Health News Roundup: French foie gras makers, swine fever outbreaks, mad cow disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected Novartis's bid to repurpose a drug now approved for rare inflammatory diseases to be used in a group of heart attack survivors, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday.

FDA snubs Novartis bid to repurpose inflammation drug for heart attacks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected Novartis's bid to repurpose a drug now approved for rare inflammatory diseases to be used in a group of heart attack survivors, the Swiss drugmaker said on Thursday. The company received an FDA letter turning down its bid to make canakinumab a targeted therapy for those cardiovascular patients who in tests had quickly responded to treatment, as levels of a protein in their blood associated with inflammation and heart disease quickly plunged.

French foie gras makers say they are ready if bird flu returns

French foie gras makers, still recovering from two severe bird flu crises that ravaged flocks, said on Thursday they would be able to face any new outbreak thanks to strict security measures but prices will remain high to make up for increased costs. France, which has one of the largest poultry flocks in the European Union, is one of the countries that was most affected by the H5N8 bird flu virus that spread through wild birds across the continent last year.

China says hog prices to rise ahead of Lunar New Year amid swine fever outbreaks

China's hog prices are set to rise ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday in February as outbreaks of African swine fever hit supply, the country's agriculture ministry said on Friday. The world's top pork producer has been grappling with the rapid spread of the disease, which can be deadly to pigs but is not harmful to humans.

Shire's drug for rare swelling disorder wins European panel green light

A European Medicines Agency (EMA) panel on Friday recommended approving a potential blockbuster drug from Shire Plc to treat patients aged 12 and older with a rare hereditary disease that causes swelling in different parts of the body. The drug, Takhzyro, which the Shire acquired through it's $5.9 billion buyouts of Dyax in 2016, is expected to generate about $2 billion in peak sales, analysts said.

AbbVie settles Humira biosimilar dispute with Fresenius Kabi

U.S. drugmaker AbbVie Inc said on Thursday it has settled a patent dispute regarding its Humira biosimilar with Fresenius Kabi Oncology Ltd and will grant the Germany-based company non-exclusive marketing rights for the drug. In the European Union, Fresenius Kabi can launch its biosimilar upon approval from the European Medicines Agency, while the license period in the United States will begin on Sept. 30, 2023, AbbVie said.

Australian watchdog's appeal against Pfizer ruling dismissed by the court

Australia's competition watchdog said on Friday the High Court dismissed its special leave application to appeal a court's decision on whether Pfizer Inc's local unit used its market power to limit competition for its cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) sought leave to appeal against a judgment by a Federal Court in May when Pfizer was alleged to have abused its market power by offering big discounts and rebates on Lipitor to pharmacies.

The U.S. blocks pork from Poland over African swine fever

The United States suspended imports of pork from Poland on Thursday over an outbreak of the highly contagious hog disease African swine fever in that country. African swine fever has spread rapidly in eastern Europe and China, the world's largest pork producer, where new cases are appearing and the disease is travelling far distances.

Scottish government identifies a case of mad cow disease

Scotland's government said on Thursday that a case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, had been discovered on a farm in Aberdeenshire, the first in Britain since 2015. A quarantine area has been put in place around the farm while inspectors try to identify the origin of the disease.

Merck, Pfizer combo treatment meets the main goals of kidney cancer trial

Merck & Co said on Thursday a combination treatment of its cancer drug Keytruda and Pfizer Inc's Inlyta met the main goals of a late-stage study in patients with the most common form of kidney cancer. The combination resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in overall survival of the patients and helped patients survive without cancer worsening when compared to Pfizer's kidney cancer drug, Sutent.

China lifts African swine fever restrictions in three cities in Anhui

China's agriculture ministry said on Friday it would lift African swine fever related restrictions on areas in the cities of Chuzhou, Wuhu and Xuancheng in Anhui province Local authorities will remove the curbs on the infected area on Saturday, but they must take proactive measures to prevent a recurrence of the highly contagious disease, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said on its website.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)