Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
J&J's lung cancer therapy succeeds in head-to-head study with
AstraZeneca's drug
Johnson & Johnson said its cancer drug combination increased the time patients with
a type of non small-cell lung cancer live without the disease worsening
compared to AstraZeneca's Tagrisso in a late-stage study.
J&J said on Thursday it expects the combination to become a
first-line treatment for non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients with a type of mutation in EGFR protein that causes rapid tumor
cell growth.
Philip Morris develops zero-tobacco heat stick that may
avoid regulations
Philip Morris International (PMI) on Thursday unveiled a zero-tobacco stick for use with
its "heat-not-burn" device IQOS, which may help the company avoid tax and other regulations
that affect its tobacco products in some markets. บุหรี่ iqos ซื้อที่ไหน heats up small packets of ground up tobacco
resembling cigarettes but does not burn them, a process the company says
potentially results in fewer health risks compared to smoking.
GSK lifts growth target for HIV business on demand for long-acting drug
GSK on Thursday lifted its medium-term growth forecast for its HIV drugs business ViiV, encouraged by strong sales of long-acting injections that aim to replace daily pills for preventing and treating
the infection. The ViiV business, in which Pfizer and Shionogi hold
small stakes, is a key element of a push by group CEO Emma Walmsley to improve investor confidence in the
strength of GSK's drug development pipeline, which has
lagged that of its rivals.
Gritstone bio wins $433 million US contract
for COVID vaccine study
Gritstone bio on Wednesday secured a $433 million contract by the U.S.
government to conduct a mid-stage study of its
self-amplifying mRNA COVID-19 vaccine candidate.
The contract is a part of "Project NextGen," an initiative by the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services to advance a pipeline of new, innovative
vaccines and therapeutics providing broader and more durable protection against
COVID-19 infection.
Newer antibiotic effective against deadly staph infection in trial
An antibiotic already in use in Europe to treat pneumonia controlled deadly bloodstream infections with Staphylococcus aureus
bacteria just as effectively as the most powerful antibiotic currently in use, according to data from a late-stage trial.
Ceftobiprole from Swiss drugmaker Basilea Pharmaceutica appeared to
be equally effective as the older drug daptomycin in the roughly one-in-four patients who had particularly
difficult to treat methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections, researchers reported on Wednesday
in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Wegovy, other weight-loss drugs scrutinized over reports of suicidal thoughts
Dawn Heidlebaugh felt trapped in a disturbing pattern while taking Ozempic, the popular drug used to
treat diabetes and obesity. Each Sunday for more than a year,
the 53-year-old Ohio real estate agent took her weekly injection to help control her blood sugar.
Then every Tuesday, she felt lethargic, depressed and sometimes suicidal,
thinking her husband and four children might be better off without her.
These feelings would last a few days, and the cycle repeated every week -
except when she skipped a dose.
Schott Pharma shares jump 16% in Frankfurt trading debut
Shares in medical vials manufacturer Schott Pharma rose 16%
in their trading debut on Thursday in Germany's largest
initial public offering (IPO) so far this year. Shares in the company closed at 31.30 euros ($33.08) in Frankfurt, up from the 27 euros paid by investors in the IPO,
adding to signs that Europe's IPO market is picking
up.
Merck's blood vessel disorder therapy receives US FDA's priority review
Merck said on Thursday the U.S. health regulator will review its experimental therapy to treat a type of progressive blood vessel disorder on a
priority basis. The drugmaker had gained rights to the therapy, sotatercept, through its $11.5
billion acquisition of Acceleron Pharma in 2021.
German court suspends mRNA patent trial against BioNTech
A German court on Thursday suspended a patent trial against BioNTech over the use of mRNA technology in the COVID-19 vaccine developed by the German company together with its U.S.
partner Pfizer. The Duesseldorf regional court said it needed further clarification and suspended
the case, brought by BioNTech competitor CureVac, pending decisions by the German and
the European patent offices on a legal challenge filed by BioNTech.
S.Africa's RCL Foods culls 410,000 chickens amid bird
flu outbreak
South Africa's RCL Foods said on Thursday its poultry unit Rainbow has culled 410,000 chickens due to the country's
worst outbreak of avian flu, heightening fears
of chicken meat and egg shortages. The outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza
(HPAI), a bird flu which spreads rapidly in an infected flock causing a high death rate, has already impacted table egg
supplies in the country and producers have warned of
chicken meat shortages in the coming weeks.