The Medicine Box

Dr Nikhil Dhurandhar is a physician and an obesity researcher in the US.

Currently, he is a professor and the chairman of the Department of Nutritional Sciences at Texas Tech University.

He is also the man responsible for Aamir Khan’s physical transformation in the Bollywood biopic movie Dangal.

In this edition of The Medicine Box, Ekta Batra talks to Dhurandhar on his book Fat-Loss Diet and why he thinks obesity is a disease and talks about his key philosophies towards health, wellness and obesity.

Tune in to know more!

Dr Vishaka Shivdasani who specialises in treating lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity via medicine and nutrition weighs in with her insights.

Dr Shivdasani has been writing a monthly column for the newspaper Mint for the past 7 years and is the former vice president of South Bombay Medical Association of Doctors.

Who should follow the Keto diet? Is it safe and sustainable?

Tune in right away!

The second series of #TheMedicinebox delves deeper into the health, nutrition and wellness. The podcast series looks to provide solutions to tackle lifestyle-related diseases and shed light on other health- and wellness-related topics. What is the Keto Diet? What really is fasting and what are its benefits? How harmful are sugar and junk food? What is the best form of exercise? What should one do about obesity? All these questions and more on health, nutrition and wellness are answered here. We host some of the biggest global and Indian names in nutrition and wellness to bust myths, provide solutions and answer the most vital questions in health.

The second series of #TheMedicinebox will delve deeper into the health, nutrition and wellness. The podcast series will look to provide solutions to tackle lifestyle related diseases and shed light on other health- and wellness-related topics. 

What is the Keto Diet? What really is fasting and what are its benefits? How harmful is sugar and junk food? What is the best form of exercise? What should one do about obesity? All these questions and more on health, nutrition and wellness will be answered here. 

We will host some of the biggest global and Indian names in nutrition and wellness to bust myths, provide solutions and answer the most vital questions in health. 

We are kicking off the series with Dr Robert Lustig, professor emeritus of the paediatrics division of Endocrinology at University of California. Dr Lustig, who holds degrees from MIT, Cornell University, is one of the most popular voices globally on the detrimental impact of sugar on health. 

His lecture Sugar: The Bitter Truth went viral and currently has 7.9 million views on YouTube. The best-selling author of Fat Chance and The Hacking of the America Mind discusses the harmful effects of sugar in your diet and consequently on health. 

Happy listening!

Ravi Dharamshi is CIO of Valuequest Investment Advisors and manages investments of around Rs 500 crore. In his role, Dharamshi is sector agnostic but has a long history with pharma. He began investing in pharma and healthcare stocks back in 2002 and worked previously with Rare Enterprises. Some of his key bets in pharma have included Lupin, Glenmark, Natco and Divi’s. Tune into Dharamshi’s journey of investing in pharma and healthcare stocks, how the landscape has changed and his take on top industry trends and stocks. Happy listening!

Sailesh Bhan, CIO, equity investments at Reliance Mutual Fund, manages equity assets worth over Rs 22,000 crore across various funds. He puts on his pharma hat and discusses his thoughts on the most crucial trends in the industry.

Aditya Khemka, fund Manager at DSP Investment Managers, breaks down the pharma sector from a portfolio perspective. Khemka, who was previously with Glenmark and tracked the pharma and health sectors at Lehman Brothers and Nomura, provides crucial insights into the big risks, challenges and opportunities of investing in pharma stocks. Happy listening!

Does the issue of multiple observations to a plant site by the US drug regulator USFDA mean it will get a Warning Letter? Why is it that some companies that are issued just a few observations get Import Alerts? Why do some companies take years to solve USFDA regulatory problems? Does India face a ‘culture’ problem when it comes to lack of compliance? Amit Rajan, an expert on quality and compliance issues, answers these and many more questions on a critical part of the operations of pharma companies in this week’s podcast. He breaks down the basics of Form 483s, EIRs and the FDA. Tune in!

The year 2018 has been a mixed year for Indian pharma stocks. Price pressure may have eased in the US, but other challenges, especially the Chinese API supply, have emerged. American regulator USFDA is still hot on the heels of many companies.

Who better than Saion Mukherjee, managing Director and head of equity research at Nomura, to shed light on these vital topics. He also breaks down pharma earnings, the most important current and future trends and stocks.

Tune in right away!

The Indian pharmaceuticals space’s growth has been severely hobbled by acute pricing pressure in the US generics market. The next leg of growth will be defined by companies that focus on high margins and complex drugs like biosimilars. Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, CMD of Biocon, was instrumental in putting India on the biosimilar map.

In the first episode of #TheMedicineBox, Shaw breaks down the world of biosimilars and the opportunity it presents. Shaw also weighs in on the vital challenges in the Indian pharma space. Happy Listening!