Health News Roundup: Japan's Otsuka Pharma gets FDA approval for Alzheimer's agitation drug; Insulin makers testify on Capitol Hill over prices and more
Updated: 11-05-2023 10:29 IST | Created: 11-05-2023 10:26 IST
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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Japan's Otsuka Pharma gets FDA approval for Alzheimer's agitation drug
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Otsuka Pharmaceutical's brexpiprazole to treat agitation in patients with Alzheimer's on Thursday, making it the first approved drug for the indication, the company said in a statement. The decision comes after an advisory panel in April voted 9-1 that the company had enough data to identify the population in whom benefits from the treatment outweigh its risks.
Insulin makers testify on Capitol Hill over prices
Leaders of major insulin makers and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) traded blame for the life-saving drug's high price on Wednesday while testifying at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on making it more affordable. PBMs negotiate with drugmakers for rebates and lower fees on behalf of employers and other clients, and reimburse pharmacies for prescriptions they dispense. Both sides blame each other for high drug prices.
Lingering nerve symptoms from Lyme disease may be tied to immune response
Neurologic complications of Lyme disease such as hand and feet numbness and pain that do not resolve with treatment may be due to an exaggerated immune response rather than the infection itself, a study published on Wednesday suggests. Researchers found that Lyme disease patients with persistent central nervous system problems have high blood levels of interferon alpha, an inflammatory protein produced by the immune system in response to infection.
The U.S. COVID health emergency is ending. What changes?
The U.S. government on Thursday will end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency that allowed millions of Americans to receive vaccines, tests and treatments at no cost. The emergency is also tied to telehealth flexibilities, Medicaid enrollment safeguards, and the ability of government health agencies to collect data on the spread of the coronavirus.
Chinese woman fighting for fertility rights hopes to end single mother stigma
Teresa Xu did not anticipate that five years after she was denied an egg-freezing treatment at a Beijing hospital for being unmarried, her subsequent lawsuit would be at the centre of a debate over reproductive rights in China. Xu, 35, first lodged the claim against the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital in 2019, in a landmark case of a Chinese woman fighting for her reproductive rights.
South Korea to drop mandatory 7-day quarantine for COVID patients from June
South Korea on Thursday lowered its crisis level for COVID-19 and will from June no longer require infected people to quarantine for seven days, dropping one of the country's few remaining pandemic-related restrictions. Health authorities will still recommend five days of self-isolation for infected people but it will not be mandatory.
Chinese baby product firms seek to age up, sell more abroad as population falls
For many of China's manufacturers of baby and children's products, painful reverberations from last year's historic decline in the country's population are already upon them. Domestic sales are shrinking and the scramble is on to develop new streams of revenue, whether that be diversifying into products for adults or boosting offerings in overseas markets with younger populations like Southeast Asia and India.
Martin Shkreli-founded drug company files for bankruptcy
Vyera Pharmaceuticals, which previously settled price-fixing charges that resulted in founder Martin Shkreli being banned from the pharmaceutical industry, filed for bankruptcy late Tuesday to sell its assets. Vyera said its bankruptcy was the result of declining profits, increased competition for generic drugs, and litigation alleging that Vyera suppressed competition for its most valuable drug, Daraprim.
BioNTech, Roche's experimental pancreatic cancer treatment wins Nature plaudit
Scientific journal Nature on Wednesday said a personalised treatment based on messenger RNA by BioNTech potentially bodes well for the future of fighting an extremely aggressive form of cancer after the regimen was shown to trigger a promising immune reaction in some pancreatic cancer patients.
Results of a trial in the first phase of testing on humans showed that half of the 16 trial participants, who had undergone surgery to remove their tumour, had developed T cells that can potentially recognise cancerous cells and stop them from re-emerging, Nature said in a paper on Wednesday.
Altria agrees to $235 million settlement to resolve Juul-related cases
Altria Group Inc said Wednesday that it will pay $235 million to settle at least 6,000 lawsuits accusing it of fueling a teen vaping epidemic through its former investment in e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. The deal ends nearly all of the litigation brought against the tobacco giant over Juul by local government bodies and individuals across the United States. It came shortly after San Francisco's public school district finished presenting its case against the company in a jury trial, which will now be cut short.
(With inputs from agencies.)
Thursday, May 11, 2023 at 4:56 am