April 2023

The Malay Mail Online

Most patients admitted to hospitals with acute viral infections are given antibiotics as a precaution against bacterial co-infection, but this practice may not improve survival, new research suggests. Researchers investigated the impact of antibiotic use on survival in more than 2,100 patients in a hospital in Norway between 2017 and 2021 and found that giving antibiotics to people with common respiratory infections was unlikely to lower the risk of death within 30 days.

CosmeticsDesign-Asia

Indonesia’s Mad for Makeup has detailed how it is in benefiting from its 1,000 plus members’ social club for to aid new product development for its acne-friendly cosmetics, and to deliver additional marketing clout.

The Malay Mail Online

A Family Medicine Specialist has reiterated the call for Malaysians to undergo health screening early to detect risks so that treatment can be started earlier to control chronic diseases better and avoid complications. Dr Beh Hooi Chin, from the University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC), cited how screening for conditions such as diabetes mellitus and high cholesterol which are increasingly prevalent in Malaysia can be initiated as early as 18 years old.

Daily Tribune

President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., on Wednesday, 29 March, urged the concerned government agencies to improve the production of drugs locally and maintain a reserve of medicines to be ready for any potential crisis. The Chief Executive made the call during a meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) healthcare sector group in Malacañang after the country faced supply problems during the Covid-19 lockdowns. “Let’s maximize the local production.

The Malay Mail Online

A total of 2,572 deaths due to Tuberculosis (TB) were recorded last year, an increase of 12 per cent or 284 cases compared to 2021, says Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa. In a statement in conjunction with World Tuberculosis Day today, she said a total of 25,391 cases of the disease were reported last year, with an increase of 3,664 or 17 per cent compared to 21,727 cases, during the same period the previous year.

CosmeticsDesign-Asia

NUME-Lab is seeing a market gap for skin care combining Swiss quality and halal certification, and has detailed expansion plans for Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong.

BusinessWorld

The Philippines registered the fastest-growing HIV epidemic in the Asia-Pacific region, according to a United Nations body, which noted that most local cases occurred among young Filipinos. “The Philippines has the fastest rising HIV epidemic in the region with new infections more than quadrupled since 2010,” the UN Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) said in a press release on developments in HIV prevention programs in four Asia-Pacific countries.

BusinessWorld

Filipinos have low awareness about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), making them at risk of getting — and spreading — the disease, according to medical experts. “There are many patients who don’t know they are carrying HIV,” said Manoj Sihag, Philippine country head of Camber Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a unit of Indian drugmaker Hetero Drugs and maker of generic drugs including antiretroviral therapy drugs for HIV.

CosmeticsDesign-Asia

The Chinese consumers’ willingness to ditch their protective face masks will help to spur the growth of lip makeup more than other markets that relaxed mask mandates earlier.

CosmeticsDesign-Asia

Bali-based Fields of Yarrow doubled down on physical retail experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and was rewarded with its best-performing years, says its founder.