Health News Roundup: Medicare offers details on reimbursement for new Alzheimer's drugs; US appeals court vacates travel mask mandate ruling and more

Such a signal from the EMA does not mean that the medicine is the cause of any reported adverse events. Moderna seeks US FDA authorization for updated COVID vaccine Moderna said on Thursday it has completed a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking authorization for its updated COVID-19 vaccine to target the XBB.1.5 subvariant.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Wyoming judge blocks ban on abortion pills -report

A Wyoming judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a law banning medication abortion in the Western state, delaying what could be the nation's first such ban while a lawsuit challenging it makes its way through the courts, the Casper Star Tribune reported. Wyoming's ban, one of numerous abortion restrictions passed by Republican lawmakers in U.S. states in the year since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to an abortion by overturning the 50-year-old Roe vs. Wade decision, was set to go into effect July 1.

US FDA declines to approve Intercept's fatty liver disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday declined to grant accelerated approval for Intercept Pharmaceuticals' drug to treat a type of fatty liver disease, sending its shares down more than 11% in extended trading. The rejection marks Intercept's second failed attempt at securing approval for the drug to treat patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) - a liver disease that affects 5% of U.S. adults but has no approved treatments after numerous clinical failures by several drugmakers.

'Alarming' rise in diabetes globally by 2050- study

Every country in the world will see rates of diabetes rise in the next 30 years without action, according to a new global study. There are currently 529 million people in the world with diabetes, the study led by researchers at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington found. They projected that this will more than double to around 1.3 billion people by 2050.

US appeals court vacates travel mask mandate ruling

A U.S. appeals court panel Thursday vacated an April 2022 ruling that had declared unlawful a government order requiring masks on airplanes and other transportation modes during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Justice Department had asked 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to declare the issue moot after President Joe Biden ended the COVID-19 public health emergency in May.

U.S. court strikes down Florida transgender health rule

A U.S. judge on Wednesday struck down a Florida rule and a statute that banned state Medicaid payments for transgender healthcare, marking the second defeat in two weeks for anti-transgender legislation in the state. U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle declared the state's practices invalid, saying they violated the constitutional right to equal protection under the 14th amendment in addition to violating the federal Medicaid statue and the Affordable Care Act's prohibition of sex discrimination.

US FDA approves Sarepta's gene therapy for rare muscular dystrophy in some kids

The U.S. health regulator has granted accelerated approval to Sarepta Therapeutics' first-of-its-kind gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), an inherited progressive muscle-wasting disorder that almost always affects young boys. Sarepta said on Thursday the Food and Drug Administration had approved the treatment for children aged between 4 and 5 years who can walk. It was initially seeking approval for all DMD patients who can walk.

California, other states join FTC bid to block Amgen deal

The states of California, New York, Illinois, Minnesota, Washington and Wisconsin have joined a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) lawsuit to stop Amgen's $27.8 billion deal to buy Horizon Therapeutics, according to a court filing on Thursday. Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson said his state had joined the lawsuit because "monopolies harm consumers" and the merger could allow Amgen to "dominate" prescription drug markets.

Medicare offers details on reimbursement for new Alzheimer's drugs

The U.S. Medicare health plan on Thursday offered details of plans to collect patient data as a condition for reimbursement for Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc's new Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, should it win traditional U.S. approval as expected by July 6. Under the plan, Medicare, the government health plan for Americans 65 and older, would require physicians to take part in a data collection effort, known as a patient registry, that would be run by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

Novo Nordisk says EMA raised safety signal on drugs including semaglutide

A thyroid cancer safety signal was raised by the EU's drugs watchdog last month over several Novo Nordisk products including semaglutide, which is used in popular diabetes and obesity medicines Ozempic and Wegovy. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) raised the safety signal, which is a way to monitor potential adverse events from the use of approved drugs, Novo Nordisk said. Such a signal from the EMA does not mean that the medicine is the cause of any reported adverse events.

Moderna seeks US FDA authorization for updated COVID vaccine

Moderna said on Thursday it has completed a submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration seeking authorization for its updated COVID-19 vaccine to target the XBB.1.5 subvariant. The submission from the company follows the FDA's advice last week to manufacturers that are updating their COVID-19 vaccines to develop monovalent shots to target XBB.1.5.

(With inputs from agencies.)