20-Apr-16 India's Cipla has renewed its focus on over-the-counter (OTC) products five years after it exited the segment. The company aims to build three-to-five INR1 bn (USD5 mn) brands in five years with the launch of novel products and tapping into the growing health and wellness consciousness amongst the urban population. [image: Business Standard]

20-Apr-16 India's healthcare sector is poised to grow to USD280 bn by 2020, is expected to be a leader in e-health by 2019. It should reach USD160 bn by 2017, accounting for 4.2% of GDP. Indian telemedicine is showing robust growth at approximately 20% and is projected to grow from USD8 mn in 2012 to USD19 mn by 2017. [image: Money Control]

19-Apr-16 The Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued draft rules that establish registration and quality system requirements for medical devices and IVDs distinct from pharmaceutical products. Although the new rules pertain only to manufacturers based in India, they are significant by showing that the government now distinguishes medical devices as a separate industry from pharmaceuticals. [image: Business Today]

14-Apr-16 The Jeddah-based Islamic Development Bank (IDB) has signed a SAR200 mn (USD53 mn) agreement to provide medical care for poor rural people in India, funding 15 mobile health clinics. The money is part of a SAR1 bn fund which will also deploy 60 mobile clinics in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Yemen, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. [image: Arab News]

12-Apr-16 Emerging markets focused bank Standard Chartered has launched five eye care projects costing USD1.6 mn to bring in innovation and strengthen the delivery of eye-care to India by 2019. In India, around 15 million people are thought to be blind, with cataract the most avoidable blindness (63%), followed by refractive error (20%) and glaucoma (5.8%). Yet 80% of blindness is avoidable with the right treatment. [image: Standard Chartered Bank]