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

In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, Joanne Noriega said she bought PediaSure Grow & Gain vanilla and strawberry drinks for her eight-year-old grandson, who was "short for his age," believing they would help him get taller. Natera wins $19 million US verdict from ArcherDX in cancer-detection patent case Genetic testing company Natera Inc convinced a Delaware federal jury on Monday to award it $19.3 million in damages from Invitae Corp's ArcherDX for infringing patents related to cancer detection.

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.

US Supreme Court rejects Teva challenge to $235 million GSK award in patent dispute

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc's challenge to a $235 million award to GlaxoSmithKline LLC in a patent dispute over generic drugs involving a heart medication. The justices turned away Israel-based Teva's appeal of a lower court's ruling reinstating the jury award for U.K.-based GSK. The case involves "skinny labels," which allow generic drugmakers to avoid patent lawsuits if a generic drug's label omits potentially infringing uses of a brand-name drug.

Sarepta surges after FDA panel backs Duchenne gene therapy

Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics jumped 25% 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. The stock was set for its biggest percentage jump in over three years, while the drugmaker's market capitalization was on track to add nearly $3 billion, if current gains hold.

WHO members vote to shut European regional office in Russia

The World Health Organization said on Monday that its members in Europe had voted to shut a regional office located in Moscow, in a move which follows Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. WHO Europe's member states have been considering moving the European Office for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases outside Russia since last year.

Abbott Labs is sued over PediaSure height claims

A New York City woman sued Abbott Laboratories on Monday, accusing the healthcare company of misleading consumers into believing its PediaSure nutrition drinks were "clinically proven" to increase children's height. In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, Joanne Noriega said she bought PediaSure Grow & Gain vanilla and strawberry drinks for her eight-year-old grandson, who was "short for his age," believing they would help him get taller.

Natera wins $19 million US verdict from ArcherDX in cancer-detection patent case

Genetic testing company Natera Inc convinced a Delaware federal jury on Monday to award it $19.3 million in damages from Invitae Corp's ArcherDX for infringing patents related to cancer detection. The jury agreed with Natera that biotech company ArcherDX Inc's blood-based DNA tests for detecting and monitoring cancer infringed three of its patents. The award was just over half of the $38 million Natera had requested, according to court documents.

Brazil confirms two cases of avian flu on wild birds

Brazil, the world's top chicken exporter, has for the first time confirmed a case of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), according to statement from the Agriculture Ministry on Monday. The two cases were detected in wild birds and should not trigger a ban on imports of Brazilian poultry products as per guidelines from the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH), according to the Brazilian government.

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.

Biden picks cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to head NIH

The Biden administration on Monday said it intends to nominate cancer surgeon Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following a 16-month search for a permanent successor to the agency's long-serving director Dr. Francis Collins, who stepped down in December 2021. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Bertagnolli will become the second woman to lead the NIH, the largest biomedical research agency in the world with a budget of $45 billion in 2022. NIH falls under the direction of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

(With inputs from agencies.)