Health News Roundup: CDC recommends avoiding exposure to sick or dead animals; Amgen jumps after teasing weight-loss drug data, rival stocks fall and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

CDC recommends avoiding exposure to sick or dead animals

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Friday that people should avoid exposures to sick or dead animals suspected to be infected with the H5N1 bird flu virus. Farmers, workers and emergency responders should wear appropriate personal protective equipment when in direct or close physical contact with sick birds, livestock or other animals, the agency said.

Bird flu likely circulated in US cows for four months before diagnosis -paper

Bird flu likely circulated in U.S. dairy cows on a limited basis for about four months before federal officials confirmed the disease that has now spread to nine states, according to a new federally funded research paper. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the first-ever H5N1 virus infection in a dairy cow in Texas on March 25, following reports of decreased milk yields in multiple states.

Amgen jumps after teasing weight-loss drug data, rival stocks fall

Amgen shares headed for their best session since 2009 on Friday after the U.S. drugmaker hinted at encouraging interim trial data on its experimental obesity drug, denting rival stocks but leaving analysts frustrated with a lack of details.

Weight-loss drugmaker Eli Lilly's shares fell 1.6% while Novo Nordisk's Denmark-traded shares dropped 3.9%, on track for their biggest one-day fall since November 2022. Smaller peer Viking Therapeutics fell 2.3%.

Novo Nordisk trims price for blockbuster obesity drug as competition heats up

Novo Nordisk raised its 2024 outlook on Thursday as the Danish drugmaker races to boost output of its Wegovy weight-loss treatment, while competition from rival Eli Lilly forced the company to cut prices of the drug, knocking its shares. These are Novo's second set of results since Lilly launched obesity drug Zepbound in the United States in December and highlight the fast-changing dynamics as the two companies go head to head in a market which analysts estimate could be worth as much as $100 billion by the end of the decade.

Dairy worker bird flu case shows need for protective gear, US CDC study shows

The Texas dairy farm worker infected with H5N1 bird flu was not wearing respiratory or eye protection and had been exposed to cattle that appeared to have the same symptoms as those in a nearby farm with a confirmed outbreak of the virus, according to new details on the case released on Friday. The details, reported online in the New England Journal of Medicine, underscore the risk to farm workers in the ongoing outbreak among U.S. dairy cattle and the need to wear protective gear to avoid infection.

Drugmaker Amneal agrees to $270 million U.S. opioid settlement

Amneal Pharmaceuticals said on Friday it had reached a deal valued at more than $270 million to resolve claims it helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic, becoming the latest drug company to settle lawsuits over the addiction crisis brought by states and local governments. Amneal reached an agreement in principle to pay $92.5 million in cash and provide $180 million worth of naloxone nasal spray, an overdose treatment medication, to resolve lawsuits by U.S. states, local governments and Native American tribes.

WHO chief urges countries to finalise pandemic accord by deadline

The head of the World Health Organization on Friday urged countries to agree to an accord to help fight future pandemics as negotiations approach a deadline this month. The new pact and a series of updates to existing rules on dealing with pandemics are intended to shore up the world's defenses against new pathogens after the COVID-19 pandemic killed millions of people.

US FTC seeks more information on Novo Nordisk parent-Catalent deal

The U.S. FTC has sought more information on Novo Nordisk parent's $16.5 billion bid for contract drug manufacturer Catalent, weeks after an application to the regulator was refiled for approval of the deal. Catalent said on Friday the companies were in the process of gathering information to respond to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's request received on May 2.

At least 42 die from measles outbreak in northeast Nigeria

At least 42 deaths have been recorded from a measles outbreak in just over a week in Nigeria's northeastern state of Adamawa, the state's health commissioner said on Friday. Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mostly affects children under the age of 5. It can be prevented by two doses of vaccine and more than 50 million deaths have been averted since 2000, according to the World Health Organisation.

Biden expands health insurance access for DACA immigrants

President Joe Biden's administration will allow certain immigrants illegally brought to the U.S. as children access to federally run health insurance, the White House said on Friday, addressing a sensitive issue ahead of the November elections. With the move, an estimated 100,000 previously uninsured participants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA, are expected to enroll in the Health Insurance Marketplace and the Basic Health Program, both created under the Affordable Care Act, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said.

(With inputs from agencies.)