New Delhi : The Supreme Court Monday dismissed Swiss pharmaceutical chain Novartis AG’s petition seeking patent protection for its anti-cancer drug, Glivec (Imatinib mesylate).

The apex court bench of Justices Aftab Alam and Ranjana Prakash Desai dismissed with cost Novartis’ plea challenging the Intellectual Property Appellate Board’s decision declining the plea for patent of the drug that is used in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia and malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumours.

The patent right for the drug was denied to Novartis in 2006 by the Chennai-based Intellectual Property Appellate Board.

The legal battle for the patent of the blood cancer drug is being closely watched by international pharmaceutical firms. Novartis had been fighting a prolonged legal case for the patent of Glivec, a cost effective drug.

Winning such a patent would have barred Indian firms from manufacturing generic drugs.

Thiruvananthapuram: Functioning of state run hospitals and Public Health Centres in Kerala was badly hit today following a one-day strike by a section of government doctors to protest against alleged political interference in hospital matters. Kerala government Medical Officers Association president O S Syam Sundar said their demand was to revoke transfer of the Cherthala Taluk Hospital Superintendent, an action which amounted to ‘political intervention’ and cannot be justified. ‘We have also decided to launch a state-wide non-cooperation strike from tomorrow and doctors will not attend meetings convened by the government and District Medical Officers’, he said.

The doctors would boycott VIP duties and all works outside the hospitals, he said. The doctors are attending to emergency and causalities services today and would do it tomorrow also, he said. Dr Ramya was transferred last month allegedly after a
rift with the Local Municipal Chairperson.

Ahmedabad: Indians living in urban areas are increasingly becoming overweight or obese, a survey has found.

Kochi state has the highest number of overweight people at 46 per cent followed by Bangalore (43 per cent) in Karnataka and Ahmedabad (42 per cent), Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

However, residents in India’s largest metro, Mumbai, has the lowest rate of overweight people at 27 per cent.

The overweight population is found to be suffering from hypertension, heart diseases, sleep apnea, heart burn and joint pains.

The survey was conducted by AC Nielsen across Delhi, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Mumbai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Cochin.

London: Gorging on junk food thrice a week may lower immunity in kids, raising their risk of asthma and eczema, according to an international study.

Scientists fear the high saturated fat levels may weaken children’s immune system.

A research project involving more than 50 countries found that teenagers who ate food such as burgers three times a week or more were 39 per cent more likely to get severe asthma. Younger kids were 27 per cent more at risk, The Sun reported.

Both were also more prone to the eye condition rhinoconjunctivitis.

However, three weekly portions of fruit and vegetables may cut the risk by 14 per cent in the younger group and 11 per cent among the teens.

Researchers from New Zealand’s Auckland University looked at the diets of 181,000 youngsters aged six to seven and 319,000 aged 13-14.

The study also asked if they had allergy symptoms. Researchers said their results do not prove cause and effect.

“Fast food may be contributing to increasing asthma, rhinoconjunctivitis and eczema. Regular consumption of fruit and vegetables is likely to protect against these diseases,” researchers said.

The study was published in the British Medical Journal.

London: Though health-conscious fitness enthusiasts are never seen without bottled water, and it is subject to less stringent safety tests than tap water, the bottled variety is much more likely to be contaminated, says a new study.

Bottled water costs more than tap water but is more likely to become a source of infection, the Daily Mail cited a study by market researchers Mintel as saying.

On average, Britons drink 33 litres of bottled water annually, whether ordinary mineral, fizzy, or ‘purified’ tap water.

Almost a quarter of people who drink bottled water at home say they do so because they believe it is better than tap water.

But what consumers do not realise is that tap water is checked daily under a rigorous inspection regime.

It also contains trace amounts of chlorine that prevent the spread of anything harmful such as bacterial infections.

In contrast, makers of bottled water are only required to undertake monthly testing at source. Once filled and sealed, a bottle of water might remain in storage for months before it is sold.

Bottled water contains no disinfecting additives such as chlorine.

After a bottle of water is opened, it has no way of remaining sterile, and so must be drunk within days.

Batches of bottled water have had to be removed from British supermarkets because of questions over contamination.

In 1990, a firm had to withdraw millions of bottles worldwide after traces of benzene were found in the water.

The prevalence of diabetes in Kerala is 22 per cent which is much higher than the prevalence in neighboring states.

Considering the seriousness of the issue, a state-wide diabetes awareness campaign ‘Diabetes Kerala-2012′ will be organised by Jothydev’s Diabetes and Research Centre supported by International Diabetes Federation (IDF), here tomorrow.

The increased prevalence of diabetes has resulted in complications of diabetes and escalating costs in treating heart attacks, diabetes foot ulcer, kidney diseases, eye diseases and mental depressions, the research centre said in a press release here today.

As per the directions of the International Diabetes Federation, the global community had been observing World Diabetes Day since 1991. November is regarded as the diabetes awareness month. The unexpected rise of prevalence of diabetes in Kerala has to be attributed to abdominal obesity, secondary increase in the intake of fat and reduced physical activity.

Diabscreen Kerala, a major project of P Kesavadev Trust, has completed screening of more than 90,000 subjects all over Kerala in different districts.

The results of these camps were published and presented nationally and internationally. Considering the uncontrolled high cholesterol, sugars and blood pressure in the general population, most of the studies have concluded necessity for an organised and continuous awareness programme for the public.

In the State capital, the ‘Diabetes Kerala-2012′ would be launched by Union Minister of State for Labour Kodikunnil Suresh tomorrow.

Deputy Speaker N Sakthan would inaugurate ‘Sugar Strokes’ a cartoon and poster exhibitions and health exhibition.

Noted celebrity film actor and producer Maniyanpillai Raju will flag off K2K Blue wagon, the mobile diabetes awareness, campaign which travels from Kaliyikkavila to Kasaragod.

There will be free diabetes camps, laboratory tests, awareness lecturers, exhibitions and a special Teacher’s diabetes training programme, aimed at emergency management of children with diabetes studying in schools and colleges.