Mumbai, May 20 (IANS) Multinational pharmaceutical company Zydus Lifesciences Limited on Tuesday reported a 0.96 per cent decline in net profit to Rs 1,170.9 crore for the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY25, from Rs 1,182.3 crore in the same quarter last fiscal (Q4 FY25). The company’s total expenses in Q4 rose by approximately 13.86 per cent to Rs 4,716.9 crore from Rs 4,143.2 crore in the same quarter last fiscal, according to its stock exchange filing.For the full financial year, total expenses increased to Rs 17,264.7 crore in FY25 from Rs 15,008.4 crore in FY24 — a rise of about 15.04 per cent.However, revenue from operations rose nearly 18 per cent to Rs 6,527.9 crore in Q4, compared to Rs 5,533.8 crore in Q4FY24.The board of Zydus has recommended a final dividend of Rs 11 per equity share for FY25.”The dividend is subject to shareholder approval at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM) scheduled for August 12. The record date for the dividend is July 25, and payment is expected on or around August 14,” the company said in its regulatory filing.Zydus posted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of Rs 2,126 crore for the same quarter.For the full financial year, the Ahmedabad-headquartered firm recorded a 19 per cent rise in revenue from operations to Rs 23,241.5 crore.Its adjusted net profit rose 23 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to Rs 4,745.1 crore. The company’s investments in research and development stood at Rs 1,855.5 crore, accounting for 8 per cent of its revenues, while its organic capital expenditure reached Rs 1,214 crore.Zydus Managing Director Dr. Sharvil Patel said the company ended FY25 on a strong note, with all business segments exceeding growth expectations.He added that the success of their product portfolio and operational efficiency boosted profitability.He also noted progress in their differentiated product pipeline and long-term capabilities.–IANSpk/vd

Patna, May 20 (IANS) In a shocking incident that has drawn outrage across Bihar, a patient at Nalanda Medical College and Hospital (NMCH) – the second-largest government hospital in Patna – had all five fingers bitten by rats while asleep post-surgery.

Following the horrific incident, former Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav took to the social media platform X on Tuesday and criticised Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Health Minister Mangal Pandey.He shared a video of the injured patient and condemned what he described as “gross negligence and collapse of the health system.”“A disabled patient admitted in Patna’s NMCH was in deep sleep when rats nibbled his fingers. Just a few days ago, a deceased’s eye was eaten by rats in the same hospital. Yet no action has been taken,” Tejashwi posted.He claimed that the health reforms implemented during his 17-month tenure as Health Minister have been reversed.“The Health Minister Mangal Pandey, who is secretly projecting himself as the RSS/BJP’s Chief Minister candidate, has destroyed the improvements we made in the Health Department,” Tejashwi stated.He further mocked the state administration, saying: “The unconscious Chief Minister will soon be shown a presentation claiming the patient’s fingers weren’t bitten by rats but by a state-of-the-art robotic surgical machine. And then, as always, the Chief Minister will say – “All this happened before 2005?”The victim, Awadesh Prasad, an elderly resident of Nalanda district, had recently undergone surgery and was recovering in the hospital when the attack by rodents on Sunday.The family and eyewitnesses have alleged that despite repeated complaints about the presence of rats, no concrete action was taken by hospital authorities.The horrific episode has once again spotlighted the dire state of hospital hygiene and management in the state.Recently, rats also nibbled the eye of a deceased patient in the hospital morgue. Despite the public outcry, no accountability was fixed, and hospital sanitation remains severely compromised.NMCH is yet to issue a formal response, and there is no confirmation of disciplinary action against any official or staff involved.–IANSajk/dan

Jamshedpur, May 20 (IANS) In a tragic incident, two young men drowned while bathing in…

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday condoled the passing of eminent nuclear scientist Dr. MR Srinivasan.Srinivasan passed away in Tamil Nadu’s Udhagamandalam on Tuesday. He was 95.In a post shared on social media platform X, PM Modi hailed Srinivasan as a “stalwart of India’s nuclear energy programme”.“Deeply saddened by the passing of Dr. MR Srinivasan, a stalwart of India’s nuclear energy program. His instrumental role in developing critical nuclear infrastructure has been foundational to our being self-reliant in the energy sector,” the post said.“He is remembered for his inspiring leadership of the Atomic Energy Commission. India will always be grateful to him for advancing scientific progress and mentoring many young scientists. My thoughts are with his family and friends in this sad hour. Om Shanti,” it added.Srinivasan was a key architect of India’s civil nuclear energy programme. His career in the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) spanned over five decades, beginning in September 1955.His tenure saw remarkable expansion: 18 nuclear power units were developed under his guidance — seven became operational, seven were under construction, and four remained in the planning phase.Earlier Prime Minister Modi also condoled the passing of noted astrophysicist Dr. Jayant Narlikar, who died aged 87 in Pune on Tuesday. PM Modi called his passing away “a monumental loss to the scientific community”.“He was a luminary, especially in the field of astrophysics. His pioneering works, especially key theoretical frameworks will be valued by generations of researchers,” PM Modi, shared in a post on X.Narlikar “made a mark as an institution builder, grooming centres of learning and innovation for young minds. His writings have also gone a long way in making science accessible to common citizens. Condolences to his family and friends in this hour of grief. Om Shanti,” he added.The noted astronomer and science writer Narlikar received the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour — India’s third-highest civilian award — at 26. Later, in 2004, he received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.–IANSrvt/

Geneva, May 20 (IANS) In a historic move, the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday formally adopted the world’s first Pandemic Agreement, after three years of negotiations.The Agreement, adopted by consensus by member countries of the WHO at the ongoing 78th World Health Assembly, aims to bridge global healthcare gaps and inequities in case of future pandemics.Amid the Covid-19 outbreak, which killed millions of people worldwide, the WHO Member States in December 202`1 established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to draft and negotiate a convention, agreement, or other international instrument, under the WHO Constitution, to strengthen pandemic prevention, preparedness, and response.After 13 formal rounds of meetings, nine of which were extended, and many informal and intersessional negotiations on various aspects of the draft agreement, the proposal was finalised in April this year.The Pandemic Agreement aims to prepare governments for future pandemics following the Covid-19 outbreak, which killed millions of people between the years of 2020 and 2022.“The world is safer today thanks to the leadership, collaboration, and commitment of our Member States to adopt the historic WHO Pandemic Agreement,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.“The Agreement is a victory for public health, science and multilateral action. It will ensure we, collectively, can better protect the world from future pandemic threats. It is also a recognition by the international community that our citizens, societies, and economies must not be left vulnerable to again suffer losses like those endured during Covid-19,” Ghebreyesus added.The WHO Pandemic Agreement is the second international legal agreement negotiated under Article 19 of the WHO Constitution, the first being the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which was adopted in 2003 and entered into force in 2005.The resolution includes launching a process to draft and negotiate a Pathogen Access and Benefit Sharing System (PABS) through an Intergovernmental Working Group (IGWG).Once the Assembly adopts the PABS annex, the WHO Pandemic Agreement will then be open for signature and consideration of ratification, including by national legislative bodies. After 60 ratifications, the Agreement will enter into force.According to the Agreement, pharmaceutical manufacturers participating in the PABS system will play a key role in equitable and timely access to pandemic-related health products by making available to WHO “rapid access targeting 20 per cent of their real-time production of safe, quality and effective vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for the pathogen causing the pandemic emergency.”The distribution of these products to countries will be carried out based on public health risk and need, with particular attention to the needs of developing countries, the WHO said.–IANSrvt/

Chennai, May 20 (IANS) Amid evolving workplaces, young professionals in India are increasingly experiencing stress and mental well-being, according to a new report on Tuesday.The report by ADP, a global technology company, highlights the shifting emotional landscape of work, where generational differences in stress levels are increasingly evident.The report showed that young professionals (aged 27-39) have the highest stress levels, with 11 per cent saying they experience high stress, above the national average of 9 per cent. Just 51 per cent of workers aged 18-26 reported better stress management.On the other, older workers (aged 55-64) reported better stress management, with 81 per cent saying they feel stress less than once a week.Work overload was found as the major trigger for younger employees — 16 per cent of those aged 18-26 report stress due to heavy workloads, twice as many as their older counterparts aged between 55to 64 (8 per cent).Further, 67 per cent reported being judged for using flexible working arrangements, while 65 per cent said they are being monitored at work, which may intensify feelings of pressure.“These findings reveal how today’s workforce, particularly younger professionals, are navigating a complex and emotionally demanding work environment. The impact of stress and the feeling of being judged or closely monitored highlight the need for organisations to create a more supportive environment for their employees,” said Rahul Goyal, Managing Director of ADP India and Southeast Asia.While overall stress levels among Indian employees have decreased slightly, from 12 per cent in 2023 to 9 per cent in 2024, the percentage of employees who feel they are thriving at their jobs has declined slightly from 22 per cent in 2023 to 20 per cent in 2024.“Offering flexibility is just one part of the solution — what truly matters is building a culture of trust, empathy, and psychological safety. By prioritising employees’ mental well-being, companies can foster a healthier, more engaged, and productive workforce,” Goyal said.–IANSrvt/

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) With media reports citing cases of Covid-19 infections surging in Southeast Asia, bringing fresh fears about the disease that affected millions of people and the global economy, health experts on Tuesday dismissed them as seasonal trends of flu.As per media reports, the weekly Covid-19 infections in Singapore surged by 28 per cent from 11,100 in late April to 14,200 in the first week of May, with hospitalisations also rising 30 per cent.Hong Kong recorded 31 virus-related deaths in the week ending May 3, the city’s highest weekly toll in a year. New infections in Hong Kong rose to 1,042 in the week ending May 10, up from 972 the previous week.“Rising Covid cases in Southeast Asia are attributed to seasonal trends of flu cases. Most of the cases are mild and do not need any hospitalisation,” Dr. Harshal R Salve, Additional professor at, the Centre for Community Medicine at AIIMS, New Delhi, told IANS.India also is seeing a slight uptick in cases. A review held on Monday by the Ministry of Health concluded that the current situation in India is “under control,” with just 257 active cases reported nationwide as of May 19.“Covid-19 is a cyclical disease, which means that cases will rise every few months. The intervals can range from six to nine months. As with other Asian countries, we are seeing Covid cases in India too. But they are not overwhelming hospitals and are not any more severe than they used to be. In fact, most cases are so mild, they are being treated as outpatient,” said Dr. Rajeev Jayadevan, Convener, Research Cell, Kerala State IMA.“Due to widespread immunity due to prior vaccination and from surviving past infections, Covid-19 is no longer the destructive force it used to be. There is no indication of any major genetic shift having occurred in the virus that could alter the character of the disease it causes,” he added.China and Thailand have also reported a notable increase in new infections. The surge is being largely attributed to the spread of new Omicron subvariants, including JN.1 and its related descendants — LF.7 and NB.1.8, which make up over two-thirds of sequenced cases.The increase in cases may also be attributed to waning immunity, with periodic waves being anticipated.While the cases reported so far are generally mild in severity, “the outcome also depends on the host. For instance, infection in a frail elderly individual could lead to more severe outcomes,” Jayadevan said.The experts urged cough hygiene and cleanliness to fight the virus.“When cases rise, it’s important to take more precautions than usual. Wearing masks in crowded closed spaces will be helpful. Those who have a fever should stay home and avoid mingling with others,” Jayadevan said.Meanwhile, the health ministry assured that the country has a robust system for surveillance of respiratory viral illnesses, including Covid also exists in the country through the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP) and ICMR.–IANSrvt/

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) The virus responsible for mpox (formerly known as Monkeypox) was circulating for about eight years ago in West Africa before the 2022 global outbreak, according to a study.The study, published in the journal Nature, highlights the need for improved global surveillance and medicines, given the threat of impending pandemics. Using genomic tracing, the researchers estimate that the virus’s ancestor first emerged in southern Nigeria in August 2014 and spread to 11 states before human infections were detected in 2017. “We could have very easily prevented the 2022 multi-country outbreak if countries in Africa were given better access to therapeutics, vaccines, and surveillance technologies,” said Edyth Parker, from the Kristian Andersen Lab at Scripps Research. Because the virus involved in the 2022 outbreak had an unexpected number of genetic mutations, scientists thought that mpox might have been circulating in Nigeria for much longer than expected. However, due to a lack of genomic data, it was unclear when and where the virus had first emerged, and what had driven its emergence. To understand, the team analysed 118 viral genomes from human mpox cases that occurred in Nigeria and Cameroon between 2018 and 2023. All of the sequences were identified as Clade IIb — the mpox strain endemic to West Africa. They found that most of the viral samples from Nigeria were the result of human-to-human transmission (105/109), while the remaining four were caused by zoonotic spillover. In contrast, all nine mpox samples from Cameroon were derived from isolated zoonotic spillover events. “Mpox is no longer just a zoonotic virus in Nigeria; this is very much a human virus,” Parker said. “But the fact that there’s ongoing zoonotic transmission means there’s also a continual risk of re-emergence.” Further, the study estimated that the ancestor of the human-transmitting mpox virus emerged in animals in November 2013 and first entered the human population in southern Nigeria in August 2014. It also showed that southern Nigeria was the main source of subsequent cases of human mpox: though the virus spread throughout Nigeria, continual human-to-human transmission only occurred in the country’s south. Two of the zoonotically transmitted viral samples from southern Nigeria were related to the Cameroonian viruses, suggesting that viruses are traveling across the border. Overall, the study shows the importance of better access to diagnostics, vaccines, and therapeutics in Africa, the researchers said. –IANSrvt/

New Delhi, May 20 (IANS) While patients with psoriasis — a chronic skin condition — respond well to treatment with biologics, inflammation can linger, leading to broader health implications such as obesity and cardiovascular and fatty liver disease, according to a study.Psoriasis, with its systemic inflammatory nature, high risk of cardiovascular disease, and frequent use of biologic drugs, could provide a valuable framework for studying residual inflammation.The study, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, could lead to more targeted and effective treatments that address the systemic aspects of psoriasis, beyond just the skin.”Despite excellent control of skin disease, a substantial percentage of psoriasis patients demonstrate residual systemic inflammation,” said Joel M. Gelfand, Department of Dermatology, at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, US.”These findings emphasise that just treating the skin signs of psoriatic disease is not sufficient, and patients often need additional approaches to lowering systemic inflammation,” Gelfand added.For the observational study, the team assessed residual inflammation in 209 psoriasis patients across three international cohorts (Spain, the US, and Sweden) who had achieved a no or mild psoriasis on stable biologic therapy.They found that residual inflammation was present in 36.3 per cent of these patients and was significantly linked to higher body mass index (BMI), metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), increased baseline systemic inflammation, and greater adipose tissue.”The findings underscore a critical unmet need to address the systemic inflammatory burden beyond skin symptoms in psoriasis, potentially requiring interventions targeting obesity and metabolic dysfunction to improve overall patient outcomes,” said lead investigator Álvaro González-Cantero, from the Department of Dermatology at Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal in Spain.The researchers suggest a more intensive cardiovascular risk assessment and management of psoriasis patients.This could involve closer monitoring of inflammatory markers like high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, as well as parameters related to liver health, by integrating lifestyle modifications or weight management strategies, potentially leading to earlier detection and intervention for associated comorbidities, the team said, while also calling for further studies to confirm the findings.–IANSrvt/

Geneva, May 20 (IANS) The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) opened in Geneva, Switzerland, under the theme “One World for Health.”Addressing the opening ceremony, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said every WHA is significant, but this year’s gathering is particularly historic as member states are expected to consider and potentially adopt the pandemic agreement, Xinhua news agency reported.Tedros also called on member states to approve the next round of assessed contribution increases to help ensure the WHO’s long-term financial sustainability and independence.Lei Haichao, head of China’s National Health Commission and leader of the Chinese delegation, delivered a statement during the general debate Monday, highlighting China’s active engagement in global health cooperation.He also said that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and the WHA has long made clear decisions not to include in its agenda a so-called proposal on Taiwan’s participation in the annual assembly as an observer.The remarks made by a small number of countries concerning Taiwan disrupted the agenda and went against the will of the international community, he noted, adding that China urges these countries to stop interfering in its internal affairs.A major focus of this year’s assembly is the deliberation of the much-anticipated pandemic agreement. The WHO announced on April 16 that, following more than three years of intensive negotiations, member states have reached a consensus on a draft of the agreement.Delegates will also review the 2024 results report and deliberate on around 75 agenda items covering a wide range of topics, including the health and care workforce, antimicrobial resistance, health emergencies, polio and climate change, among other issues.Sustainable financing is another key issue. The Assembly is expected to discuss the proposed program budget for 2026-2027, which may be reduced from $5.3 billion to $4.267 billion dollars, alongside efforts to refocus priorities, strengthen core functions, and enhance organisational efficiency.The World Health Assembly is the WHO’s highest decision-making body and is typically held every May in Geneva. Its main responsibilities include setting organisational policies and reviewing and approving the program budget. This year’s Assembly is scheduled to conclude on May 27.–IANSint/rs