| |OCTOBER 20268TOP STORIESAUROBINDO'S 599 ANDAS: BUILDING A CNS DRUG PORTFOLIOUP HOSPITAL BILLS: HOW MEDICINE PRICE GAPS WORK IN TREATMENT PACKAGESCSL-ALENTIS USD 1.6BN BET ON CLAUDIN-1 FOR PSCGOVT EXTENDS IMPORT PRICE CURBS ON TWO PHARMA RAW MATERIALSCSIR-IGIB'S ENGINEERED LC3: CAN AUTOPHAGY BECOME A DRUG?BANGLADESH DENGUE SURGE PUTS INDIA'S QDENGA STRATEGY IN FOCUSAurobindo Pharma's CNS portfolio is gaining depth as the company secures USFDA approval for generic perampanel tablets, adding another epilepsy treatment to its US pipeline. Aurobindo received final approval to manufacture and market six strengths of perampanel, equivalent to Catalyst Pharmaceutical's Fycompa.The US market for perampanel was estimated at USD 67 million for the 12 months ended August 2026, with Aurobindo planning to launch the drug in Q3 FY27. The approval takes Aurobindo's total USFDA Abbreviated New Drug Application (ANDA) approvals to 599, including 574 final approvals, strengthening its position in the generic drug market. POAn inspection by the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (UPFSDA) reveals hospitals sell medicines at prices far above their own purchase costs. Officials inspected 214 hospital pharmacies across medical colleges and private facilities. They analyzed 130 medicines and found 36 with maximum retail prices more than 10 times the purchase price.In extreme cases, the gap reaches 67 times. These differences appear most sharply in injectable drugs used in ICUs and for serious infections. The findings raise direct questions about how such mark-ups enter patient bills and whether any real discounts ever reach families. POLixudebart is emerging as more than a single rare-disease drug after CSL agreed to pay Alentis Therapeutics USD 355 million upfront in a partnership potentially worth up to USD 1.6 billion. The companies will co-develop and co-promote the investigational therapy across rare kidney and liver diseases, with CSL funding specified Phase 2 and Phase 3 development.The deal covers a Phase 2 program in ANCA-associated vasculitis with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (AAV-RPGN), alongside planned studies in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). POThe government extends import price curbs on two pharma raw materials and gives domestic producers a short breathing space. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has prolonged the minimum import price on ATS-8 and Sulfadiazine API until November 30.ATS-8, a key intermediate for the widely used cholesterol drug atorvastatin, carries a floor of USD 111 per kg. Sulfadiazine, used in antibacterial formulations, carries a floor of USD 1,774 per kg. The two-month extension arrives amid continued pressure from low-priced Chinese supplies and questions about whether the safeguard is truly working. POEngineered LC3 could open a new route to programmable autophagy, allowing researchers to increase or suppress the cell's waste-clearance pathway rather than simply observing how it behaves. Researchers from CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (CSIR-IGIB), National Institute of Immunology, Ashoka University and the University of California, Los Angeles have developed LC3 variants that can stabilize autophagy in highly active or inactive states.The work has potential implications for cancer and neurodegenerative diseases. The bigger pharmaceutical question, India's dengue vaccine strategies are gaining relevance as Bangladesh enters October after recording 148 dengue deaths in September, its deadliest month of 2026. Bangladesh has recorded at least 245 dengue deaths and 79,620 hospitalizations since January, with experts warning that recent rainfall and changing weather patterns could sustain transmission through October.For India, the development comes as dengue transmission is increasingly being reported beyond a narrow monsoon window and the country has approved its first dengue vaccine. The focus is therefore shifting from reacting to seasonal outbreaks toward combining surveillance, vector control and vaccination as preventive tools. PO
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