Health News Roundup: Novartis names Sandoz board members ahead of spin-off; Sarepta surges after FDA panel backs Duchenne gene therapy and more

Eight of the 14 advisers to the Food and Drug Administration late Friday voted that the company had enough data to support an accelerated approval for its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). KKR-backed Envision Healthcare files for bankruptcy KKR & Co Inc-backed Envision Healthcare Corp and its wholly owned subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novartis names Sandoz board members ahead of spin-off

Novartis on Monday named the intended new board members of Sandoz, the generics business it plans to spin off to shareholders later this year. The Basel company approved the recommendations of Sandoz Chairman-designate Gilbert Ghostine for the 10 members of the board, which will start preparatory work in June.

Sarepta surges after FDA panel backs Duchenne gene therapy

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics soared 29% premarket on Monday as a backing by the U.S. health regulator's advisers increased the certainty of an accelerated approval for the company's gene therapy for a muscle-wasting genetic disorder. Eight of the 14 advisers to the Food and Drug Administration late Friday voted that the company had enough data to support an accelerated approval for its gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

KKR-backed Envision Healthcare files for bankruptcy

KKR & Co Inc-backed Envision Healthcare Corp and its wholly owned subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. The U.S. provider of physicians has estimated assets and liabilities in the range of $1 billion to $10 billion each, the company said in a court filing.

Drugmaker Athenex voluntarily files for U.S. Chapter 11 proceedings

Drugmaker Athenex Inc and certain of its subsidiaries voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 proceedings, the company said on Sunday. Athenex reached an agreement with its lenders to move forward with an expedited sale process of its assets, the company said in a statement.

Mass vaccination drive begins in Malawi after deadly storm

Malawi on Monday kicked off a mass vaccination drive to inoculate more than 9 million children against several life-threatening diseases, as it seeks to prevent a health crisis after deadly Cyclone Freddy. The cyclone killed more than 1,000 people in the southern African country, according to Malawi's president. It was one of the deadliest storms to hit Africa in recent memory, ripping through Malawi, Mozambique and Madagascar in late February and March.

UniQure to sell royalty interest in blood disorder therapy for up to $400 million

Dutch drug developer uniQure said on Monday it would sell a part of the royalty rights for the world's most expensive treatment Hemgenix to HealthCare Royalty and Sagard Healthcare for up to $400 million in cash. Australian drugmaker CSL Ltd had acquired exclusive global rights to Hemgenix in June 2020 from uniQure, which would retain the rights to future milestones totaling up to $1.5 billion and maintain an interest in the therapy's royalties.