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Eco/Invest/Demography

Immunotherapy drugs are riskier for treatment of cancer patients, study suggests

The researchers found that patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors had a higher risk of heart problems compared to those who were not being treated in this way. Within six months of starting treatment, patients with lung cancer on PD1 inhibitors had double the risk of heart problems; malignant melanoma patients had a 4.3-fold increased risk if they were being treated with PD1 inhibitors and a nearly five-fold risk if they were receiving the CTLA-4 inhibitor.

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India’s population is stabilising as total fertility rate declines across states

Of the 17 states analysed in the NFHS-5 data, except for Bihar, Manipur and Meghalaya, all other states have a TFR of 2.1 or less, which implies that most states have attained replacement level fertility.The first set of findings from the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), conducted in 2019-20 were released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India on Saturday, December 12th, four years after the last survey (NFHS-4, 2015-16).

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Global litigation financiers plan India entry to target company disputes

The concept of litigation finance is widely prevalent in Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States where such financiers pay legal fees and other costs of commercial lawsuits, arbitration or shareholder disputes and in return get a share of the award from a settlement or a win.
Some of the world’s top litigation financiers like Australia’s Omni Bridgeway and a unit of U.S. insurance broker Marsh Inc plan to tap the Indian market by funding the legal costs of disputes that embroil companies, executives told Reuters.

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.Rs 20L-Cr pandemic package:Barely 10% disbursed, says RTI

He pointed out that the worst-hit sectors include all industries in the manufacturing sectors, the hospitality and tourism industry, the media and affiliated sectors, and the unorganized sectors.

“Besides over 6 crore MSMEs and SMEs have shut down, resulting in more than 15-crore people losing jobs, against a handful of persons who remain unaffected by the pandemic lockdown,” Sarda pointed out.

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Covid-19 vaccines raise hope for cancer, throw open new field of medicine

Now, with one vaccine vaccine having gained U.S. clearance and the other close behind, the pandemic validation could wrench open a whole new field of medicine.

“We are now entering the age of mRNA therapeutics,” said Derrick Rossi, a former Harvard University stem-cell biologist who helped found Moderna in 2010. “The whole world has seen this. There is going to be increased investment and increased resources.”

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Historic U.S. COVID vaccine campaign launches with convoy of trucks

The federal government plans to release the nation’s first 2.9 million doses to 64 states, U.S. territories and major cities, as well as five federal agencies. Although the federal government is coordinating distribution efforts, states have the final decision over who gets the first shots. The federal government is sending the first shipments to more than 600 locations.

Companies in a range of industries are lobbying state and federal officials to give priority to their workers in the line of millions waiting for the vaccine and a return to life free from the fear of the deadly illness.

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Aon re-enters India,acquires 49% stake in Narayan Murthy’s Anviti Insurance Brokers

Aon which earlier had a similar joint venture with Prabodh Thaker’s Global Insurance Brokers had withdrawn from the JV three years back and has been mostly operating through Anviti Insurance Brokers, which was set up in 2017, for servicing its Indian clients,

The Indian regulations requires a international insurance brokers to wait for two years before they can re-enter the country’s insurance market.  

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