Health News Roundup: Gilead details promising early COVID antiviral data, setting up larger studies; J&J unit files for second bankruptcy to pursue $8.9 billion talc settlement and more

Final data from the study that was halted early when it became clear the vaccine was effective was published in the New England Journal of Medicine. India in diplomatic effort to protect drug exports after Gambia, Uzbekistan deaths Indian officials are in contact with foreign authorities and have held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports do not suffer, the government said on Wednesday, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Gilead details promising early COVID antiviral data, setting up larger studies

Gilead Sciences Inc on Tuesday unveiled data from the first human study of its experimental oral COVID-19 antiviral, saying the results in healthy volunteers cleared the way for two large Phase III trials of the drug that have begun enrolling patients. The drug, obeldesivir and previously known as GS-5245, is designed to keep the coronavirus that causes COVID from replicating in the body and overwhelming a patient's immune system. Once metabolized, it works in the same way as Gilead's older intravenous COVID treatment Veklury (remdesivir), which targets virus replication through inhibition of the viral RNA polymerase.

J&J unit files for second bankruptcy to pursue $8.9 billion talc settlement

Johnson & Johnson has agreed to pay $8.9 billion to settle tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that talc in its iconic Baby Powder and other products caused cancer, the company said. The amount dwarfs J&J’s original offer of $2 billion. The agreement follows a January appeals court ruling invalidating J&J’s controversial “Texas two-step” bankruptcy maneuver, in which it sought to offload the talc liability onto a subsidiary that immediately filed for Chapter 11.

Pfizer RSV vaccine 82% effective vs severe infection in infants, final data shows

Pfizer Inc's experimental respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine was 82% effective in preventing severe infections in infants when given to expecting mothers in the second half of their pregnancy, according to trial details published on Wednesday that confirm preliminary data from the study. Final data from the study that was halted early when it became clear the vaccine was effective was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

India in diplomatic effort to protect drug exports after Gambia, Uzbekistan deaths

Indian officials are in contact with foreign authorities and have held meetings in Africa to ensure its drug exports do not suffer, the government said on Wednesday, after Indian-made cough syrups were linked to deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan. India's drug industry is one of the biggest in the world but its reputation has been shaken after tests conducted by the World Health Organization and other agencies showed toxins in the cough syrups. The tainted products were linked to the deaths of 70 children in Gambia and 19 in Uzbekistan last year.

Which countries allow commercial surrogacy?

Spanish TV star Ana Obregon has revealed that her newly adopted baby daughter, born to an unidentified surrogate mother, was conceived using the frozen sperm of Obregon's son who died of cancer three years ago. In Spain, all forms of surrogacy - including so-called "altruistic" ones where no money changes hands - are illegal.

AstraZeneca says drug combo meets goal in late-stage ovarian cancer trial

AstraZeneca on Wednesday said a combination of its cancer drugs Imfinzi and Lynparza met the main goal in a late-stage trial in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. The drugmaker said treatment with a combination of those drugs, along with chemotherapy and bevacizumab - the existing standard of care - improved progression-free survival in newly diagnosed patients with advanced ovarian cancer without certain mutations.

Planned Parenthood sues to block Idaho ban on out-of-state abortion referrals

A Planned Parenthood affiliate and two doctors on Wednesday filed a lawsuit seeking to block Idaho authorities from punishing healthcare providers for referring patients to get abortions in other states. Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador, a Republican, said in a legal opinion last week that the state's near-total abortion ban, enacted last August, "prohibits an Idaho medical provider from ... referring a woman across state lines to access abortion services."

Arbutus files patent lawsuit against Pfizer/BioNTech over COVID vaccines

Arbutus Biopharma on Tuesday sued U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE in a New Jersey district court, claiming their mRNA COVID-19 vaccines infringe five of Arbutus' patents. Arbutus, along with its licensee Genevant Sciences, is seeking damages, including reasonable royalties, over the use of lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology in Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines to carry and transfer genetic material into the body.

Washington state purchases three-year supply of abortion pill

Washington state's government said on Tuesday it had purchased a three-year supply of abortion pill mifepristone as a Texas judge mulls a nationwide ban on the medication's sale. The state's Democratic governor directed its Department of Corrections, which has a pharmacy license, to purchase the medication last month, a government statement said.

Ex-Magellan Diagnostics execs charged with concealing lead-test defect

Three former executives of medical device company Magellan Diagnostics concealed a malfunction in the company’s lead-testing devices that caused tests to underestimate the level of lead in people's blood, U.S. prosecutors in Boston said in announcing criminal charges on Wednesday. Amy Winslow, Hossein Maleknia and Reba Daoust misled Magellan customers and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) about when they discovered the defect, the extent of the problem and the risks associated with it, prosecutors said.