Health News Roundup: US fentanyl-related deaths more than tripled over 5 years; Haleon not surprised by Pfizer stake sale plans, says CFO and more

London-listed Haleon was carved out as an independent company in July and comprises consumer health assets once owned by GSK and Pfizer. US FDA approves first RSV vaccine from GSK The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved GSK Plc's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, the British drugmaker said on Wednesday, making it the first shot to be cleared for protection against a common respiratory disease that can be fatal for older people.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US fentanyl-related deaths more than tripled over 5 years

The rate of drug overdose deaths involving the synthetic opioid fentanyl more than tripled in the United States from 2016 through 2021, according to a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Wednesday. Fentanyl is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine, and has increasingly been mixed with other illicit drugs often with lethal results.

Haleon not surprised by Pfizer stake sale plans, says CFO

Pfizer's plan to sell its Haleon stake is not a surprise, the consumer health company's finance chief Tobias Hestler told Reuters on Wednesday. London-listed Haleon was carved out as an independent company in July and comprises consumer health assets once owned by GSK and Pfizer.

US FDA approves first RSV vaccine from GSK

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved GSK Plc's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, the British drugmaker said on Wednesday, making it the first shot to be cleared for protection against a common respiratory disease that can be fatal for older people. The vaccine, Arexvy, was approved for people aged 60 and older, the company said.

Australia pledges $7.5 billion to fund 15% pay rise for aged care workers

Australia's Labor government on Thursday said it would set aside A$11.3 billion ($7.5 billion) in next week's federal budget to fund a 15% pay rise for retirement home staff as the sector grapples with a shortage of skilled workers. The increase in wages, over the next four years from July 1, will bump up the salaries of 250,000 workers, with registered nurses expected to get an additional A$10,000 a year.

Lilly drug slows Alzheimer's by 35%, bolstering treatment approach

An experimental Alzheimer's drug developed by Eli Lilly and Co slowed cognitive decline by 35% in a late-stage trial, the company said on Wednesday, providing what experts say is the strongest evidence yet that removing sticky amyloid plaques from the brain benefits patients with the fatal disease. Lilly's drug, donanemab, met all goals of the trial, the company said. It slowed progression of Alzheimer's by 35% compared to a placebo in 1,182 people with early-stage disease whose brains had deposits of two key Alzheimer's proteins, beta amyloid as well as intermediate levels of tau, a protein linked with disease progression and brain cell death.

North Carolina House passes 12-week abortion ban

North Carolina's Republican-dominated House on Wednesday passed and sent to the state Senate a controversial bill limiting most abortions to the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a sharp drop from the state's current limit of 20 weeks' gestation. The bill passed 71-46 along party lines, with one Republican and two Democratic lawmakers not voting.

CVS Health to pause M&A and focus on integration

CVS Health Corp said on Wednesday it would pause its recent acquisition spree as it focuses on integrating purchases of healthcare service provider Signify Health and primary care provider Oak Street Health. CVS, which has a large retail pharmacy chain, and major health insurance and pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) units, like other healthcare rivals has been looking to broaden the services it offers.

ImmunoGen surges after cancer drug study hits a 'home run'

ImmunoGen Inc shares more than doubled on Wednesday after the company said its experimental ovarian cancer drug helped extend the lives of patients in a late-stage trial. The biotech company said the drug candidate, Elahere, also significantly prolonged the time that a patient lives without the cancer worsening, when compared with chemotherapy.

WHO dismisses lead COVID origins investigator for sexual misconduct

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that it has dismissed a senior scientist, known for his role as the head of an international mission to China to probe the origins of COVID-19, for sexual misconduct. The U.N. agency said Peter Ben Embarek, a Danish scientist who previously headed up its 'One Health' initiative on diseases jumping from animals to humans, was removed from his post last year. In a response to Reuters, Ben Embarek said he contested the accusation of harassment and was challenging the sanction.

Factbox-GSK beats Pfizer, other rivals to win RSV vaccine race

British drugmaker GSK Plc on Wednesday became the first to receive approval for its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine in the United States, putting it ahead of rivals Pfizer Inc, Moderna Inc and Bavarian Nordic. RSV is a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can also lead to serious illness and hospitalization. The market for its vaccines could exceed $10 billion by 2030, analysts have said.