Uzbekistan

CDER manufacturing quality director notes origin of Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act in 1938 is linked to DEG/EG poisoning. FDA says current outbreak in at least seven countries “one of the largest epidemics of DEG and EG poisoning in history.”

Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia with 36 million people. The country has the only plant in Central Asia specializing in insulin production for the treatment of diabetes. Uzbek authorities aim to develop 90 pharma projects worth $1.2bn by 2026.  

Pharmaceutical leaders are responding to the many and varied challenges arising from the war in Ukraine.  

Dr Reddy's is poised to expand its OTC offering in Russia and certain CIS countries by snapping up a basket of allergy brands from fellow Indian firm Glenmark.

Reporting double-digit growth in the first half of 2019, Krka says it has mined marketing opportunities in new eastern European markets by introducing its established treatments for cardiovascular diseases

Various economies of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) are pressing ahead with medtech regulatory changes nationally and/or regionally, which can only be good for the delivery of quality care over the long term. But a question mark still hangs over the official start date of the EAEU medtech regulatory system; a formal postponement may be decided soon.

It's not hard to see why the World Health Organization is reluctant to adopt the term "totally drug resistant" (TDR) to describe the growing number of strains of tuberculosis that seem to be proving unresponsive to any kind of drug therapy.

Valeant Pharmaceuticals has announced two acquisitions in as many days, but is being a little coy as to how much it has spent.

Dr Reddy's Laboratories has called off plans to acquire fellow Indian firm JB Chemicals & Pharmaceuticals' prescription pharmaceutical business in Russia and the CIS.

The World Health Organization is to hold a workshop in October to discuss the lessons learned from the handling of the flu pandemic and how to respond more effectively to such events in future. Topics will include the need for better co-ordination among countries, the purchasing and use of vaccines and antivirals, and the role of the pharmaceutical industry.