Health News Summary: More ebola cases, Britain wants to help smokers quit

Vaping rules should be relaxed to allow the promotion of e-cigarettes as tools to help tobacco smokers quit, British lawmakers said on Friday.


Reuters | Updated: 17-08-2018 18:48 IST | Created: 17-08-2018 18:29 IST
Health News Summary: More ebola cases, Britain wants to help smokers quit
World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that at least 1,500 people had been potentially exposed to the deadly Ebola virus. (Image Credit: Twitter)

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

FDA approves Teva's generic of Mylan's EpiPen

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd's generic version of Mylan NV's life-saving allergy injection, EpiPen, at a time when regulators are looking to lower healthcare costs. U.S.-listed shares of Teva jumped 6 percent to $23.88, while those of Mylan were down 1.3 percent at $37.31.

China sacks top official over vaccine scandal, firm may de-list

China has sacked a senior provincial official and is probing a former top drug regulator after a safety scandal at vaccine maker Changsheng Biotechnology Co Ltd, which again warned it could be delisted over the scandal. The company was accused in July of falsifying data for a rabies vaccine and manufacturing an ineffective vaccine for babies, sparking widespread consumer anger.

China think tank slammed for 'procreation fund' idea

A proposal by two Chinese researchers to force couples with fewer than two children to pay into a "procreation fund" backfired on Friday, with critics calling it a "thoughtless" and "absurd" way to battle the problem of an aging population. Since 2016, China has allowed urban couples to have two children, replacing a decades-old one-child policy blamed for falling birth rates and a greying society, but the changes have not ushered in the hoped-for baby boom.

Japan's Eisai sets price tag of about $16,000 on liver cancer drug

Japan's Eisai Co Ltd said on Thursday it would price its cancer drug Lenvima at about $16,000 for a month's supply before discounts after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its use in patients with a common form of liver cancer. The drug was approved as the first therapy in over a decade in the United States to treat previously untreated patients with an advanced or intermediate stage of unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

World's top pork firm shuts China slaughterhouse in the race to contain deadly swine fever

China has ordered the world's top pork producer, WH Group Ltd, to shut a major slaughterhouse as authorities race to stop the spread of deadly African swine fever (ASF) after a second outbreak in the planet's biggest hog herd in two weeks. The discovery of infected pigs in Zhengzhou city, in central Henan province, about 1,000 km (625 miles) from the first case ever reported in China, pushed pig prices lower on Friday and stirred animal health experts' fears of fresh outbreaks - as well as food safety concerns among the public.

WHO expects more Ebola cases in Congo, can't reach no-go areas

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that at least 1,500 people had been potentially exposed to the deadly Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of Congo's North Kivu region, where insecurity prevents aid workers from reaching some areas. But it expected more people to become infected and could not be sure that it had identified all chains by which the virus is spreading in the eastern part of the country beset by militia violence.

Illness at Ohio Chipotle caused by food-borne bacteria: local officials

A type of bacteria found in meat and pre-cooked food left at unsafe temperatures was responsible for sickening hundreds of people who ate at a Chipotle Mexican Grill restaurant in Ohio, local health officials said on Thursday. The outbreak last month was the latest in a series of food safety lapses at the burrito chain, and health officials said it was caused by the clostridium perfringens bacterium, which often infects food that is prepared in large quantities and kept warm for a long time.

Lawmakers want British vaping rules relaxed to help smokers quit

Vaping rules should be relaxed to allow the promotion of e-cigarettes as tools to help tobacco smokers quit, British lawmakers said on Friday. This could include prescribing medically licensed e-cigarettes to assist smoking cessation efforts.

Pfizer bets on biotech flu vaccine in $425 million BioNTech alliance

Pfizer has agreed to pay German biotech firm BioNTech up to $425 million in an alliance to develop more effective influenza jabs, the latest among several major pharma companies to bank on a promising new genetic approach. Privately-held BioNTech will receive $120 million upfront plus up to $305 million depending on certain development achievements as well as tiered royalties on futures sales in the double-digit percentage range, the two companies said in a statement on Thursday.

Trump administration proposes production quota cuts for six opioids

The Trump administration on Thursday proposed that U.S. drugmakers cut production quotas of the six most abused opioids by 10 percent next year to fight a nationwide addiction crisis. In a statement, the U.S. Justice Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) said the proposed cut would be in keeping with President Donald Trump's effort to cut opioid prescription fills by one-third within three years.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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