Health News Roundup: Analysis-Amgen's antitrust woes spur wider pharmaceutical deal fears; Pfizer to raise $31 billion for Seagen takeover in largest debt offering and more
Updated: 18-05-2023 10:34 IST | Created: 18-05-2023 10:27 IST
Representative Image Image Credit: ANI
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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Analysis-Amgen's antitrust woes spur wider pharmaceutical deal fears
Investors are scrambling to assess the fallout of a U.S. regulatory challenge against Amgen Inc's proposed $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics Plc, with some fearing a spillover to other big deals in the drug sector. While investors are accustomed to regulators under U.S. President Joe Biden citing potential harm to consumers in objecting to many large mergers, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) lawsuit filed on Tuesday surprised those who had brushed off the antitrust risk in Amgen's deal because of its limited business overlap with Horizon.
Pfizer to raise $31 billion for Seagen takeover in largest debt offering
Pfizer Inc is planning to raise $31 billion through its largest debt offering to finance its proposed acquisition of Seagen Inc, the drugmaker said late on Tuesday. The company struck a $43 billion deal in March to acquire Seagen and its targeted cancer therapies as it prepares for a steep fall in COVID-19 sales and generic competition for some top-selling drugs.
Walgreens reaches $230 million opioid settlement with San Francisco
San Francisco said on Wednesday it reached a $230 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc over its role in the city's opioid epidemic. The settlement came nine months after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said the drugstore chain could be held liable for having "substantially contributed" to an opioid epidemic that caused "widespread harm" in the city and constituted a public nuisance.
Explainer-Abortion pill case goes before conservative appeals court; What's next?
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday will hear the Biden administration's bid to overturn a Texas judge's order that, if allowed to take effect, would make the abortion drug mifepristone illegal. However the 5th Circuit rules, the case will likely continue for months or years. Here is what you need to know about the case as it further unfolds:
Brazil boosts bird flu defense to protect world's top chicken industry
Brazil is taking extra precautions to protect the world's largest poultry export industry from a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that was this week detected among wild birds in the country after previously hitting neighboring nations. Nearly $10 billion of chicken exports would be at risk if H5N1 bird flu infects commercial flocks in Brazil, which has taken on a growing role in supplying the world's poultry and eggs as importing nations ban chicken and turkey meat from countries with the virus.
EU, United States launch joint health task force
The European Union and the United States have launched a new joint health task force to cooperate on cancer, global health threats and related supply chains and infrastructure, officials told a press conference on Wednesday. The task force was set up on the heels of a cooperation agreement signed in June last year to tackle health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.
US appeals judges express support for opponents of abortion pill
Federal appeals court judges on Wednesday appeared to express support for opponents of the abortion pill mifepristone to pursue their challenge to its U.S. approval, which has potentially far-reaching consequences for abortion access across the country. From the start of the high-stakes oral arguments before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, all three judges on the panel repeatedly pressed lawyers for the U.S. government and Danco Laboratories, which sells the drug under the brand name Mifeprex.
DeSantis signs Florida ban on transgender treatment for minors
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youth and also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment. Taking effect in the third most populous U.S. state, the law escalates a Republican political strategy to pursue bills restricting transgender rights. More than 500 bills affecting LGBTQ matters have been proposed across the country and at least 48 have been enacted, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
South Carolina advances 6-week abortion ban
South Carolina's Republican-controlled state House of Representatives late Wednesday passed a "fetal heartbeat" bill to ban abortions about six weeks into pregnancy before most people know they are pregnant, moving it to the state Senate where its fate is less certain. The measure, which passed mostly along party lines with a vote of 82 to 33, is a heavily amended version of a ban that the state Senate passed in February.
US FDA staff flag 'serious' safety risks for Intercept's NASH treatment
The U.S. health regulator's staff reviewers on Wednesday raised a string of concerns with Intercept Pharmaceuticals' treatment for a type of fatty liver disease, sending the drugmaker's shares plunging 22%. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reviewers flagged increased risk of diabetes and liver injury from using oral tablets, called obeticholic acid (OCA), for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).
(With inputs from agencies.)
Thursday, May 18, 2023 at 4:57 am