Health News Roundup: Hong Kong leader calls for calm, after supermarkets emptied ahead of mass COVID testing; Breakthrough gene-editing technology belongs to Harvard, MIT -U.S. tribunal and more

Hong Kong is facing a record number of COVID-19 fatalities and battling to control a surge in cases. FDA approves cancer therapy by J&J, partner Legend Biotech The U.S. health regulator has approved a therapy developed by Johnson & Johnson and its China-focused partner Legend Biotech Corp to treat a type of white blood cell cancer, the U.S. healthcare company said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Hong Kong leader calls for calm, after supermarkets emptied ahead of mass COVID testing

Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam called for calm on Tuesday after residents emptied supermarkets, stocking up on produce ahead of reports of compulsory mass COVID-19 testing and rumors of a city-wide lockdown. Local media reported compulsory COVID testing would start after March 17, sparking concerns many people will be forced to isolate and families with members testing positive would be separated.

Breakthrough gene-editing technology belongs to Harvard, MIT -U.S. tribunal

A U.S. tribunal overseeing patent disputes ruled on Monday that patents on the breakthrough gene-editing technology known as CRISPR belong to Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's decision is a defeat for the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Vienna and Nobel Prize-winning researcher Emmanuelle Charpentier.

U.S. FDA extends review period for expanded use of Abbvie's psoriasis drug

Abbvie Inc said on Monday the U.S. health agency extended the review period for the expanded use of its newer psoriasis drug Skyrizi by three months, citing the need for more time to review additional data submitted by the company. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration was reviewing the application for the use of Skyrizi in patients aged 16 years of age or older with moderate to severe Crohn's disease, a type of inflammatory bowel disease.

Pfizer/BioNTech COVID vaccine less effective in ages 5-11 -New York study

Two doses of the Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE COVID-19 vaccine was protective against severe disease in children aged 5 to 11 during the recent Omicron variant surge, but quickly lost most of its ability to prevent infection in the age group, according to a study by New York State researchers. The vaccine's efficacy against infection among those children declined to 12% at the end of January from 68% in mid-December compared to kids who did not get vaccinated, according to the study, which has not yet been peer-reviewed.

Abortion rights bill fails to pass procedural vote, dies in U.S. Senate

A bill to protect the right to have an abortion in the United States died in the Senate on Monday after it failed to garner enough Republican support to pass a procedural vote. While the Women's Health Protection Act was expected to fail, Democratic leaders were under pressure from constituents to put it to a vote anyway in a show of support for federal abortion rights, as the U.S. Supreme Court could soon upend those rights.

FDA approves CTI BioPharma's bone marrow cancer drug

CTI BioPharma Corp said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved its drug for treating adult patients with a type of bone marrow cancer who also have low blood platelet count. The drug, Vonjo (pacritinib), belongs to a class of anti-inflammatory treatments called JAK inhibitors and will compete with Incyte Corp's Jakafi and Bristol Myers' Inrebic, which were approved in 2011 and 2019 respectively for treating Myelofibrosis.

Novavax expects to apply for full approval of COVID vaccine in H2

Novavax Inc said on Monday it would pursue full approval of its COVID-19 vaccine in the second half of this year and forecast total revenue of between $4 billion and $5 billion for 2022. "We expect to gain additional authorizations where we have already filed, including in the U.S. We will pursue full approval of our vaccine including filing our BLA (biologics license application), in the second half of 2022," Chief Executive Officer Stanley Erck said during a post-earnings call.

California, Oregon and Washington to end school mask mandates after March 11

California, Oregon and Washington will cease to require face coverings in schools after March 11 as the latest COVID-19 surge ebbs, but mask mandates will remain for higher-risk settings such as hospitals and prisons, governors of the three states said on Monday. The joint action, following similar moves announced recently by several East Coast states, including New York and New Jersey, comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday eased indoor masking guidelines for most of the nation.

U.S. CDC says unvaccinated travelers should avoid Hong Kong travel

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday recommended unvaccinated travelers avoid travel to Hong Kong over rising COVID-19 cases. The CDC raised its COVID-19 level for Hong Kong from Level 1: Low to Level 3: High, one level below its highest warning level. Hong Kong is facing a record number of COVID-19 fatalities and battling to control a surge in cases.

FDA approves cancer therapy by J&J, partner Legend Biotech

The U.S. health regulator has approved a therapy developed by Johnson & Johnson and its China-focused partner Legend Biotech Corp to treat a type of white blood cell cancer, the U.S. healthcare company said on Monday. The Food and Drug Administration's decision paves the way for Legend's first approved product in the United States, at a time when the regulator has stepped up its scrutiny of drug trials conducted in China. The Legend-J&J therapy was tested initially in China, and then in the United States and Japan.