ESSENTIAL DRUGS

At $1-2 a month

The cost of providing a basic set of 201 essential medicines including analgesics, TB, HIV or malaria drugs, insulin or cancer medicines to all people in low- and middle-income countries could be as little as $1-2 per person per month, according to an analysis of the cost of providing a basket of essential medicines by The Lancet Commission on Essential Medicines. However, one in five countries spend less than this, demonstrating the urgent need for additional financing to meet basic health-care needs, a note from the journal said. At the same time, another set spends at least 8 times this amount on medicines, highlighting the massive inequity and inefficiencies that restrict access to medicines.

STROKE DEVICE

USFDA clears device

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved the Amplatzer PFO Occluder device that reduces the risk of a stroke in patients who have had a stroke caused by a blood clot that passing through a small hole in the heart, called a patent foramen ovale (PFO), travelled to the brain. The device provides a non-surgical method for doctors to close a PFO, an FDA note said, adding that patients need to be evaluated carefully by a neurologist and cardiologist to rule out other known causes of stroke and help ensure that PFO closure with the device is likely to assist in reducing the risk of a recurrent stroke.

CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY

Drug workshop in Europe

A workshop on the scientific and regulatory challenges of innovative cancer immunotherapy medicines based on genetically modified T-cells (white blood cells that normally fight viruses and bacteria) will take place at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on November 15-16. The workshop aims to facilitate a dialogue with medicine developers from industry and academia on current scientific developments, regulatory requirements for product manufacture and clinical development of these medicines.

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