Health News Highlights: Drugmaker Under Scrutiny, Bird Flu Outbreak, Diabetes Trials Halted

Recent health news includes drugmaker WuXi AppTec working with Chinese military scientists on altitude sickness treatments, FDA halting Biomea's diabetes trials due to liver toxicity, and a bird flu outbreak in Minnesota. Additionally, an antitrust probe into pharmaceutical companies over an eye drug and Novo Nordisk facing generic challenges in China are reported.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Staff at drugmaker under U.S. scrutiny worked with Chinese military scientists

Employees of drugmaker WuXi AppTec, under U.S. scrutiny for its links to the Chinese military, co-invented altitude sickness treatments with People's Liberation Army (PLA) scientists, according to public patent records and science papers reviewed by Reuters. The news agency identified 10 patent filings that list six of WuXi AppTec's staff as co-inventors of altitude sickness drugs with six scientists from the PLA General Hospital in Beijing - China's top military medical school and research centre. The filings, which Reuters is reporting for the first time, were made in the U.S., Europe and China between 2018 and 2023.

U.S. FDA places clinical hold on Biomea's diabetes trials

Biomea Fusion said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had placed a clinical hold on ongoing studies of its experimental drug for type 1 and 2 diabetes due to liver toxicity concerns. Shares of the company were down 61.5% in after-hours trading.

Bird flu outbreak reported in Minnesota dairy herd, the state's first

The ongoing U.S. outbreak of avian flu in dairy cattle reached Minnesota on Thursday as the state announced its first infected herd. More than 80 dairy herds have been infected with the virus across 11 states since late March, and three dairy workers have tested positive for the virus.

Novartis, Roche unit and others face Italy antitrust probe over eye drug

Italy's antitrust regulator said on Thursday it had launched an investigation into pharmaceutical companies including Novartis and Roche-controlled Genentech for having potentially restricted competition in the sale of an eye drug. Biopharma developer Samsung Bioepis, biotechs Biogen and Genentech, and Novartis, and some of their Italian, Dutch and UK units, allegedly coordinated their commercial strategies to delay the launch in Italy of Byooviz, a drug made with ranibizumab and developed and sold by Samsung Bioepis, the watchdog said in a statement.

US FDA staff raise no major concerns about Eli Lilly Alzheimer's drug

An FDA analysis of trial data for Eli Lilly's experimental Alzheimer's drug donanemab released on Thursday revealed no red flags, but raised questions about safety of the treatment for patients with early-stage disease. The drug is a potential rival to Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi, which won approval last July.

AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy succeeds in mid-stage trial

AbbVie said on Thursday its therapy to treat patients with a type of ovarian cancer has met the main goal of a mid-stage trial. The therapy, Elahere, was being tested in patients with a type of cancer that affects the ovaries, fallopian tube or walls of the abdomen, and who have received at least two prior lines of treatment.

US FDA rescinds market denial order for Juul products

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Thursday it was rescinding a June 2022 order that briefly blocked sale of Juul Lab's products, including its e-cigarette device. The latest move comes a few months after Juul sought an FDA authorization for new menthol-flavored pods meant to be used with its e-cigarette device, which was under the agency's review.

Exclusive-Healthcare software firm Waystar eyes pricing IPO at midpoint of indicated range - sources

Waystar, a private equity-owned provider of software that helps hospitals and doctors' practices manage their finances, has secured enough investor commitments to plan pricing its initial public offering at the mid-point of its indicated range, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The company has seen investor demand that is over ten times the amount it is asking for, two of the sources said.

Novo Nordisk braces for generic challenge to Ozempic, Wegovy in China

Novo Nordisk is facing the prospect of intensifying competition in the promising Chinese market where drugmakers are developing at least 15 generic versions of its diabetes drug Ozempic and weight loss treatment Wegovy, clinical trial records showed. The Danish drugmaker has high hopes that demand for its blockbuster drugs will surge in China, which is estimated to have the world's highest number of people who are overweight or obese.

Exclusive-Cows infected with bird flu have died in five US states

Dairy cows infected with avian flu in five U.S. states have died or been slaughtered by farmers because they did not recover, state officials and academics told Reuters. Reports of the deaths suggest the bird flu outbreak in cows could take a greater economic toll in the farm belt than initially thought. Farmers have long culled poultry infected by the virus, but cows cost much more to raise than chickens or turkeys.

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