Health Roundup: US Donates 1M Mpox Vaccines, AstraZeneca Disappoints in Breast Cancer Trial, Novo Faces Scrutiny

This briefing covers notable health news: the US is donating 1 million mpox vaccine doses to Africa, AstraZeneca’s breast cancer drug disappoints in trials, WHO launches a $1.5 billion health financing platform, Biogen’s lupus drug meets its trial goal, Bluebird bio cuts 25% of its workforce, Novo's Ozempic becomes eligible for US price negotiations, and nearly 30,000 mpox cases are reported in Africa.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Exclusive-US to donate 1 million mpox vaccine doses to halt outbreak in Africa

U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Tuesday the donation of 1 million mpox vaccine doses and at least $500 million to African countries to support their response to the outbreak, according to a senior administration official. Biden will make the announcement in New York, where he is attending the United Nations General Assembly, and call on other countries to follow suit, the person told Reuters.

AstraZeneca's experimental drug disappoints in breast cancer survival trial

AstraZeneca said on Monday its experimental precision drug developed with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo did not significantly improve overall survival for patients with a type of breast cancer in a late-stage trial. The overall survival, or OS rates, in the TROPION-Breast01 Phase III trial of datopotamab deruxtecan (Dato-DXd), did not achieve statistical significance compared with chemotherapy, AstraZeneca said.

WHO, multilateral development banks launch $1.5 billion primary health financing platform

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that it has signed a $1.5 billion primary health financing platform with multilateral development banks. The WHO said that it would launch the first investment plans in 15 countries including Burundi, Ethiopia, Jordan and the Maldives.

KKR, GIC hire banks to sell stakes in $3.2 billion Metro Pacific Health, sources say

KKR & Co and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC have appointed Bank of America, Jefferies and UBS to sell their majority stake in the Philippines' Metro Pacific Health in a deal that could value the company at $3.2 billion, three people with knowledge of the matter said. A sale process could start as early as the fourth quarter of this year, or the first quarter of 2025, one of the people said.

Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug approved in Japan

Eli Lilly said on Tuesday Japan's health ministry has approved donanemab, its drug for Alzheimer's disease, providing patients with another treatment option after Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi received the nod in September last year. Lilly said Japan is the second major market in which the drug has received approval, after the United States where it is sold under the same brand name Kisunla.

Biogen-UCB's lupus drug meets main goal of late-stage trial

Biogen and Belgian partner UCB said on Tuesday their experimental lupus treatment met the main goal of a late-stage trial in patients with the chronic disease, a surprise result after the drug failed an earlier mid-stage study. The unexpected success, if replicated in a second late-stage study, could offer lupus patients a new alternative in a field littered with trial failures and limited approved therapies. The companies plan to start the second study later this year.

Bluebird bio to cut 25% of workforce as part of restructuring

Bluebird bio said on Tuesday it would cut 25% of its workforce as the gene therapy maker restructured operations to increase focus on its three approved products. The company expects the restructuring to lead to a 20% reduction in its cash operating expenses by the third quarter of 2025.

Novo says Ozempic to be eligible for US price negotiations in less than a year

Novo Nordisk's blockbuster diabetes drug Ozempic will be eligible for U.S. government's price negotiations in less than a year based on current criteria, the Danish drugmaker's CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen said in his written testimony on Monday. Jorgensen is set to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday in a hearing focused on U.S. prices for its widely popular Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy.

Almost 30,000 suspected mpox cases in Africa this year, WHO says

Nearly 30,000 suspected mpox cases have been reported in Africa so far this year, most of them in Democratic Republic of Congo where tests have run out, the World Health Organization said on Monday. More than 800 people died of suspected mpox across the continent in that time, the U.N. health body said in its report. Congo's central African neighbour Burundi has also been hit by a growing outbreak, it added.

Novo Nordisk CEO faces US Congress scrutiny over weight-loss drug pricing

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders is set to question Novo Nordisk CEO Lars Jorgensen on Tuesday over the drugmaker's prices for its popular weight-loss and diabetes medicines that can cost Americans more than $1,000 a month. Sanders is expected to challenge the CEO during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), which he chairs, on why the company charges American payors more for the lifesaving drugs than any other country.

(With inputs from agencies.)