Moderna-Merck's Melanoma Breakthrough & Health Updates

In recent health news, Moderna and Merck reported a significant survival benefit for melanoma patients using their combined cancer vaccine and Keytruda. Meanwhile, Anthony Fauci refutes COVID-19 lab leak suppression allegations, and there are updates on Bayer, GSK, J&J, and other health-related legal and pharmaceutical developments.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Moderna-Merck skin cancer vaccine shows survival benefit in long-term follow-up

Moderna and partner Merck & Co said on Monday their cancer vaccine in combination with blockbuster cancer therapy Keytruda improved survival and showed durable efficacy in a mid-stage study in patients with a deadly form of skin cancer. Detailed data on Monday from the 157-patient trial showed that after two and a half years, melanoma patients that had received the cancer vaccine combination showed an overall survival rate of 96%, compared with 90.2% with Keytruda alone.

Fauci denies suppressing COVID lab leak theory before US House panel

Former top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci strongly denied suppressing the theory that COVID-19 originated from a lab leak in China, telling lawmakers he never influenced research on the origins of the virus. In his first time addressing the allegations publicly since a 14-hour hearing held behind closed doors in January, Fauci also reiterated that he believes the most likely origin of the pandemic was animal-to-human transmission.

Judge cuts Bayer $2.25 billion Roundup verdict to $400 million

A Pennsylvania judge on Tuesday slashed a $2.25 billion U.S. verdict against Bayer to $400 million for a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the company's Roundup weedkiller. A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas found that John McKivison's non-Hodgkins lymphoma was the result of using Roundup for yard work at his house for several years, and it ordered Bayer to pay $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.

GSK shares tumble 9% after 70,000 Zantac lawsuits allowed to proceed

Shares of GSK dropped more than 9% on Monday, after a Delaware judge allowed more than 70,000 lawsuits alleging its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, to go forward, in a blow for the British drugmaker. GSK said it disagreed with the ruling and would immediately appeal. Its shares were down 9.4% at 16 pounds by 1052 GMT, on course for their worst day since August 2022, with the drop wiping out nearly 7 billion pounds ($8.90 billion) of the company's market value.

J&J must pay $260 million in latest talc trial, Oregon jury says

Johnson & Johnson must pay $260 million to an Oregon woman who said she got mesothelioma, a deadly cancer linked to asbestos exposure, from inhaling the company's talc powder, a jury found on Monday. The verdict in the 4th Judicial District Circuit Court in Portland comes as the company continues to pursue a proposed $6.48 billion settlement of most talc-related lawsuits against it through a prepackaged bankruptcy. The jury's award includes $60 million in compensatory damages and $200 million in punitive damages, and includes damages for both the plaintiff and her husband.

Britain considers offering Lilly weight-loss drug on better terms than Wegovy

Britain's medical costs regulator on Tuesday recommended Eli Lilly's weight-loss drug Mounjaro for some patients with obesity and suggested not placing a time limit on the medicine's use as it had for rival Novo Nordisk's Wegovy. Once approved, the draft recommendations from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) would provide a roadmap under which Britain's National Health Service (NHS) could offer Mounjaro as an alternative to Wegovy.

Free contraception helps Finland reduce teenage abortions by 66%

The number of teenage abortions in Finland fell by 66% between 2000 and 2023, its public health institute THL said on Monday, attributing the reduction to the offer of free contraception to adolescents and compulsory sex education in schools. Finland also passed a law in 2022 liberalising abortion, at a time of deep divisions over abortion rights in Europe and court rulings in the U.S. that restricted access to terminations of unwanted pregnancies for millions of people there.

US FDA panel votes against first MDMA-based PTSD treatment

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday voted against a therapy based on the mind-altering drug MDMA for patients with post-traumatic stress disorder, marking a setback to the nascent field of psychedelic treatments. The panel voted 10-to-1 against the first MDMA-based PTSD treatment, saying the benefits did not outweigh its risks, while nine members said the available data did not show its effectiveness in PTSD patients.

Annexon's neurological disease drug succeeds in late-stage study

Annexon said on Tuesday a late-stage study showed its experimental drug helped improve motor functions in patients with Guillain-Barre syndrome, a neurological disease in which the body's immune system attacks the nerves and can cause paralysis and even death. Shares of the company rose 29% to $5.93. The drug, ANX005, was tested in 241 patients with GBS and met the main goal of the study.

H7 bird flu found on third poultry farm in Australia

Highly pathogenic avian influenza has been detected at a third poultry farm near Melbourne, but it is not the same strain that has spread globally and raised fears of human transmission, the Victoria state government said on Wednesday. Hundreds of thousands of birds have already been destroyed after bird flu was found at two Australian egg farms last month.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)