Monday’s Marauder
World Anti-Doping Agency —> Contact Lens
Avid sports fans will be acquainted with WADA or the World Anti-doping Agency which has been in the news in recent times for investigating doping allegations against prominent sprinters Asafa Powell and Sherone Simpson of Jamaica. The body, an independent organization founded to tackle doping in sports, was formed in 1999 in Lausanne, Switzerland. It comes under the leadership of the International Olympic Committee. The ‘Declaration of Lausanne’, framed when it was found, is adopted by most international sports organisations, national federations and the Olympic committee for the paralympic, summer and winter games.
The Swiss confederation or Switzerland is a landlocked country located in central Europe bordering Germany, France, Austria, Italy and Liechtenstein. According to the Suisse World Global Wealth report in 2013, Switzerland had the highest average wealth per adult in the world. Blessed with a robust economy - Switzerland being home to several multinational corporations like Nestle, Novartis, The Swatch group, Glencore - the country has been ranked first in economic competitiveness by the Global Competitiveness report released by the World Economic Forum. Swiss citizens also have one of the highest life expectancies among the world’s population.
The pharmaceutical giant Novartis is much familiar to Indians after it grabbed headlines in 2013 in the country. Novartis had applied for a patent for its cancer drug Glivec in India, which was rejected by the Indian supreme court in 2013. The ruling by a two judge bench in India’s highest court was a blow to the pharmaceutical company which had been battling the case for almost seven years.
The judgment held that a modification of a generic cancer drug could not be patented according to Indian law. Apart from cancer drugs, Novartis’ products include vaccines, over-the-counter drugs for various ailments, eye care products such as contact lens.
Contact lens, are thin lens placed on the eye’s surface, to correct vision. Used for cosmetic as well as medical purposes, contact lens are said to provide better peripheral vision for the wearer and are better suited for outdoor activities as they do not gather moisture. A corrective contact lens is used to correct the refractive error of the eye and for treating colour deficiencies. Cosmetic lenses are used to change the appearance of the eye and are used in theatrical productions.
So the path that we have traversed today is:
WADA —> Switzerland —> Novartis —> Contact Lens
Three clicks!
Hop over. It’s time for the next question:
Tuesday’s Traveller
Send in your paths for the above to school@thehindu.co.in with the subject “Qwikipedia”. Do include your name, class and school!
