Health News Roundup: Pfizer RSV vaccine lags GSK’s as head-to-head competition underway; Belgium seizes fake weight-loss drugs containing insulin and more

Treatment with the drug candidate, acquired as part of the purchase of U.S. biotech firm Chinook for up to $3.5 billion, resulted in a meaningful improvement in proteinuria in patients suffering from IgA nephropathy when compared to placebo, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement. Reviva Pharma's schizophrenia drug succeeds in late-stage study Reviva Pharmaceuticals' lead experimental drug to treat adults with schizophrenia helped reduce severity of disease symptoms in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares up nearly 8% on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Sarepta's gene therapy fails primary goal in rare muscular dystrophy trial

Sarepta Therapeutics' gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) failed to meet the main goal of a late-stage trial, the company reported after the bell on Monday.

The therapy failed to meet statistical significance in improving patient clinical outcomes such as their ability to walk and stand when compared to placebo-treated patients at 52 weeks.

Pfizer RSV vaccine lags GSK’s as head-to-head competition underway

Pfizer, which dominated COVID vaccine sales, now finds itself looking up at GSK, whose rival new respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine has surged to an early lead since the shots launched this summer. GSK accounts for close to two-thirds of RSV shots given in the United States since early September, according to IQVIA data seen by Reuters.

Bluebird bio to sell sickle cell FDA voucher for $103 million if therapy approved

Bluebird bio said on Monday it has agreed to sell its priority review voucher for $103 million if it gets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval for its gene therapy to treat sickle cell disease. The voucher, which is transferable, allows a drug developer to expedite the review process of its product even if it does not fit requirements for a quick process.

Providers can sue over Arizona ban on abortion for genetic anomalies -court

A U.S. appeals court on Monday revived a challenge to an Arizona law banning abortions from being performed solely because the fetus has a genetic abnormality. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that a group of healthcare providers can sue the state over the law because they are harmed by it, reversing a lower court ruling.

Merck KGaA widens work on 'DNA damage' drugs in deal with China's Hengrui

Germany's Merck KGaA on Monday said it struck a collaboration deal with Chinese drugmaker Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals to widen Merck's work in an area known as "DNA damage response" drugs. In a statement on Monday, diversified group Merck said it agreed to pay Hengrui 160 million euros ($169 million) upfront. The deal could be worth up to 1.4 billion euros when including payments contingent on development and commercial achievement as well as royalties on sales.

GSK's cancer drug Jemperli meets overall survival goal in late-stage trial

British drugmaker GSK said on Monday its cancer drug Jemperli when combined with chemotherapy, met the primary goal of overall survival in patients with advanced or recurrent endometrial cancer in a late-stage trial. Overall survival, defined as the proportion of trial patients on the drug who were alive compared to those on a placebo, was one of two primary goals in a Phase III trial, GSK said.

Pharmacy staff from CVS, Walgreens stores in US start three-day walkout

Some employees at CVS Health Corp and Walgreens Boots Alliance's U.S. pharmacies launched a three-day walkout starting Monday to push the companies to improve working conditions and add more staff to their stores. The walkout, which has been dubbed "Pharmageddon" on social media platforms such as Meta's Facebook where it was largely planned, started on Monday and led to the closing of some stores in New York City, two organizers told Reuters.

Belgium seizes fake weight-loss drugs containing insulin

Belgium’s drug regulator said it had seized counterfeit versions of semaglutide, the active ingredient in Novo Nordisk's popular obesity drug Wegovy, in which the injector pens contained insulin. The Federal Agency for Medicines and Health Products told Reuters that this year it had detained nine mailed packages of GLP-1 medicines, the class of drugs that includes Wegovy and Novo's diabetes drug Ozempic, on the suspicion that they were fake.

Novartis drug candidate scores interim win in rare kidney disease trial

Novartis said its experimental drug atrasentan was shown to have a positive effect on an indicator of kidney health in people suffering from a rare type of kidney disease in an interim analysis of a late-stage drug trial. Treatment with the drug candidate, acquired as part of the purchase of U.S. biotech firm Chinook for up to $3.5 billion, resulted in a meaningful improvement in proteinuria in patients suffering from IgA nephropathy when compared to placebo, the Swiss drugmaker said in a statement.

Reviva Pharma's schizophrenia drug succeeds in late-stage study

Reviva Pharmaceuticals' lead experimental drug to treat adults with schizophrenia helped reduce severity of disease symptoms in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares up nearly 8% on Monday. Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disorder that causes distortion in thoughts, hallucinations and feelings of fright and paranoia.

(With inputs from agencies.)