In yet another move that would help tide over the oxygen shortage in Karnataka, a total of 34,200 kilograms of Zeolite, a key component in production of oxygen, reached the Bengaluru airport from Rome via two Air India cargo flights on Sunday morning.
Category: India, Records
** Oxygen Express piloted by ‘All female crew’ reaches Bengaluru
An Oxygen Express train piloted by an ‘All Female Crew’ arrived in the city with 120 metric tonnes of medical oxygen from Jamshedpur.
“The 7th Oxygen Express to Karnataka has arrived in Bengaluru from Tatanagar (Jamshedpur) on Friday. This Oxygen Express train piloted by an all female crew will ensure continued supply of oxygen for COVID-19 patients in the State,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted on Saturday.
** 40 U.K. docs of Mysuru origin join telemedicine initiative
Details of ‘COVID-19 Mitra’ shared with Centre, says DC, after participating in PM’s video conference on pandemic situation
More than 40 doctors of Mysuru origin settled in the United Kingdom have joined the telemedicine initiative launched by the Mysuru district administration for the treatment of COVID-19 patients in home isolation.
** IISc start-up gets regulatory approvals for new COVID-19 test
A COVID-19 test developed by PathShodh Healthcare, a start-up incubated at the Society for Innovation and Development (SID), Indian Institute of Science (IISc),has received the license to manufacture the test for sale from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO).
The test is touted to be the first-of-its-kind, semi-quantitative electrochemical ELISA test for COVID-19 IgM and IgG antibodies, received the licence after due diligence validation at the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, as per the requirements of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), an IISc release said.
** Anti-Covid-19 drug: Mysuru-based firm makes a breakthrough
Dr B H Manjunath, managing director, DRM Innovations, said that four drugs against human anti-SARS-CoV-2 have been discovered and are under the trials.
** Khoday Group releases ayurvedic drug for Covid treatment
‘ViraNorm’ is currently being tested on about 250 Covid patients in Victoria and other hospitals. ViraNorm, developed in association with Althea DRF and Lifesciences, has completed the third stage of the trial.
** Dharwad firm to manufacture Sputnik V
Dharwad-based Shilpa Biologicals Private Limited (SBPL) will manufacture Sputnik V vaccine at its production centre in Belur Industrial Area, near Dharwad.
It will be among the first production units of the Russian vaccine in India.
SBPL is an arm of Shilpa Medicare, one of the top suppliers of drugs in the country, established in 1987 in Raichur.
Sputnik V has been developed by the Gamaleya National Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology of Russia.
Indian pharmaceutical company Dr Reddy’s Laboratory entered into a partnership with Russian Direct Investment Fund for the vaccine in India.
** Volunteers from around the world rally to help tackle COVID-19 in Karnataka
Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute 1992 batch doctors liaise with volunteer groups to offer services
Doctors living across the world — all alumni of the Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute (BMCRI) from the 1992 batch — have now banded together with a coalition of volunteer groups to offer end-to-end COVID-19 management for patients in Karnataka, particularly in Bengaluru.
While the Karnataka COVID-19 Volunteers Team (KCVT), with over 500 members, has set up a helpline (080-47166115) which counsels patients, refers them to doctors for tele-consultation, helps in home management and to find hospital beds, Mercy Mission is operating two COVID-19 care centres and has a tie-up with the HBS Hospital in Shivajinagar for critical care. While the helpline and tele-consultation with doctors is available for patients across the State, other on ground facilities are in the city.
** IISc. vaccine, DRDO drug and OxyCare system are game changers: Sudhakar
he Health Minister visited DRDO facilities in the city on Friday
Health and Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar reviewed ongoing efforts at Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), which is developing a vaccine for COVID-19, and Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) that has developed a drug that prevents viral growth and a better oxygen management system. He hailed them as “game changers in the fight against COVID-19”.
Dr. Sudhakar visited DRDO facilities in the city on Friday where scientists appraised him of progress on 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG) drug they are developing in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad. “Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence,” DRDO scientists said.
He was also apprised of the OxyCare system, an intelligent oxygen management system that reduces exposure of healthcare providers by eliminating manual adjustments to oxygen flow. The PM-CARES Fund will procure 1.5 lakh units of Oxycare System at a cost of ₹322.5 crore. It will be deployed across the country, DRDO scientists said.
** Mysuru-based firm develops drugs to fight Covid
At a time when the Covid second wave is raging, a Mysuru-based company has developed a new set of drugs to combat the Coronavirus, and the advantage is that these drugs can be administered orally. DRM Innovations, has used artificial intelligence to develop the drug. A team of specialists, led by Dr Manjunath B H, MD of DRM,
Dr Basappa, Chairman, Laboratory of Chemical Biology, Department of Studies in Organic Chemistry, University of Mysore, and Prof Mahesh PA, Department of Respiratory Medicine, JSS Medical College and Hospital, has developed the drugs.