Health Headlines: Declining Birth Rates and Innovations in HIV Treatment

Recent health news includes declining birth rates in wealthy countries due to economic concerns, Gilead's new long-acting HIV drug proving superior to its daily pill, and new advancements in gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Other highlights involve US FDA regulatory changes, cyber breaches, and fake weight-loss drug warnings from the WHO.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Birth rates halve in richer countries as costs weigh, OECD report says

Birth rates have dropped sharply in some of the world's richest states and are likely to stay low as economic worries leave people weighing the costs of having children, a report from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development said. Many in OECD member countries were now choosing to have children later in life or not at all, it said in a paper released on Thursday. "Both young men and women increasingly find meaning in life outside of parenthood," it added.

Gilead's long-acting HIV drug superior to daily pill Truvada in study

Gilead Sciences said on Thursday a late-stage study showed its long-acting injectable drug was more effective in preventing HIV infection in women compared to its existing daily pill Truvada, sending the company's shares up over 8%. The study was stopped early by an independent committee as it exceeded efficacy expectations.

US FDA approves expanded use of Sarepta's Duchenne gene therapy; shares jump

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowed the expanded use of Sarepta Therapeutics' gene therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy aged four and older on Thursday, sending the company's shares up 36% in extended trading. The agency gave traditional approval to patients four years and above who can walk, as well as accelerated approval for those who cannot.

Biden-era policy against hospital web trackers unlawful, judge rules

A federal judge in Texas on Thursday ruled that guidance issued by President Joe Biden's administration that bars hospitals and other medical providers from using online tracking technologies that monitor users of their websites was unlawful. U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth sided with two hospital trade groups including the American Hospital Association and two local healthcare systems in finding that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its authority when it adopted the privacy-promoting guidance policy.

Lawmakers in Philippines push for probe into Pentagon's anti-vax propaganda operation

Lawmakers in the Philippines, including the head of the Senate's foreign relations committee, are seeking an investigation into a secret U.S. military propaganda operation that aimed to cast doubt among Filipinos about China's vaccines during the height of the COVID pandemic. Philippine Senator Imee Marcos, who chairs the foreign relations committee, and House Representative France Castro filed resolutions in the country's Congress this week to initiate the probe, according to documents reviewed by Reuters.

Industry groups back drugmakers' appeal in Zantac cancer lawsuits

A bid by GSK and other drugmakers to stop more than 70,000 lawsuits in Delaware over discontinued heartburn drug Zantac has received the backing of leading U.S. industry groups, including the United States Chamber of Commerce and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. In a friend-of-the-court brief posted to the Delaware Superior Court's docket on Thursday, the groups said that a Delaware judge's recent ruling allowing the lawsuits to proceed jeopardized the state's business-friendly reputation and threatened to turn it into "a hotbed of products-liability and mass-tort litigation."

Nestle, Coke take cautious approach to catering to Ozempic users

Nestle's new food brand for people taking weight-loss drugs like Wegovy will note that the meals are high in protein, fiber and nutrients, but will not name the blockbuster medications, a company executive told Reuters. The world's largest food maker is keeping the names of the drugs off the packaging due to regulatory concerns, Tom Moe, Nestle USA's president of meals, said in a recent interview. Nestle will instead market its Vital Pursuit line of $5-and-under frozen meals on social media, he said.

US FDA proposes to remove switching study requirement for biosimilars

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed that biosimilar drugs seeking agency's interchangeable designation will no longer need studies showing the impact of switching between them and the branded drug. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

UnitedHealth issues breach notification on Change Healthcare hack

UnitedHealth Group issued a public notice about the February ransomware hack on its Change Healthcare unit on Thursday as part of its requirements to notify the estimated one-third of the country whose private data may have been exposed in the attack. UnitedHealth said it expects to begin mailing letters to potentially affected individuals in late July but that it may not have addresses for all of them. The company said individuals can enroll in free credit monitoring for two years.

WHO issues warnings on fake copies of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drugs

The World Health Organization on Thursday issued warnings on fake drugs claiming to contain the active ingredient found in Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss treatment Wegovy. Surging demand has outpaced supply for Ozempic, Eli Lilly's Mounjaro and other GLP-1 drugs that promote weight loss, fueling a growing global market for counterfeit versions.

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