Latest news with #Ranbaxy
Business Recorder
5 days ago
- Health
- Business Recorder
Medicines that hinder rather than help healing
EDITORIAL: The report that about one-fifth of generic medicines' samples tested by researchers at the University of Notre Dame failed quality control tests is deeply troubling — all the more so given an increasing public reliance on generic drugs for affordable healthcare. Adding a further layer of concern is the finding that 16 of the 17 manufactures investigated are based in India, which plays a dominant role in global pharmaceutical supply chain. Often described as 'pharmacy of the world' the country produces approximately 20 percent of the generic medicines, exporting them to more than 100 countries. A vast majority of them are low and middle income ones, including Pakistan, raising red flags about the quality of medications being consumed. The drugs in questions, reveals the present report, form the backbone of treatment plans for numerous common cancers — including breast, ovarian and leukaemia. Some of them contained so little of their key ingredients that giving them to patients would be as good as doing nothing; other drugs in this category were composed of excessive active ingredients that put patients at risk of severe organ damage, even death. These findings suggest cost-efficiency is prioritised at the expense of quality assurance and regulatory compliance, and call into question reliability of existing regulatory frameworks both in the exporting and importing countries. In India, while there are regulations in place under the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation, enforcement has been inconsistent, if not shoddy. Consequently, quality control lapses have plagued the sector for years. In 2023, Indian-made cough syrups made the news for causing death of at least 70 children in Gambia and many more in Cameroon and Uzbekistan. In August of last year, more than 50 drugs on the market, including some anti-acids and paracetamol, turned out to be substandard or fake. Much before that in 2013, Indian manufacturer Ranbaxy paid a fine of US$ 500 million after its US subsidiary pleaded guilty to improper manufacturing, storing and testing of drugs. These examples plus the research findings of University of Notre Dame underscore the need for regulatory review and response from Pakistan. Our health authorities, particularly the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), must ramp up their quality assurance mechanisms, including more rigorous testing of imported drugs and reassessing licensing agreements with suspect companies. As regards the broader issue of accountability and transparency, those involved in producing substandard medicines must be made to face meaningful consequences, such as bans, fines and blacklisting from markets. While affordable medicines are crucial, they must not come at the cost of safety and efficacy; patients everywhere deserve better than to be exposed to life-threatening risks from bad medications. Governments and regulators need to act decisively to certify that each medicine contains everything that is stated on its label. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Mint
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Mint
Jacqueline Fernandez faces setback! Delhi HC junks plea to quash FIR in ₹200 crore money laundering case
A Delhi court on Thursday, July 3, dismissed Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez's plea seeking to quash the FIR filed against her in connection with the ₹ 200 crore money laundering case linked to alleged conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The actor's plea was heard by Justice Anish Dayal. She had also sought to quash the second supplementary chargesheet of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the money laundering case in which she is named as an accused. The ED counsel opposed the petition on the ground of maintainability, saying a special court had taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) and prima facie found a case. Actor Jacqueline Fernandez is an accused in the money laundering case lodged against Sukesh Chandrasekhar. The actor was booked on allegations that she received expensive gifts from Chandrasekhar. She had appeared before the ED for questioning in the investigation. Chandrasekhar is accused of duping spouses of former promoters of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, of ₹ 200 crore by posing as a high-ranking government official. Also Read | Conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar gifts jet to Jacqueline Fernandez on Valentine's Day: 'Baby, you're always flying around…' In her defence, Jacqueline Fernandez has claimed that she fell victim to Sukesh's schemes, arguing that the conman got in touch with her makeup artist posing as a high-ranking government official. Special Counsel Zoheb Hossain, who appeared for the ED, argued that Jacqueline Fernandez continued to receive gifts from Sukesh Chandrasekhar despite knowing that he was involved in criminal activities.
India Today
7 days ago
- India Today
Court rejects Jacqueline Fernandez's plea to quash Rs 200-crore ED case
Delhi High Court on Thursday dismissed the actor Jacqueline Fernandez's petition challenging the Enforcement Directorate's complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).Fernandes had sought the quashing of the ED's case against her related to the Rs 200 crore money laundering case involving alleged conman Sukesh Anish Dayal dismissed her plea, which also sought to quash the second supplementary chargesheet of the Enforcement Directorate in the case and proceedings are pending in a Delhi trial court, as reported by the news agency ED counsel opposed the petition on the ground of maintainability, saying a special court had taken cognisance of the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) and prima facie found a case. The cognisance order was not challenged, the counsel the plea, Jacqueline challenged the ED's complaint and the second supplementary chargesheet under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. In her appeal, Jacqueline claimed that Sukesh trapped her. The plea claimed that Jacqueline Fernandez did not commit any offence of money laundering as defined under the scheme of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 20202 and neither was she in possession of proceeds of further said that the complaint by Aditi Singh, wife of former Ranbaxy owner Shivinder Singh, does not allege that the petitioner (Jacqueline Fernandez) in any manner actively aided or abetted the main accused, Sukesh Chandrashekhar, to commit the alleged Delhi Police had charged Chandrasekhar for allegedly duping the spouses of former promoters of Ranbaxy, Shivinder Singh and Malvinder Singh, of Rs 200 crore. There are other ongoing investigations against him in several cases across the and his wife Leena Paulose, facing proceedings in a money laundering case of the ED, were arrested by Delhi Police along with others. The police invoked the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the and Chandrasekhar were alleged to have used hawala routes and created shell companies along with other accused persons to park the money earned as proceeds of crime.- EndsWith inputs from Watch IN THIS STORY#Jacqueline Fernandez
India.com
30-06-2025
- Business
- India.com
Indian pharma giant inks second biggest deal in sector, buys 46.4% stake from US firm for Rs 18000000000, the company is...
(File/Representational) Pharma giant Torrent Pharma has acquired a major stake in JB Chemicals for a whopping Rs 18,000 crore, making it second-biggest deal in the history of India's pharmaceutical sector. Earlier in 2015, Ranbaxy had acquired Sun Pharma for Rs 24,000, which is considered the biggest acquisition deal in the Indian pharma sector. How much stake will Torrent Pharma own in JB Chemicals? As per details, Torrent Pharmaceuticals Ltd, which is owned by Ahmedabad-based Torrent Group, has acquired a 46.4% stake in JB Chemicals from US investment firm KKR, which was the majority stakeholder in the company. The open deal, which makes Torrent Pharma the majority stakeholder in JB Chemicals, is a two-part agreement under which the Indian pharma giant will purchase a 46.4% stake in J.b. Chemicals & Pharma in the first phase. In the second phase, Torrent Pharma plans to purchase another 26% stake in JB Chemicals & Pharma from public shareholders through an open offer. The deal has also boosted Torrent Pharma among India's top five pharma companies. What is JB Chemicals' valuation? As per an official release, Torrent Pharma has acquired a majority stake in JB Chemicals at an equity valuation of Rs 25,689 crore from US-based investment firm KKR, and also purchased around 2.8% equity shares from several employees at Rs 1600 apiece. Torrent Pharma plans to merge JB Chemicals in the second phase of the deal, in which JB Pharma shareholders shares will be traded 51 Torrent Pharma shares for every 100 shares of JB. The current deal is being done at an 11% discount on the share prices of JB Chemical, while an 8.9% discount is applied to the open offer. Earlier, Torrent Pharma had acquired Elder Pharma, Unichem Labs and Curatio, and is now poised to be become India's fifth largest pharma company after the current deal is closed. Biggest deal in pharma sector In 2015, Ranbaxy completed what is considered the biggest deal in the Indian pharma sector, when it acquired Sun Pharma for nearly Rs 24,000 crore.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Mercer County Commission looks at keeping jail bill paid
princeton – Mercer County's share of money from a court settlement against the company making the medication Lipitor is being used to help keep the county's regional jail bill paid until its new budget is prepared. The daily cost of keeping an inmate in West Virginia's regional jail system recently grew from $45.97 to $57.46, an increase of almost $12. To meet the extra cost, the Mercer County Commission met Thursday in special session to see how to pay the county's April jail bill in full. In March, the county's jail bill was $127,474.81. By April, it had grown to $146,985.60, according to county records. 'We had already fixed our budget for the previous year based on the previous rate,' County Commission President Bill Archer said. 'We've already worked on our budget for the coming year, but that increase was not included in it immediately, so now we have to make some adjustments in order to get through this one month and the coming months will be in better shape in terms of that.' On April 30, West Virginia Attorney General J.B. McCuskey announced that cities and counties were sharing nearly $3.5 million from a settlement agreement with Pfizer, Inc., Ranbaxy, Inc. and related companies concerning the cholesterol drug Lipitor. The lawsuit alleged the two companies conspired to delay the introduction of a cheaper generic Lipitor for 20 months. Mercer County received $50,000 from this settlement. Archer said that unlike money from settlements against opioid manufacturers, the counties are not limited by how they can spend it. Archer proposed using that money to help pay the jail bill. 'We can use those to plug a hole immediately, and that's what we decided to do,' Archer said. Commissioners Brian Blankenship and Greg Puckett voted with Archer to use $43,000 of the Lipitor funds to help pay off the April jail bill. Paying the monthly jail bill will be addressed in the new county budget which starts July 1, he said. This new budget will be adjusted with the new daily inmate rate in mind. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@
