Drug makers Aurobindo Pharma, Glenmark and Zydus are recalling products in the US market due to manufacturing issues, according to the US health regulator.

According to the latest Enforcement Report of US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA), Aurobindo Pharma USA Inc, a subsidiary of Hyderabad-based drug maker, is recalling over 1 lakh bottles of Cinacalcet tablets in multiple strengths.

The New Jersey-based firm is recalling the product due to “GMP Deviations: Presence of N-nitroso Cinacalcet impurity above FDA recommended interim limit,” the US health regulator said.

The company initiated the Class II recall on November 7 this year. Cinacalcet tablets are used to treat hyperparathyroidism.

Similarly, a US-based subsidiary of Glenmark Pharmaceuticals is recalling around 90,000 bottles of Diltiazem Hydrochloride extended-release capsules (multiple strengths) in the US market.

New Jersey-based Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Inc, USA is recalling the affected lot of Diltiazem Hydrochloride extended-release capsules due to “cGMP Deviations: Presence of N-nitroso-Desmethyl-Diltiazem impurity above FDA recommended interim limit”, the US health regulator stated.

Diltiazem Hydrochloride extended-release capsules are used to treat high blood pressure. The company initiated the Class II nationwide (US) recall on November 1 this year.

The USFDA further stated that Zydus Pharmaceuticals (USA) Inc is recalling 4,404 packs of Esomeprazole Magnesium for Delayed-Release Oral Suspension (40 mg) due to a labelling error.

The medication is used to treat certain stomach and esophagus problems. The company initiated the nationwide recall of the affected packs on November 14.

As per the USFDA, a Class II recall is initiated in a situation in which the use of, or exposure to, a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote.

India is the largest supplier of generic medicines with around 20 per cent share in the global supply by manufacturing 60,000 different generic brands across 60 therapeutic categories.

The products manufactured in the country are shipped to over 200 countries, with Japan, Australia, West Europe, and the US as main destinations.

Lateral Sparks, the weekly quiz from YourStory, tests your domain knowledge, business acumen, and lateral thinking skills (see the previous edition here). In this 166th edition of the quiz, we present issues tackled by real-life entrepreneurs in their startup journeys.

What would you do if you were in their shoes? At the end of the quiz, you will find out what the entrepreneurs and innovators themselves actually did. Would you do things differently?

Check out YourStory’s Book Review section as well, with takeaways from over 355 titles on creativity and entrepreneurship, and our weekend PhotoSparks section on creativity in the arts.

Q1: Climate change

Climate finance has become an urgent necessity for organisations in their initiatives to tackle climate change.  How can such climate finance be made accessible, scalable and easy to adopt?

Q2: Women’s health

Women looking for healthcare solutions are often unable to find the correct fit when it comes to experts like gynecologists, nutritionists or therapists. How can they find the right expertise in such cases, and the relevant programmes?

Q3: Fintech security

Fintech players have mushroomed in recent years, but the risk of payment fraud is increasing as well. Newer technologies can also increase the threat level. How can these challenges be tackled?

Q4: Retail and delivery

Small retailers rely largely on phone calls and WhatsApp messages to manage their orders. This results in slow deliveries as compared to larger ecommerce players. How can this performance be improved?

Q5: Motor functions

Millions of people suffer from motor function loss due to conditions such as stroke, cerebral palsy, ageing, and accidents. How can their ability to perform everyday tasks be improved?

Answers!

Congratulations on having come this far! But there’s more to come – answers to these five questions (below), as well as links to articles with more details on the entrepreneurs’ solutions. Happy reading, happy learning—and happy creating!

A1: Climate change

Anirudh Gupta and Siddhanth Jayaram have founded Climes, a climate tech startup that has developed a digital finance engine to facilitate the flow of capital into climate projects. Climes Carbon Counter is a data-driven carbon accounting tool geared to help logistics and transportation providers calculate their carbon footprint.

It also has a carbon financing feature that helps brands purchase and distribute carbon credits both physically and digitally. Read more here about how Climes has worked with the likes of travel tech platform MakeMyTrip, sustainable footwear startup Neeman’s, and snacking brand Nutty Gritties.

A2: Women’s health

Swarnima Bhattacharya co-founded Gytree as a femtech startup that offers products, services, and programmes to address diverse aspects of women’s health. “We have consciously built it as an ecosystem for women’s health across life stages,” she explains.

Gytree has 100 empanelled experts, and offers several programmes to address nutrition, weight management, midlife challenges, diabetes management, and psychological assessment. Read more here about how it has a referral network, and works with corporates for the healthcare of their women employees.

A3: Fintech security

“A great number of fintechs are still in the stages of developing their infrastructure and security measures, therefore appealing to hackers,” cautions Shams Tabrej, CEO of Ezeepay. Advanced technologies like peer-to-peer payment systems and cryptocurrency have increased the threat level.

“The best method to reduce fraud drastically is through implementing multi-factor authentication,” he advises. Read more here about how AI and ML tools can help detect fraudulent activities in real-time, and why fintech players need to regularly educate customers about phishing scams and weak passwords.

A4: Retail and delivery

Alok Chawla, Neeta Rijwani, and Virendra Kumar launched Kiko Live as a SaaS solution to help small retailers build, manage, and grow their home delivery businesses. They can create digital storefronts in as little as 24 hours.

The platform supports sellers with a product repository, a user-friendly interface, and hyperlocal logistics solutions for quick deliveries. Read more here about how it reduces operational complexity by acting as a consolidator, connecting stores and third-party delivery partners.

A5: Motor functions

Subtlebotic, founded by Sivasanthosh A, has developed a product called Limb Assist to restore limb mobility for individuals who have lost motor functions. The lightweight, external wearable motor system provides support to the fingers for fine motor functions.

Limb Assist helps users grip and carry objects such as cups, plates, tools, and bags. Read more here about how it also helps with typing, writing, buttoning clothes, and fastening zippers.

YourStory has also published the pocketbook ‘Proverbs and Quotes for Entrepreneurs: A World of Inspiration for Startups’ as a creative and motivational guide for innovators (downloadable as apps here: Apple, Android).

Fibroheal Woundcare on Sunday said it had raised Rs 6.3 crore in a pre-Series A funding round from existing promoters and a new set of investors, including leading surgeons, medical professionals, and bankers.

The company also has an additional commitment of another Rs 10 crore from existing and some new investors.

The silk proteins-based medical devices startup intends to use the newly raised funds to scale up its go-to-market strategy, recruit more people, and invest in its product pipeline in the medical devices segment.

“Woundcare is a fast growing segment of the health and wellness sector. Fibroheal is poised to become a major player in this sector with a differentiated technology based on ‘Natural Silk’, a committed leadership and a competent team,” said KK Narayanan, who also invested in this round. Narayanan previously built Metahelix Life Sciences which got acquired by Rallis India, and co-founded Kottaram Agrofoods (Soulfull Cereals) which got acquired by Tata Consumer products.

The fundraise comes amidst significant growth in India’s wound care market, driven by a rise in chronic diseases, growing healthcare expenditures and awareness of wound care solutions, according to a 2024 report by research firm Mordor Intelligence.

Founded in 2017 by Vivek Mishra & Bharat Tandon, Fibroheal’s products are being used in more than 500 hospitals across India and has a presence in over 19 states. The company has also branched out to selling its products on various ecommerce platforms.

The company’s product line, which includes foams, mesh, and powders, among others, is used to heal different types of acute, chronic, traumatic, post-operative, non-healing or difficult-to-heal wounds like bed sores or infected C-section wounds, among others.

Fibroheal has previously raised money from existing promoters Telama Investments, CCAMP and KITVEN.