literacy and other such measures. India ranks 124 out of 177, behind Syria, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic. Female literacy in India is a shockingly low 54 percent. Despite mountains of rhetoric about helping the poor, by any reasonable comparison, India's government has done too little for them….
Democracy is India's destiny. A country this diverse and complex—17 major languages, 22,000 dialects and all the world's major religions—cannot really be governed any other way. The task is to use democracy to India's advantage….
Most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that India is, by all accounts, the most pro-American country in the world. The Pew Global Attitudes Survey, released in June 2005, asked people in 16 countries whether they had a favorable impression of the United States. A stunning 71 percent of Indians said yes. Only Americans had a more favorable view of America (83 percent). …
The Indian-American community has been a bridge between the two cultures. The term often used to describe Indians leaving their country is "brain drain." But it's been more like brain gain, for both sides. Indians abroad have played a crucial role in opening up the mother country. They returned to India with money, investment ideas, global standards and, most important, a sense that one could achieve anything. …
But the real stumbling block to a deep Indo-U.S. relationship will come not from Washington but New Delhi. While Singh and some others at the top of the Indian government see the world clearly, and see the immense opportunities it opens up for India, many others are blinded by their prejudices. For many Indian elites, it has been comfortable and comforting to look at the world from the prism of a poor, Third World country, whose foreign policy was neutral, detached (and, one might add, unsuccessful). …
A famous Indian (Nehru) once put it eloquently, "A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance"….
The danger for India is that this moment might not last forever. The world turns and (Ancient Continental) India will have its ups and downs. But today it is India's moment (again). "
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11571348/site/newsweek/).
Strattera is Linked to Liver Damage
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
Kit for Diabetic Cats and Dogs
New Oral Contraceptive for Women
New Medicin for Diaper Rash
Offshoring R&D
Dr. Reddy's acquires a German Company
Collagen
Biotechnology is the next Big Thing in India
India, the Rising Mammoth
Request for Reexamination
Effective March 27, 2006, according to 37 C.F.R. 1.510(b), a request for reexamination must include the following parts:
(1) A statement pointing out each substantial new question of patentability based on prior patents and printed publications.
(2) An identification of every claim for which reexamination is requested, and a detailed explanation of the pertinency and manner of applying the cited prior art to every claim for which reexamination is requested. If appropriate the party requesting reexamination may also point out how claims distinguish over cited prior art.
(3) A copy of every patent or printed publication relied upon or referred to in paragraph (b)(1) and (2) of this section accompanied by an English language translation of all the necessary and pertinent parts of any non-English language patent or printed publication.
(4) A copy of the entire patent including the front face, drawings, and specification/claims (in double column format) for which reexamination is requested, and a copy of any disclaimer, certificate of correction, or reexamination certificate issued in the patent. All copies must have each page plainly written on only one side of a sheet of paper.
(5) A certification that a copy of the request filed by a person other than the patent owner has been served in its entirety on the patent owner at the address as provided for in § 1.33(c). The name and address of the party served must be indicated. If service was not possible, a duplicate copy must be supplied to the Office.
Former President Bill Clinton Funds AIDS Training in India
India (1.2 billion population) has more than 5 million (0.004% of the total population) cases of the illness, the second largest number of people infected with HIV after South Africa (44 million population)’s 5.3 million (21% of the total population) cases. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton, speaking from New Delhi with ABC television's "Good Morning America," said that while being HIV-positive in India is still stigmatized, "it is dramatically different than it was three years ago when I began here." Clinton, who is on a private visit to the region, has made the battle against AIDS a focus of his post-presidential life. Clinton and the Indian government announced a joint plan to train nurses in AIDS care. The plan, a partnership between National AIDS Control Organization of India (NACO) and the Clinton Foundation, aims to develop training material and program for nurses, a news release by the Foundation said.
Population Politics
In Britain, the average age at which women have their first child has risen from 23.7 in 1971 to 27.1 in 2004, according to official statistics. One in five women remains childless compared with one in 10 a generation ago. The research report "Population Politics" by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) highlighted the financial differences between early and late motherhood. A woman forgoes 564,000 pounds in earnings over her lifetime if she has her first child at 24 compared to a similarly educated childless woman -- but if she waits until 28, she will lose out on 165,000 pounds. As a result, many women have fewer children than they planned because they postpone starting a family until too late in life. Moreover, almost a third of those who give birth early return to a less well paid job than before they became mothers, the report said. A fall in fertility could have serious long-term consequences for the society.
Carcinogens in Teflon Manufacture
A chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon and other nonstick and stain-resistant products should be considered a "likely" carcinogen, according to an independent scientific review panel advising the Environmental Protection Agency.
The recommendation included in the panel's final draft report is consistent with its preliminary finding, which went beyond the EPA's own determination that there was only "suggestive evidence" from animal studies that perfluorooctanoic acid and its salts are potential human carcinogens.
Strattera is Linked to Liver Damage
There are new safety concerns about the Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder drug Strattera, widely used in Europe and the United States. It's already been linked to rare cases of liver damage and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. British authorities have associated Strattera with seizures and a potentially dangerous lengthening of the time between heartbeats, called QT interval prolongation, in a handful of the more than 3.7 million people who have used the drug since it hit the market in November 2002. The warnings are based on an internal report by the British Medicine and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, which is equivalent to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The News Tribune obtained the report after a Swedish court ordered it released to a drug-safety activist in that country. On Feb. 9, an FDA panel advised that Ritalin, Concerta and other stimulant ADHD drugs include a strong warning of the possibility of heart attacks, strokes and sudden death. Strattera is not a stimulant and wasn't included in the recommendation.
New Osteoporosis Drug
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that subcutaneous injections of the drug denosumab increased bone density and decreased bone breakdown in postmenopausal women. After a year, the women taking denosumab had an increase in bone mineral density in the lower back of 3% to nearly 7%, while women taking alendronate had a 4.6% increase and women taking the placebo had a loss of bone density of 0.8%. Women taking denosumab also gained bone mass in the hip, a 1.9% to 3.6% increase, compared to 2.1% with alendronate and a loss of 0.6% with the placebo and in the wrist. Women taking alendronate or a placebo both had decreases in bone density in the wrist. Women getting injections of the new drug also had fewer bone-destroying cells in their bloodstream than the other women, the researchers found. The study was designed and funded by Amgen, which manufactures denosumab.
Glucosamine and Chondroitin
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the supplements were not much better than a placebo at relieving knee pain from osteoarthritis. However, combined they may offer some relief for people with severe arthritis pain, the study found.
Kit for Diabetic Cats and Dogs
Abbott announced the launch of the AlphaTRAK(TM), the first complete hand-held blood glucose monitoring system designed specifically for diabetic cats and dogs. The AlphaTRAK allows veterinarians and pet owners to test pets' blood sugar rapidly, conveniently and accurately with a very small blood sample, without relying on blood glucose meters designed for humans, which can produce widely variable and inaccurate results in pets. In head-to-head clinical evaluation, human glucose meter use in diabetic cats and dogs resulted in measurements that were off by as much as 39 percent compared to lab testing and the AlphaTRAK meter.
New Oral Contraceptive for Women
Warner Chilcott announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its 24-day oral contraceptive, Loestrin® 24 Fe (norethindrone acetate and ethinyl estradiol tablets, USP and ferrous fumarate tablets), for the prevention of pregnancy. Loestrin 24 Fe ("Loestrin 24") is the first birth-control pill approved in the United States that provides 24 days of active hormonal therapy and four days of iron containing placebo pills.
New Medicin for Diaper Rash
There are approximately 8 million infants under the age of two in the U.S. It is estimated that diaper dermatitis is observed in approximately one million pediatric outpatient visits each year. Additionally, it is estimated that of all diaper dermatitis cases treated by physicians, more than 40% are complicated by the yeast Candida. Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Vusion™ (0.25% miconazole nitrate, 15% zinc oxide and 81.35% white petrolatum) Ointment. Vusion was specifically formulated for the treatment of diaper dermatitis complicated by candidiasis (DDCC) in infants 4 weeks and older. This inflammatory condition occurs when diaper dermatitis, also known as diaper rash, is complicated with a fungal infection caused by yeast known as Candida. The existence of Candida is readily determined by microscopic evaluation for presence of pseudohyphae or budding yeast. Vusion is the only prescription product approved for the treatment of this condition in the United States.
Offshoring R&D
Intellectual capital and university collaboration, not just lower costs, are the main things that attract companies to move research and development activities to other countries, according to a study sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The study involved more than 200 multinational companies throughout 15 industries, mostly based in the United States and Western Europe, the foundation said in a written release on February 16. The study found that reemerging ancient countries such as China and India will continue to benefit from R&D expansion in the next three years as companies seek new market opportunities, access to top scientists and engineers, and collaborative research relationships with leading universities. Among the study's more surprising findings, researchers said, was the role university collaboration plays in the decision-making process for locating R&D facilities. That factor was particularly prevalent as a reason for expanding to emerging nations, even though they provide less intellectual property protection. The study also concluded that the United States must focus on highly skilled worker immigration. The US Government, industry and universities must be alert and remove obstacles to joint research, or emerging countries will overtake US in innovation breakthroughs, and the burst of discovery that has been driving US economy for the past half-century will be over.
Dr. Reddy's acquires a German Company
Dr. Reddy's and 3i, Europe's leading private equity house, jointly announced in February that they have entered into a definitive agreement providing for the strategic investment by Dr. Reddy's to acquire 100% of betapharm Group, the fourth-largest generic pharmaceuticals company in Germany, for a total enterprise value of EUR 480 million in cash. Founded in 1993, betapharm is the fourth-largest generics company in Germany with a market share of circa 3.5%. betapharm markets high-quality generic drugs with focus on long-term therapy products with high prescription rates. betapharm is the fastest growing generics company over the past 5 years in the top 10 in Germany(1) with a strong track record of successful product launches. betapharm's current portfolio comprises about 145 marketed products. Located in Augsburg, Germany, betapharm currently employs about 370 people including a sales force of about 250 with gross turnover of EUR 164 million in 2005(2).
Also, Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories and Argenta Discovery Limited announced in February that they have entered into an agreement for the joint development and commercialization of a novel approach to the treatment of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (“COPD”).
Also, Dr Reddy's Laboratories Ltd said in February it had entered into an agreement with US drug maker Merck & Co to sell generic versions of Merck's Proscar and Zocor drugs after patent expiry. There has been a rise in the United States of so-called authorised generics, unpatented versions of branded medicines that are launched by pharmaceutical groups when the medicines lose patent protection.
Collagen
Collagen from animals, principally cows, is used to rebuild tissue destroyed by burns and wounds. Commonly, it is employed in plastic surgery to augment the lips and cheeks of starlets and others seeking perpetual youth. Catgut, the biodegradable sutures made from cow or horse intestines and used in surgery to minimize scarring, is also a form of collagen. In medicine, synthetic human collagen could be used as "solder" to speed healing of large wounds. In the context of nanotechnology, collagen has appeal as a type of nanowire because it is thin -- thinner even than the vaunted carbon nanotubes hailed by nanotechnologists -- and long. Coated with gold or silver, human collagen could form the basis of implantable electric sensors. By attaching certain biological molecules to the wire, it would be possible to create sensors that might, for example, quickly alert a diabetic to falling insulin levels. Similarly, equipped with molecules to recognize specific pathogens, such a sensor could stand perpetual guard in the body and provide instant warning of invading viruses or bacteria. However, collagen has defied the efforts of biomedical researchers who have tried mightily to synthesize it for use in applications ranging from new wound-healing technologies to alleviating arthritis. Scientists were unable to synthesize the human protein because they had no way to link the easily made short snippets of collagen into the long, fibrous molecules necessary to mimic the real collagen. But now a team of scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, writing in February in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), reports the discovery of a method for making human collagen in the lab. The work is important because it opens a door to producing a material that can have broad use in medicine and replace the animal products that are now used but that can also harbor pathogens or spark undesirable immune responses.
Biotechnology is the next Big Thing in India
India's biotechnology industry is poised to record substantial growth, perhaps even overtake the robust IT industry. After IT, biotechnology may be the next sector that the global market will identify India with. India's biotechnology industry currently comprises 110 units in the healthcare products sector, 140 units in agriculture and about 300 units in industrial and other biotech products sector. According to Ernst & Young's Global Biotechnology Report 2004, India is among the top 12 global biotechnology powers.
India, the Rising Mammoth
Editor MARK WHITAKER of Newsweek says, "As George W. Bush prepares to visit, it is a nation in a hurry—with a booming high-tech and consumer market, a young work force flush with cash and confidence, and cultural stars who transcend nationality. It's a country that Americans, obsessed with the Middle East and China, need to understand better—as an economic rival, perhaps, but potentially America's best friend in Asia."
Fareed Zakaria writes in March 6, 2006 issue of Newsweek, "Every year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, there's a star. Not a person but a country. One country impresses the gathering of global leaders because of a particularly smart Finance minister or a compelling tale of reform or even a glamorous gala. This year there was no contest. In the decade that I've been going to Davos, no country has captured the imagination of the conference and dominated the conversation as India in 2006….
A much-cited 2003 study by Goldman Sachs projects that over the next 50 years, India will be the fastest-growing of the world's major economies (largely because its work force will not age as fast as the others). The report calculates that in 10 years India's economy will be larger than Italy's and in 15 years will have overtaken Britain's. By 2040 it will boast the world's third largest economy. By 2050 it will be five times the size of Japan's and its per capita income will have risen to 35 times its current level. Predictions like these are a treacherous business, though it's worth noting that India's current growth rate is actually higher than the study assumed….
India's growth is messy, chaotic and largely unplanned. It is not top-down but bottom-up. It is happening not because of the government, but largely despite it. India does not have Beijing and Shanghai's gleaming infrastructure, and it does not have a government that rolls out the red carpet for foreign investment—no government in democratic India would have those kinds of powers anyway. But it has vast and growing numbers of entrepreneurs who want to make money. And somehow they find a way to do it, overcoming the obstacles, bypassing the bureaucracy. "The government sleeps at night and the economy grows," says Gurcharan Das, former CEO of Procter Gamble in India….
Despite being much poorer than China, India has produced dozens of world-class companies like Infosys, Ranbaxy and Reliance. …
Young Indian professionals don't wait to buy a house at the end of their lives with their savings. They take out mortgages. The credit-card industry is growing at 35 percent a year. Personal consumption makes up a staggering 67 percent of GDP in India, much higher than China (42 percent) or any other Asian country. Only the United States is higher at 70 percent….
In 1960 India had a higher per capita GDP than China; today it is less than half of China's. That year it had the same per capita GDP as South Korea; today South Korea's is 13 times larger. The United Nations Human Development Index gauges countries by income, health, literacy and other such measures. India ranks 124 out of 177, behind Syria, Sri Lanka, Vietnam and the Dominican Republic. Female literacy in India is a shockingly low 54 percent. Despite mountains of rhetoric about helping the poor, by any reasonable comparison, India's government has done too little for them….
Democracy is India's destiny. A country this diverse and complex—17 major languages, 22,000 dialects and all the world's major religions—cannot really be governed any other way. The task is to use democracy to India's advantage….
Most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that India is, by all accounts, the most pro-American country in the world. The Pew Global Attitudes Survey, released in June 2005, asked people in 16 countries whether they had a favorable impression of the United States. A stunning 71 percent of Indians said yes. Only Americans had a more favorable view of America (83 percent). …
The Indian-American community has been a bridge between the two cultures. The term often used to describe Indians leaving their country is "brain drain." But it's been more like brain gain, for both sides. Indians abroad have played a crucial role in opening up the mother country. They returned to India with money, investment ideas, global standards and, most important, a sense that one could achieve anything. …
But the real stumbling block to a deep Indo-U.S. relationship will come not from Washington but New Delhi. While Singh and some others at the top of the Indian government see the world clearly, and see the immense opportunities it opens up for India, many others are blinded by their prejudices. For many Indian elites, it has been comfortable and comforting to look at the world from the prism of a poor, Third World country, whose foreign policy was neutral, detached (and, one might add, unsuccessful). …
A famous Indian (Nehru) once put it eloquently, "A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance"….
The danger for India is that this moment might not last forever. The world turns and (Ancient Continental) India will have its ups and downs. But today it is India's moment (again). "
(http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11571348/site/newsweek/).
(Om! Lead the world from wrong path to the right path, from ignorance to knowledge, from mortality to immortality and peace!)
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