Did you know?
- According to estimates, India has nearly 35 million people living with asthma, including children.
- The US is the largest market for pharmaceutical products. According to industry estimates, the US generic market was estimated to be around USD 115.2 billion in 2019.
- Emtricitabine and Tenofovir Disoproxil Fumarate tablets, used for the treatment of HIV -1 infection, have an estimated annual sales of USD 2.1 billion in the US.
- UK government spending on health R&D is the second highest of all 37 countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
- No vaccine manufactured or developed in India has ever received EUA (Emergency Use Authorisation) or full licensure from the USFDA.
- Regulatory approvals for Bharat Biotech's Covaxin is in over 60 countries including the US, Brazil and Hungary while Emergency Use Authorisation has been obtained in 13 nations.
- Ocugen, a Pennsylvania-based eye disease company, is the US partner for Bharat Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine.
- Vaccines against Covid-19 were developed in record time, but we still don't have an HIV vaccine, despite efforts to develop one have been going on for decades.
- Of course, scientists have made huge strides in HIV treatment, transforming what was once a sure death to a manageable condition.
- More people than ever now have access to medications called antiretroviral therapy or ART, which keeps them healthy and unable to transmit HIV to their partners.
- Beyond ART, people at high risk for infection can now get pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a pill taken every day that reduces the risk of infection by 99 percent.
- The human immune system doesn't self cure HIV, whereas what was very clear was the human immune system was quite capable of self curing Covid-19.
- The US pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer expects to earn up to US$26 billion this year from the sale of its COVID-19 vaccine.
- Another American company, Moderna expects to make US$18.4 billion, and record its first ever profit this year.
- Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca have expressed their commitments to sell their vaccines on a non-profit basis.
