Manufacturer Novartis recalled 21,000 doses of the meningitis C vaccine as a precautionary step.

Novartis said that it had discovered traces of Staphylococcus Aureus in the aluminium hydroxide solvent in which the vaccine is suspended, during tests on other vials - made at the same time - which had as an experiment been sent by air, rather than by road as they were to Britain. The Staphylococcus Aureus bacterium is associated with blood poisoning and skin infections.

Washington, Feb 26: Ranbaxy Laboratories, India's largest drug manufacturer, manipulated data and laboratory tests for generic drugs that had been approved for sale in the United States at its Himachal Pradesh facility, the US Food and Drug Administration has said.

The FDA disclosure marks completion of the first phase of a probe it had begun soon after Japanese drug major Daiichi Sankyo entered into an agreement with Ranbaxy's promoters to acquire majority shares in the company for over four billion dollars, becoming Daiichi subsidiary in November 2008.

US, Japan and the UK, the largest pharmaceutical markets, are fast losing sheen for many Indian drugmakers.

The stock of Dr Reddy's (DRL) has fallen 8% in the past month to Rs 397.90 per share compared with a 1.7% increase in the BSE Sensex.

New Delhi, Feb. 24 : The US-based Nostrum Pharmaceuticals has obtained worldwide licensing rights from the Indian-based Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH), to develop and commercialise Caerulomycin A, and its proprietary derivatives and analogues for their novel indication and immunosuppression.

IMTECH is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),

Significance of the deal lies in potential of Caerulomycin to develop into a blockbuster drug to be used to prevent organ transplantation rejection and diseases such as certain autoimmune disorders where immunosuppression is the key to the mitigation of the symptoms.

MSD India, a wholly-owned subsidiary of US drug maker Merck & Co, has revealed its plans to hire 300 people by December end this year.

The new hiring will be spread across all areas of its operations.

Presently, the company has staff strength of about 700 employees, which it wants to raise to 1000 by end of this year.

Apart from latest revealed move, the company is also looking to expand its presence in the Indian market, where it intends to introduce more vaccines.