Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
FDA staff supports safety data for Pfizer's RSV vaccine to protect newborns
Safety data for Pfizer Inc's experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in pregnant women was "generally favorable", the U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers said on Tuesday. The drugmaker is seeking approval for use of the shot in pregnant women to protect newborns to six-month-old babies from complications of the RSV disease. If approved, it could become the first maternal vaccine against the virus.
Exclusive-Vaccine reagent vendor Maravai draws private equity interest-sources
Maravai LifeSciences Holdings Inc, a provider of capping reagents for COVID-19 vaccines whose shares plunged after the pandemic eased, has attracted private equity interest, people familiar with the matter said. Buyout firm Thomas H. Lee Partners has approached Maravai, which has a market capitalization of about $3.8 billion, with a non-binding offer, the sources said. The price offered could not be learned.
J&J's proposed talc settlement would pay $400 million to US state AGs
Johnson & Johnson has set aside $400 million to resolve U.S. state consumer protection actions as part of its broader $8.9 billion effort to settle claims that its Baby Powder and other talc products cause cancer. J&J subsidiary LTL Management filed a bankruptcy plan in New Jersey late on Monday that details how the company intends to pay different types of cancer victims in a bankruptcy settlement. J&J has said that its talc products are safe and do not cause cancer. It is attempting for a second time to resolve more than 38,000 lawsuits in bankruptcy and prevent new cases from coming forward in the future.
Viking Therapeutics's NASH drug succeeds in mid-stage trial, shares jump
Viking Therapeutics Inc said on Tuesday its experimental drug met the main goal of a mid-stage trial to treat patients with a type of fatty liver disease, sending its shares about 6% higher in early trade. With no approved treatments for the disease yet, several drugmakers including Novo Nordisk and other smaller companies such as Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc and Akero Therapeutics Inc are racing to enter what is expected to be a multibillion dollar U.S. market.
Seven things to know about bats and pandemic risk
For millennia, bat viruses lurked in forests across West Africa, India, South America and other parts of the world. But, undisturbed, they posed little threat to humanity. No longer, a new Reuters data analysis found. Today, as more and more people encroach on bat habitat, bat-borne pathogens pose an epidemiological minefield in 113 countries, where risk is high that a virus will jump species and infect humans.
North Carolina lawmakers to vote on overriding veto of 12-week abortion ban
North Carolina's Republican-controlled state legislature on Tuesday is expected to vote to override Democratic Governor Roy Cooper's veto of a bill banning most abortions after 12 weeks, unless one Republican lawmaker sides with the governor and upholds the veto. The legislature in early May passed the measure, which would cut the window for most abortions in the state back from 20 weeks. It would also curtail access to the procedure for millions of women across the U.S. South where a number of states have greatly restricted abortions.
White House wants to improve access to opioid overdose reversal medication
The Biden administration is seeking to meet with the makers of the life-saving medication naloxone used to reverse opioid overdoses in an effort to increase access and reduce cost, a spokesperson for the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said. ONDCP Director Dr. Rahul Gupta "plans to have conversations with manufacturers to share his key principle moving forward: the easier it is for people to access naloxone, the more lives we can save," the spokesperson said.
WHO warns against bias, misinformation in using AI in healthcare
The World Health Organization called for caution on Tuesday in using artificial intelligence for public healthcare, saying data used by AI to reach decisions could be biased or misused. The WHO said it was enthusiastic about the potential of AI but had concerns over how it will be used to improve access to health information, as a decision-support tool and to improve diagnostic care.
AstraZeneca to leave leading U.S. drug lobby group
AstraZeneca has decided to leave the main U.S. drug lobby group, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), and pursue other ways of engaging in advocacy at the state and federal level, the company said. AstraZeneca decided not to continue its membership after a recent assessment of whether it was "the most productive and effective use of (company) resources", a spokesperson for the British drugmaker said in an emailed statement.
US FTC sues to block Amgen's $27.8 billion deal for Horizon Therapeutics
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Tuesday it has filed a lawsuit to stop Amgen Inc's $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics Plc in a rare move to block a large pharmaceutical deal. In its complaint, the FTC said Amgen would be able to leverage the powerful position it has with insurance companies and pharmacy benefit managers who want access to its blockbuster drugs to pressure them into favorable terms for Horizon's two key products - the fast-growing thyroid eye disease treatment Tepezza and gout drug Krystexxa.
