Doctors can now prescribe ivermectin to Covid-19 patients, thanks to an order handed down by the Pretoria High Court...
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has registered the Covid-19 Johnson & Johnson vaccine in terms of Section 15(6a) of the Medicines and Related Substance Act 101 of 1965, with conditions...
Being a new virus, Covid-19 has evoked a great deal of uncertainty around which treatments will be beneficial to patients...
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has approved the Section 21 application for Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine...
The South African Police Service (SAPS) this week seized unregistered medicines worth a market value of R126 million at the OR Tambo International Airport...
National medicines regulatory authorities are gatekeepers that protect the public from unnecessary harm from health products. They do so in the best tradition of the injunction to "do no harm"...
Andy Gray 11 Feb 2021
Phase one of vaccine rollout could commence as soon as next week with healthcare workers receiving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine instead of an AstraZeneca jab...
Covid-19 vaccine supplies are available in various parts of the world. But it's clear that distribution is not symmetrical...
Keymanthri Moodley & Theresa Rossouw 10 Feb 2021
The rollout of Covid-19 vaccines in South Africa is viewed with more than a little scepticism...
In putting healthcare in South Africa under the microscope, Covid-19 has exposed many weaknesses inherent in the country's fractured socio-economic environment...
Paul Miller, Issued by Cipla 1 Feb 2021
Since Ivermectin took centre stage as a potential treatment for Covid-19, several questions have been raised around whether a cattle drug should be used on people...
Vinny Naidoo 29 Jan 2021
The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) has given the green light for the controlled use of Ivermectin, a veterinary parasitic drug, for Covid-19 infection management in humans...
In Part 1 of this article, we looked at the legalities of mandatory Covid-19 vaccine policies. Here, we consider whether compulsory testing of employees for the coronavirus is allowed...
Jason Whyte 19 Jan 2021
An extract of seaweed which protects marine plants from disease has been shown in clinical studies to also help block viruses, prevent infections and inhibit the flu...
Issued by Leap Communications 19 Jan 2021
There is a clamour by some people for ivermectin to be approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) to treat Covid-19...
Rufaro Samanga 15 Jan 2021
A portable and cost-effective device that delivers consistently high levels of oxygen to Covid-19 patients and helps keep their lungs from collapsing has been approved by the Sahpra...
South Africa will take delivery of its first million doses of Covid-19 vaccine this month and an additional 500,000 in February from the Serum Institute of India (SII) through its Covax affiliation...
The South African government is hoping to rollout its Covid-19 vaccine programme as early as next month...
SARS-CoV-2 antibody surveys can be used to more accurately estimate how many people in the country have been infected with the virus that causes Covid-19. A few such surveys are underway in South Africa...
James Stent 4 Dec 2020
Cipla recently received regulatory approval for lenalidomide - a lifesaving immunomodulatory drug that activates and increases the number of immune system cells that identify and attack cancer cells - to bring this medication into the South African market at affordable prices...
Issued by Cipla 4 Dec 2020
The ongoing, global Covid-19 pandemic has led to an obvious need for clarity regarding the regulatory approvals that must be satisfied before a vaccine can be rolled out...
Zareenah Rasool, Rui Lopes and Darryl Bernstein 11 Nov 2020
CannAfrica is the lifestyle brand of Labat Healthcare, which is the retail division of the first JSE-listed cannabis company, Labat Africa...
The Minister of Home Affairs in South Africa has issued amendments to the previous travel concessions under Level 1 lockdown, and published the list of high risk countries from which travellers are prohibited, under most circumstances, from entering South Africa...
Ahlisha Yesmariam 6 Oct 2020
The resignation of Professor Mkhululi Lukheli as the head of the Gauteng Department of Health, and revelations by Daily Maverick's investigations team, Scorpio, of billions of rands of unlicensed PPE procurement, have revealed several deep and serious problems in healthcare in the country....
The Covid-19 pandemic caught the country unaware, but several lessons can be drawn from the crisis as we look ahead into implementing the National Health Insurance (NHI)...
This week the University of Oxford and Astra Zeneca temporarily postponed further vaccination in clinical trials of the Covid-19 candidate vaccine, AZD1222, after one of the participants fell ill...
Ina Skosana 11 Sep 2020
A drug used to treat metastatic melanoma and second-line metastatic non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) has been approved for the treatment of bladder cancer and first-line NSCLC by the SAHPRA.
Remdesivir, a medicine which could make a difference in the management of severe Covid-19 disease, is available in South Africa now...
Issued by Cipla 3 Aug 2020
In what is a first for the African continent, South African made ventilators have gone into production and will be ready in a few weeks time...
As doctors, nurses and other hospital staff work tirelessly on the frontlines of the war against Covid-19, R&D teams and legal experts band together to aid the fight in their own way as they offer their skills on the National Ventilator Project...
Shan Radcliffe 14 Jul 2020
Regular cleaning with standard household products is sufficient.
Natasha Bolognesi 7 Jul 2020
Cipla through a landmark agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc., was granted a license to manufacture and distribute the antiviral medicine, remdesivir, in 127 countries, including South Africa...
Issued by Cipla 6 Jul 2020
The first Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial on the continent was announced during a virtual press conference hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits)...
Researchers are racing against time to find ways to treat and prevent Covid-19. There is currently no treatment for the disease, and the World Health Organisation has created Solidarity, a global clinical trial which is testing four drugs as possible treatment...
Sheetal Soni 25 May 2020
Currently, South Africa is one of only three African countries that permit the cultivation of medical cannabis. A licence for cannabis production can be obtained, but the processes for its provision are stringent...
Rui Lopes and Darryl Bernstein 21 Apr 2020
With South Africa having one of the highest rates of tuberculosis (TB) worldwide, coupled with equally high statistics of people living with HIV (PLHIV), two of the biggest issues in reducing both these numbers are access and adherence to medication...
Issued by Cipla 6 Apr 2020
The world has changed significantly with the outbreak of the coronavirus (Covid-19), and the pandemic is having significant repercussions globally...
Issued by Cipla 26 Mar 2020
At a time when South Africa desperately needs some good news, Cipla's upgraded Mirren facility will not only be able to meet the high demand of critical medical needs but also help grow the beleaguered economy...
Issued by Cipla 23 Mar 2020
Thanks to the efforts of the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) with their Backlog clearance project which launched in August 2019, considerable progress has been made in terms of the number of applications to register new medication...
Issued by Cipla 11 Mar 2020
Almost all parents can attest to the struggle experienced at mealtimes - think aeroplane noises and bribery - to get an infant or toddler to just eat their veggies...
Issued by Cipla 6 Mar 2020
Opinions differ on how to regulate electronic cigarettes. But dozens of countries are taking action. In Africa, Kenya already taxes these products, and South Africa is preparing to follow...
Laura Rossouw 6 Feb 2020
In addition to studying and understanding the nature and effect of drugs, their action, contraindication and performance, it is also necessary for pharmacists and pharmacy students to have a comprehensive understanding of the law as it applies to the dispensing of medicines...
Issued by LexisNexis 20 Dec 2019
Whether it's a remedy for the common cold or sophisticated drugs to treat cancer, all medicines go through a very costly and lengthy research process before being approved for prescription to patients...
The South African Police Service (SAPS) has warned that the establishment of illegal dispensaries/outlets, online sites and social media platforms for marketing and selling cannabis and related products to the public remains illegal...
On a frigid September morning in Mkumbi, a remote village in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, 63-year-old Sizane Nompethu rose at dawn and walked at a brisk pace down a rocky path to work her family's small plot of land, just as she had every day since she was 15...
Christopher Clark 7 Oct 2019
The African Cannabis Report (March 2019) by Prohibition Partners has estimated that in 2023 the total market value of South African cannabis industry will be around $1.8 billion (assuming there is wholesale legislation and regulation of the cannabis industry)...
Romeo Tsusi 26 Jun 2019
Until a week ago, CBD, the active non-psychoactive ingredient within cannabis which cannot make users high, was considered a scheduled substance in terms of the schedules to the Medicines Act...
Megan Adderley, Rodney Africa, Adriano Esterhuizen & Deerah Pillay-Lungoomiah 3 Jun 2019
Government's National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme represents a substantial policy shift to restructure healthcare and secure universal health coverage for all South Africans...
Cipla has launched its new triple-combination ARV treatment for HIV in South Africa...
Issued by Cipla 30 Nov 2018
Recent media reports revealed that digital home pregnancy tests being sold at leading pharmacies in South Africa and the UK were consistently giving false positive results...
Glenda Mary Davison 30 Oct 2018