Coronary Stents

WHO classifies EG.5 strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus as 'variant of interest'

The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified the EG.5 strain of the SARS-CoV-2 virus circulating in different parts of the world, including India, as a "variant of interest" but said it did not seem to pose more of a threat to public health than other strains. EG.5 or Eris variant of SARS-CoV-2 was first reported on February 17 this year, and designated as a variant under monitoring (VUM) on July 19. In its latest risk evaluation on Wednesday, the WHO designated EG.5 and its sub-lineages as a variant of interest (VOI). Variants are broadly categorised into three categories: (1) "variants of interest," (2) "variants of concern" and (3) "variants of high consequence. According to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), VOIs are defined as variants with specific genetic markers that have been associated with changes that may cause enhanced transmissibility or virulence, reduction in neutralisation by antibodies obtained through natural infection or vaccination. EG.5 is a ..

Coronary stents may become more affordable, NPPA to decide price

The Union health ministry has notified the inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines, 2022, a move that will help make these life-saving medical devices more affordable. The move is based on the recommendations by an expert committee constituted to review the inclusion of stents in the list based on requirement. The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) will now fix the price of coronary stents. On November 6, the Standing National Committee on Medicines (SNCM) had submitted its recommendation for inclusion of coronary stents in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM), 2022 in two categories -- Bare Metal Stents (BMS) and Drug Eluting Stents (DES) which include metallic DES and bioresorbable vascular scaffold (VBS)/biodegradable stents. According to minutes of the SNCM meeting, vice chairman Dr Y K Gupta stated that coronary stents were earlier included in NLEM, 2015 through a separate notification based on the recommendations of an

'Asthma is absent among top Covid-19 risk factors'

There's been a run on inhalers, and coronavirus patients like the actor Idris Elba have openly worried about their asthma.

Drug pricing regulator NPPA okays hike in prices of cardiac stents by 4.2%

A coronary stent is a tube-shaped device placed in the arteries that supplies blood to the heart

Govt bars Abbott from withdrawing stent to maintain uninterrupted supply

Last month Abbott globally withdrew its bioresorbable stent Absorb citing commercial reasons

Govt asks stent makers to maintain supply of coronary stents

Govt invoked powers of section 3 (i) of the Drug Prices Control Order, 2013 to ensure adequate availability of stents

After stent, NPPA starts process to cap other medical devices

After capping coronary stents, the National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) gears up for price control of other medical devices. The NPPA met intra-ocular lens manufacturers today to discuss the matter. They will subsequently meet orthopaedic implant manufacturers this week. Both these category of devices are under the radar of the pricing regulator to bring it under price control.Capping prices of coronary stents was the first move in slashing prices of medical devices. In February this year, the pricing regulator slashed the prices of coronary stents by 85%.This event brought about a change in the thinking of the medical device manufacturers. The CEO of a multi-national device maker said, "The price cap on coronary stents shook us." "The NPPA brought down the price of stents by 85% in one go. We would rather opt for self- regulation than having the NPPA reduce prices like this," he said.The domestic manufacturers of medical devices have written to the Department of ...

Kerala govt to buy stents for hospital supply

State is in the process of collecting data from various quarters to assess the demand for stents

Coronary stents prices slashed by 85%: Govt tells Delhi HC

Drug-eluting stents and bio-resorbable scaffold stents now capped at Rs 29,600