Pharma Veterans

Life Expectancy Across the Globe – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1172 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1172 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Heyday Photism Credit: Taha Samet Arsalan Preamble This blog post is based on an article by Daniil Filipenco, Published in Developmentaid Digest. Link to article at the end. What the Highest and Lowest Life Expectancy Reveal We all share one inescapable fact of life: none of us lives forever. But how long we are likely to live and how well varies dramatically across countries, regions, and social groups. A recent DevelopmentAid piece, based on the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024, revisits the global picture of life expectancy and highlights remarkable gains, stubborn disparities, and urgent questions for health policy. Below are...

Evolving Infrastructure for Future – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1171 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1171 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Efrem Efre Credit: Nano 71 Credit: Timo Volz Preamble This blog post is based on a recent McKiney article. Link to article at the end. Rethinking Infrastructure for the 21st Century: More Than Roads and Bridges We, in Pakistan, face a unique situation. Whenever a new government is formed, whether from older contenders or the newer ones (rarely), there is a flurry of activity in the name of the new government. New projects are started in haste so that more and more plaques could be installed with the names of incumbents engraved on them. The projects are announced in haste, without consulting the stakeholders, or considering the fin...

Pickings by Pharma Veterans Fortnightly Newsletter #32 – October 12, 2025 This newsletter is the offering from Asrar Qureshi, Founder of Pharma Veterans. It will bring to you a selection of Pharma Industry news and developments from Pakistan, region, and the world. It will be published fortnightly on alternate Sundays. For queries and sending information, please send email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com. SPECIAL NOTE The objective of this newsletter is to share important news from the US and Europe, where exciting new research and development in drugs is going on. News from India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan are included to show where Pakistan stands vis-à-vis the region. This is done in order that Pharma Industry in Pakistan may take necessary actions for course setting and long-term strategy making. PAKISTAN • Marham has taken initiative to establish ‘Marham Therapy Clinic’ to help meet the demand for mental health support. It offers: o Counseling & Psychological Therapy for st...

Interesting Case of Saying No – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1170 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1170 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Matrix by Jens Meyer Preamble This blog post is based on a recent article published in INSEAD Knowledge, written by Jens Meyer. Link to article at the end. The Curious Comfort of Saying “No”: Why It’s Too Easy – and How to Reset In many organizations, particularly large or complex ones, “No” is often the safest word. Jens Meyer, in "The Curious Comfort of Saying ‘No’," argues that in systems where authority is disconnected from accountability, saying “no” becomes a default safe mode. It costs nothing in capital, commitment, or risk, and allows the status quo to persist without blame. Meanwhile, the opportunity cost, the innovation not taken, ne...

New Information on Statins and Cardiovascular Risk – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1169 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1169 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Franki Frank Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Preamble This blog post is based on a recent article published in JAMA - Journal of American Medical Association. Link to article at the end. Rethinking Risk: How New Equations Could Alter Cardiovascular Prevention Cardiovascular disease remains a leading cause of death worldwide. Deciding who should receive preventive therapy, like statins, depends heavily on risk estimation models. For years, clinicians have relied on the Pooled Cohort Equations (PCEs), developed in 2013, to estimate a person’s 10-year risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). But medical science e...

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Aging Population 2 - Solutions – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1168 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1168 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Dongfang Credit: Rajan Goswami Preamble This blog post is based on several Pakistani studies, UN report and McKinsey report. Links at the end. Part 2: Bridging the Gap – Strategies, Innovations, and Pathways Forward Given the magnitude of the challenge, what can governments, donors, health systems, communities, and the private sector do to narrow the care gap for NCDs in aging, developing nations? Below are key strategic directions which may be adapted to local environment. Transform Primary and Community Care into Chronic-Care Hubs Redesign primary care to act as the front line for chronic disease m...

Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) in Aging Population 1 - Challenges – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1167 Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1166 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma    Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here. Credit: Leeloothefirst Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Credit: Pavel Danilyuk Preamble This blog post is based on several Pakistani studies, UN report and McKinsey report. Links at the end. The Emerging Crisis - Aging, NCDs, and the Widening Care Gap in Developing Nations Low- and middle-income countries (LMICs)1 have historically been characterized by relatively young populations. But recently, declining birth rates and rising life expectancies have been fundamentally restructuring these countries’ population pyramids. In the coming decades, the number of older people in LMICs is expected to more than double to 1.3...