Health News Roundup: J&J can contest evidence linking its talc to cancer, US judge rules; U.S. FDA approves Akebia's anemia drug and more

Earlier this month, UnitedHealth launched a temporary funding program for providers after a ransomware attack on Feb. 21 on Change Healthcare delayed their insurance claims processing, causing a severe cash crunch for them. US FDA extends review of Applied Therapeutics' genetic disease drug The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended its review of Applied Therapeutics' experimental drug to treat galactosemia, a rare genetic metabolic disease, the company said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Exclusive-China's WuXi AppTec shared US client's data with Beijing, US intelligence officials told senators

U.S. intelligence officials in late February told senators working on a biotech security bill that Chinese pharmaceutical firm WuXi AppTec had transferred U.S. intellectual property to Beijing without consent, according to two sources. The U.S. government is concerned that certain Chinese biotech companies are contributing technology or research and development for use by China's military, and the proposed legislation would restrict U.S. government funds going to those Chinese companies.

Surging dengue cases in Americas cause alarm as potentially worst-ever season looms

Dengue cases in the Americas rose in the first three months of this year by three times the number of infections reported in the same period last year, the head of the Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday. Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay are the countries hardest hit by dengue in what PAHO officials described as potentially the worst outbreak in the Americas to date for the deadly mosquito-borne viral illness.

European regulators close in on Big Tobacco's new tea sticks

European governments are weighing the introduction of tougher rules on cigarette makers' new zero-tobacco heat sticks, moving to close the loopholes they were designed to exploit just months after their launch. Big tobacco companies including Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco announced the launch of the sticks, made from nicotine-infused substances like rooibos tea, late last year as a way to counter an incoming European Union ban on flavoured heated tobacco products.

US CDC alerts healthcare providers of increase in meningococcal disease

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an advisory on Thursday alerting healthcare providers about an increase in invasive meningococcal disease and urging them to ensure necessary vaccinations against the deadly disease. Meningococcal disease, caused by the bacterium Neisseria meningitidis, is a serious bacterial infection that commonly affects the brain, spinal cord and bloodstream.

J&J can contest evidence linking its talc to cancer, US judge rules

Johnson & Johnson will get a new chance to contest the scientific evidence linking talc to ovarian cancer, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday, potentially disrupting more than 53,000 lawsuits the company is now facing over its talc products. In a brief written order, U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton, New Jersey, who is overseeing the lawsuits that have been consolidated in his court, said recent changes in the law and new scientific evidence require a fresh review of the evidence that linked J&J products to ovarian cancer.

US Supreme Court appears skeptical of challenge to abortion pill access

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled that it is unlikely to limit access to the abortion pill as the justices appeared skeptical that the anti-abortion groups and doctors that are challenging the drug have the needed legal standing to pursue the case. The justices heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's ruling in favor of the plaintiffs that would limit how the medication, called mifepristone, is prescribed and distributed. The case places reproductive rights back on the Supreme Court's agenda in a presidential election year.

UnitedHealth offers over $3.3 billion in loans to providers hit by attack on unit

UnitedHealth Group said on Wednesday it has advanced more than $3.3 billion in loans to care providers impacted by a cyberattack on the U.S. healthcare conglomerate' tech unit last month. Earlier this month, UnitedHealth launched a temporary funding program for providers after a ransomware attack on Feb. 21 on Change Healthcare delayed their insurance claims processing, causing a severe cash crunch for them.

US FDA extends review of Applied Therapeutics' genetic disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended its review of Applied Therapeutics' experimental drug to treat galactosemia, a rare genetic metabolic disease, the company said on Thursday. The health regulator will now give its decision by Nov. 28, 2024, compared with its previous action date of Aug. 28.

U.S. FDA approves Akebia's anemia drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Akebia Therapeutics' drug, vadadustat, to treat anemia caused by chronic kidney disease (CKD) in dialysis patients, the drugmaker said on Wednesday. The drug will be available under the brand name Vafseo, it added.

Bristol Myers' bowel disease drug fails to meet main goal in late-stage study

Bristol Myers Squibb said on Thursday its experimental drug to treat Crohn's disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel condition, failed to meet the main goal in a late-stage study. Crohn's disease, which results in the swelling or inflammation of the intestines, affects over one million people in the U.S., according to government data.

(With inputs from agencies.)