“I'm not great at the advice. Can I interest you in a sarcastic comment?”

This is what ‘Friends’ actor Matthew Perry’s character Chandler Bing was known for. He was known for being funny. However, he had his own struggles in his personal life and those struggles were acute depression. He was treating it with ketamine infusion therapy which is legal in the US and the UK.

What is Ketamine infusion therapy?

Ketamine is an anaesthetic used to treat depression, anxiety and pain under supervised and controlled medical settings. However, it does have its side effects, which can lead to distortion of sight, sound and time. It can also produce calming and relaxing effects.

Ketamine increases a person’s heart rate and blood pressure. If overdosed, it can leave users confused and agitated and can cause them to hurt themselves without even realising it. It can also lead to liver damage and bladder problems.

However, when used in moderation and under the supervision of medical doctors, it can treat depression where traditional antidepressants have failed.

Prof Rupert McShane, a University of Oxford psychiatrist who runs an NHS ketamine treatment clinic told BBC that ketamine “probably turns off the area of the brain that is involved in disappointment.”

Can Ketamine Infusion Therapy Kill Someone?

In simple terms, it cannot, be if the dosage is given in a controlled setting and as prescribed. Ketamine infusion therapy uses drugs in small doses than those used for anaesthesia. It acts faster than traditional anti-depressants, but the effects also wear off way quickly. Which is why it is important to monitor patients’ mental state for relapsing back into depression and discouraging them from overdosing on it.

There are ways of giving people ketamine. One of the ways is through “infusing”, which means to use an IV drip. However, injections, nasal sprays and capsules are also methods used to give people ketamine.

Since the dosage of ketamine used in the infusion treatment is small, it being the reason of actor Perry’s death was ruled out. The medical examiner also noted that Perry’s last ketamine infusion therapy session happened more than a week before his death, which means by the time he had died, it must have worn off.

So, What Happened To Perry?

Though Perry’s last session was more than a week before, his post-mortem showed that his blood contained a high concentration of ketamine. He had died of the “acute effects” of ketamine.

If it was not his session, then how did he get ketamine?

Prosecutors alleged that his assistant gave him at least 27 shots of ketamine in four days before his death, reported BBC.

Perry has been open about his personal struggles and this is what the doctors and dealers used against him. Martin Estrada, the US attorney for California’s Central District told the BBC that people took advantage of his condition. They charged him 165 times more than what vials of ketamine cost.

Names that have come up include Dr Salvador Plasencia, drug dealers “Ketamine Queen” aka Jasveen Sangha and Eric Fleming, and Perry’s live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.

Who Are These Names And What Did They Do?

Ketamine Queen or Sangha supplied drugs that led to Perry’s death. Her home was a “drug-selling emporium,” said Estrada. More than 80 vials of ketamine, and thousands of pills including methamphetamine, cocaine and Xanax were allegedly found in her house known as the “Sangha Stash House.”

Sangha is known to deal with high-end celebs and was a “major source of supply for ketamine to others as well as Perry,” said Estrada.

Dr Plasencia called Perry a “moron” while charging him $2,000 for vials that cost only $12. He sold Perry 20 vials of ketamine between September and October 2023, costing $55,000.

He was the one who taught Iwamasa, who had no medical knowledge to inject the drug. This is after he knew that “Perry’s ketamine addiction was spiralling out of control,” as per what the investigators told the BBC.

Another dealer Fleming was told by Sangha to “delete all our messages.” While Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs unlawfully, he also allegedly messaged Sangha: “Please call...Got more info and want to bounce ideas off you. I’m 90% sure everyone is protected. I never dealt with [Perry] only his assistant. So the assistant was the enabler.”

The court documents also revealed that he asked Sangha on whether the ketamine stays in your system or “is it immediately flushed out.”

Dr Pepper, Bots, Cans

The people who allegedly exploited Perry used coded language for ketamine and called it “Dr Pepper”, “bots”, or “cans.”

Selling overpriced drugs, taking advantage of Perry’s mental condition and falsifying medical records to make the drugs given to him look legitimate by Dr Plasencia is what took Perry’s life.

Iwamasa is said to have administered more than 20 shots of ketamine and three on the day Perry died. Whereas ketamine is only administered by a physician. Authorities also found that weeks before Perry’s death, Dr Plasencia allegedly bought 10 vials of ketamine and intended to sell to Perry.

He also injected Perry with a large dose, two days later. This caused him to “freeze up” and spiked his blood pressure.

When I Die, I Want Helping Others To Be The First Thing That’s Mentioned

Perry had always been open about his drug addictions, struggles with alcohol and his depression. He said that his openness would help others who are also struggling and wanted to be remembered by his quote which also is on the homepage of the Mattew Perry Foundation that helps others struggling with the disease of addiction: “When I die, I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.”

Five arrests have been made in the case so far.

India’s Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has introduced "healthy lifestyle and mental wellness" as two key priority areas at the First Health Working Group (HWG) Meeting under the BRICS framework for the year 2026 in New Delhi.

HWG is a key platform for advancing cooperation in public health, said Punya Salila Srivastava, the Union Health Secretary while chairing the meeting.

She noted that as the BRICS Chair for 2026, India is guided by the overarching theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, reflecting a people-centric and humanity-first approach.

The theme underscores India’s commitment to strengthening collaborative frameworks that are responsive, inclusive, and future-ready.

India’s 2026 Chairship

While reaffirming commitment to existing priorities, the Union Health Secretary also proposed two new priority areas under India’s Chairship:

• BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles: Aimed at promoting healthy behaviors and addressing key risk factors such as unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and harmful use of alcohol
• Promotion of Mental Health and Wellness: Focusing on strengthening mental health services, addressing stigma, and integrating mental health into broader public health frameworks.

In addition, under the country’s Chairship, Srivastava said that the HWG aims to:

• Foster inclusive, sustainable, and evidence-driven health cooperation,
• Recognize the diverse health systems and socio-economic contexts of BRICS nations.
• Integrating traditional, complementary, and integrative medicine into health systems.

The BRICS Health Working Group

Srivastava hailed the BRICS Health Working Group meetings for having paved the way for collaboration on pressing health challenges in the recent year. She said that the HWG made efforts towards tackle communicable and non-communicable diseases, enhancing health systems, as improving access to affordable medicines.

“These efforts have further strengthened cooperation in pandemic preparedness, health technology innovation, and the promotion of Universal Health Coverage,” Srivastava said.

The meeting also deliberated on the nine priority areas, which include:

1. BRICS TB Research Network;
2. collaboration among BRICS Medical Products Regulatory Authorities;
3. BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for prevention and response to mass infectious diseases;
4. Digital Health Architecture for continuum of care, including specialised healthcare in remote areas;
5. BRICS Mission for Healthy Lifestyles;
6. promotion of mental health and wellness;
7. Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM);
8. fight against diseases driven by social determinants of health (DDSDH);
9. BRICS Network of National Public Health Institutes.

The meeting brought together senior health officials, technical experts, and delegates from BRICS member countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia to deliberate on priority areas of cooperation in public health.

The global experts welcomed India’s leadership and the shared theme of building resilience through innovation, cooperation, and sustainability.

They also emphasized

• deepening collaboration on tuberculosis through the BRICS TB Research Network,
• strengthening the BRICS integrated early warning system for infectious diseases,
• enhancing digital health architectures to improve access (especially in remote and vulnerable communities),
• advancing regulatory cooperation
• local production of medicines and vaccines.

Weeks after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Eli Lilly's Orforglipron, marketed as Foundayo, the regulator is asking Eli Lilly to share more safety data on its first oral pill for weight loss.

The FDA has also sought more information on whether Foundayo could be linked to liver and heart problems, according to the FDA's new drug application approval letter.

Foundayo won FDA approval this month under the Commissioner’s National Priority Voucher, a pilot program intended to fast-track drug reviews.

Foundayo: What More Does The FDA Want From Lilly

In the approval letter, the FDA noted that the currently available data do not fully clarify several potential risks, including

• heart problems such as heart attack and stroke,
• drug-induced liver injuries,
• delayed stomach emptying, which is when food remains in the stomach for too long.

However, the FDA asking for more data “doesn’t mean a safety problem has been found. It means they want more definitive long-term data,” Dr. Christopher McGowan, a North Carolina-based gastroenterologist, told NBC News.

“With orforglipron, it’s a newer, non-peptide version of a GLP-1, so we don’t yet have the same depth of safety data as the injectables,” he added.

Also read: Eye Drops: US FDA Recalls Over 3 Million Products Over Safety Concerns

Further, the agency also requires Lilly to run a series of new studies, including a registry tracking children with obesity who use weight loss drugs and a pregnancy registry to monitor outcomes.

Foundayo: How Did The FDA Approve?

In a statement, the US FDA said that "Foundayo has been approved for use in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity. The pill is targeted to reduce excess body weight and maintain weight reduction for the long term in adults with obesity or overweight".

The US FDA approved Foundayo after two randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials in adults with obesity or overweight showed benefit.

In these trials, 72 weeks of treatment with Foundayo, in combination with a reduced-calorie diet and increased physical activity, resulted in a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in body weight.

Foundayo’s approval comes after the US FDA in December last year approved Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill — the first-ever GLP-1 pill for weight loss. The Danish drugmaker rolled out the pill in January this year.

Novo Nordisk was also the first to launch oral GLP 1 Rybelsus to treat type 2 diabetes. It was approved by the US FDA in September 2019.

Also read: US FDA Recalls China-made Cough Drops And Throat Lozenges

How Did Lilly React To The FDA's Query?

The FDA’s post-approval requirements are routine and consistent with the agency’s approach to ongoing safety reviews of newly approved drugs, according to a Lilly spokesperson, NBC News reported.

“Patient safety is Lilly’s top priority, and we actively monitor, evaluate, and report safety information for all our medicines,” the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Lilly has started selling the drug from April 6 through its direct-to-consumer platform LillyDirect at $149 per month for the lowest dose for self-pay customers, on par with Novo's pill. "Shortly after,” it will be available through retail pharmacies and telehealth providers in the US, as per Lilly.

Indian pediatrician Dr Sivaranjani Santosh has resigned from the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) over lack of support, alleged threats, and false allegations, amid an ongoing controversy over the marketing of oral rehydration solution (ORS)-like products.

The Hyderabad-based pediatrician has been a key public health figure who fought for eight long years to stop FSSAI—the country’s apex food regulator—from using the term ORS by brands of fruit-based, non-carbonated beverages, in October last year.

She again voiced her concerns with the IAP when the manufacturer in January 2026 launched a rebranded version, ERZL for everyday hydration.

Dr Santosh opposed the move and called out on IAP to prevent the launch, saying it closely resembled ORS and could mislead people, especially those in rural areas.

However, she did not receive any support from the IAP, and no action was taken. Rather, she received a legal notice from Kenvue over her comments. Kenvue Inc. is an American consumer health company and was formerly the Consumer Healthcare division of Johnson & Johnson.

The notice from Kenvue claimed that Dr Santosh has been maligning the names of ORSL and ERZL for her "own commercial benefits" and for "increasing the number of followers" on her page.

Deeply saddened by the leadership at the IAP, which she alleged is supporting Kenvue, Dr Santosh resigned. She now vouches to fight alone.

“I thought enough of this toxicity. I'll fight it alone. All this while, if I could fight it alone, why can't I do it?” she told HealthandMe.

What Is The Controversy About Dr Sivaranjani Santosh?

Speaking to HealthandMe, the pediatrician narrated the ordeal – legal notices from pharmaceutical companies, false accusations of her integrity and character in the last few years.

Dr Santosh has been campaigning that commercial beverages labeled as ORS were often high in sugar and nutritionally different from the World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended Oral Rehydration Solution, a life-saving treatment for dehydration.

Her fight began in 2022, when she filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Telangana High Court seeking directions for manufacturers to remove the letters “ORS” from the product name ORSL.

Eight years after the PIL, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), in October 2025, banned the use of the ‘ORS' label on beverages — including ORS that did not meet the WHO standards. The regulator deemed such branding to be misleading and a potential health risk, as many products contained excessive amounts of sugar compared to genuine medical ORS.

However, Kenvue launched a rebranded version, ERZL, in January this year. She again opposed and stated: “ERZL is not ORS. And it should not be given to children below two years of age".

Noting that her messages "upset these people”, she faced a backlash, including a legal notice from the company.

According to Dr Santosh, attempts were also made to gather endorsements from pediatricians claiming that sucralose is safe and to submit these to the FSSAI. She publicly criticized the move, calling it “shameful.”

Further, Dr Santosh also voiced out her concerns against IAP for allowing the company to set up a stall with the controversial product at the Pedicon, a major pediatric conference.

When she raised the matters on social media, the company made the statement: “Our products are very scientific. Some people are spreading misinformation and scientific information”.

The pediatrician also claimed to have alerted IAP leadership weeks earlier, warning that the ERZL’s branding could mislead people—especially in rural areas—into confusing it with ORS.

“We are not talking about the educated people who have been following this. We are talking about the ignorant poor people in the villages,” the doctor said.

She further alleged that instead of backing her concerns, sections of the leadership attempted to discredit her.

Following a series of exchanges and growing tensions, she announced her resignation, citing a “toxic environment.”

Dr Santosh said that "parallelly, the leadership was spreading messages to all the people that I am abusive and I'm arrogant." In response, she stated: "If I have to choose between children and IAP, I will choose children".

Amid the controversy, the IAP released a position statement on ORS and electrolyte drinks. The doctor criticised the statement as “ambiguous” and questioned its focus solely on sucralose, alleging a potential conflict of interest.

She added that Kenvue also marketed for "ERZL as the new form of ORSL", which also bypassed the FSSAI and Delhi High Court orders.

What Is The Way Forward?

Noting that her battle will continue against ERZL, Dr Santosh said she will continue advocating for child health issues in India

"I'm trying to raise awareness about first aid and CPR. I've trained so many people. Now I'm motivated."

The pediatrician also wants to advocate for safer drug formulations, restrictions on over-the-counter medicines, and wider awareness of first aid and CPR.

The list includes paracetamol, which is being sold under various names and doses in the country.

"We want one paracetamol in India".

HealthandMe is trying to reach out to the Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP). The copy will be updated once a response is received.