Health News Roundup: WHO sees low risk of spread after China reports combined H3N2, H10N5 bird flu case; Proteins may predict who will get dementia 10 years later, study finds and more

The health agency plans to recommend people who test positive for COVID-19 to take a call on when to end isolation based on their symptoms. Novo Nordisk's controlling shareholder plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030 Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030, CEO Kasim Kutay told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US CDC plans to drop five-day COVID isolation guidelines - Washington Post

The U.S. CDC plans to drop its five-day COVID-19 isolation recommendations under new guidance planned by the agency, the Washington Post reported on Tuesday. The health agency plans to recommend people who test positive for COVID-19 to take a call on when to end isolation based on their symptoms.

Novo Nordisk's controlling shareholder plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030, CEO Kasim Kutay told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Novo Holdings would invest about $5 billion a year in the next five years, and that could go up to $7 billion a year by 2030, Kutay said.

Takeda's treatment becomes first oral therapy for esophageal condition in US

Takeda Pharmaceutical's therapy for an allergic inflammation of the esophagus has received approval from the U.S. FDA, the Japanese drugmaker said on Monday, capping a years-long regulatory process. The U.S. health regulator's approval makes the therapy the first oral treatment for the condition, which currently only has Sanofi and Regeneron's injection Dupixent.

Gilead to buy CymaBay for $4.3 billion in bets on liver disease treatment

Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3 billion, gaining access to an experimental liver disease treatment with blockbuster potential as the U.S. drugmaker looks beyond its older HIV drugs for growth. Shares of the Newark, California-based drug developer jumped 24.6% to a record high of $32.01 in morning trading on Monday, compared to the offer price of $32.50 per share. Gilead's shares rose 1.1% to $74.49.

WHO sees low risk of spread after China reports combined H3N2, H10N5 bird flu case

The World Health Organization said on Tuesday there was a low risk of human-to-human spread after China reported a case involving a person infected with combined H3N2 and H10N5 strains of bird flu. "No new suspected human cases have been detected through the investigation and testing done by authorities," the WHO said in a statement, saying avian flu viruses are not thought to have acquired the capacity for sustained human transmission. "Thus, the likelihood of human-to-human spread is considered low."

Proteins may predict who will get dementia 10 years later, study finds

A study of frozen blood samples has turned up a trove of proteins that may predict several forms of dementia more than 10 years before the disease is diagnosed, researchers from the U.K. and China reported on Monday. The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, is part of ongoing research from multiple teams to identify patients at risk for dementia using a simple blood test, an advance many scientists believe will accelerate the development of new treatments.

US hospitals see post pandemic catch-up behind insurer healthcare costs

Americans are catching up on healthcare missed during the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend driven by heart procedures and outpatient orthopedic surgeries that likely won't soon slow, according to interviews with three hospital officials in major U.S. cities, but other factors may also be at play. U.S. health insurers have warned of high demand for medical services based on late 2023 usage, but have offered few details on the trend or how long it may continue driving up costs.

Pharmaceutical group's lawsuit over Medicare drug price program dismissed

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by a major pharmaceutical industry trade association challenging a new program that allows Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies for selected costly drugs. U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Austin, Texas, sided with President Joe Biden's administration in dismissing a lawsuit by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and two other groups that argued the program was unconstitutional.

Moderna shares slide on concerns over drop in RSV vaccine efficacy (Feb 9)

Data posted on Thursday ahead of an RSV conference next week showed an efficacy of about 63% after 8.6 months in preventing RSV-related respiratory disease, down from 84% at 3.3 months.

Biogen fourth-quarter profit misses on Aduhelm exit costs

Biogen missed Wall Street estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Tuesday following its decision last month to return the rights for Alzheimer's disease drug Aduhelm and on soft sales of multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera. Last month, Biogen said it will end a post-approval study of Aduhelm and return the licensing rights to Neurimmune, from which it had licensed the drug in 2007, after failing to find a partner to mitigate costs of obtaining standard regulatory approval.