Health News Roundup: UK first to approve Omicron COVID shot with Moderna nod; Pfizer CEO Bourla shows mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID and more

"In the U.S. we allow drug manufacturers to freely set prices for all brand-name drugs," Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Reuters. Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) has given the first approval of a variant-adapted vaccine by U.S. drug company Moderna that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novartis fails again to reuse anti-inflammatory drug to treat lung cancer

Efforts by Novartis to show that an established anti-inflammatory drug could also suppress cancer growth were dealt a final blow when a third big lung cancer trial failed to produce the desired results. The Swiss drugmaker said on Monday its canakinumab drug did not slow the progression of non-small cell lung cancer in a late-stage trial, when given to prevent relapse in patients that were diagnosed early enough for tumour-removal surgery.

Pfizer CEO Bourla shows mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID

Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla said on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was experiencing very mild symptoms. Bourla, 60, said he had started a course of the company's oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment, Paxlovid, and was isolating and following all public health precautions.

UK first to approve Omicron COVID shot with Moderna nod

Britain, the first country to approve a coronavirus vaccine in late 2020, has now also given the first green light to a variant-adapted shot that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus. The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) gave the so-called bivalent vaccine made by U.S. drug company Moderna conditional approval as a booster for adults on Monday.

Newly-launched U.S. drugs head toward record-high prices in 2022

Drugmakers are launching new medicines at record-high prices this year, a Reuters analysis has found, highlighting their pricing power even as Congress moves to cut the $500 billion-plus annual bill for prescription drugs in the United States. At the same time, some pharmaceutical manufacturers are disclosing less information about the pricing of those treatments, which have come under greater scrutiny in recent years, Reuters found. "In the U.S. we allow drug manufacturers to freely set prices for all brand-name drugs," Dr. Aaron Kesselheim, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, told Reuters.

Factbox - Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

The UK medicines regulator (MHRA) has given the first approval of a variant-adapted vaccine by U.S. drug company Moderna that targets both the original and Omicron version of the virus. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

UK's autumn booster campaign buoyed by Omicron booster nod

The United Kingdom's COVID booster campaign is set to kick off this September, after the country became the first in the world to approve an Omicron-adapted shot. Around 26 million people in Britain are estimated to be eligible for an autumn COVID-19 booster having had at least two COVID vaccine doses already, a UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) spokesperson said.

Novavax seeks U.S. authorization for COVID vaccine booster

Novavax Inc said on Monday it had filed for U.S. authorization for use of its COVID-19 vaccine as a booster dose in people who had either received its shots or a different vaccine. The application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration comes in the face of a slow rollout in the United States, where the Novavax vaccine was authorized in July, despite expectations that it would convince vaccine skeptics to get inoculated.

AstraZeneca says data confirms Enhertu benefit in breast cancer patients

AstraZeneca said a late-stage trial had confirmed the benefit of breast cancer drug Enhertu in patients with an advanced form of the disease who had been previously treated with another therapy. In a 600-patient trial called DESTINY-Breast02, Enhertu -developed with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo - was compared against a treatment pre-determined by physicians in people with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer.

Serum Institue of India's Poonawalla expects Omicron-specific vaccine in 6 months - NDTV

Serum Institute of India's (SII) Chief Executive Officer Adar Poonawalla said he expects an Omicron-specific vaccine in the country in six months, NDTV reported on Monday. SII, the world's biggest vaccine maker, produces AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine under the brand name Covishield.

Explainer - Why has polio been found in London, New York and Jerusalem, and how dangerous is it?

Polio, a deadly disease that used to paralyze tens of thousands of children every year, is spreading in London, New York and Jerusalem for the first time in decades, spurring catch-up vaccination campaigns. DREADED DISEASE

(With inputs from agencies.)