Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Poland hit by another bird flu outbreak on goose farm

A new outbreak of bird flu was reported in Poland on Monday, with around 6,000 geese now set to be exterminated, a regional spokesman confirmed to Reuters, adding to about half a dozen cases already detected across the country since December. "Six thousand geese at the farm (are) set for extermination, the state veterinary inspectorate has already taken steps," Tomasz Stube, the spokesman for the Wielkopolska region told Reuters. Swim regulations for oceans, lakes tied to lower drowning rates

(Reuters Health) - Drowning death rates are three to four times lower in states that regulate swimming in oceans, rivers and lakes, a U.S. study suggests. Researchers examined data on so-called open-water drownings for all 50 states from 2012 to 2017. They also looked at regulations in 30 states in 2017 for things like lifeguards, rescue equipment, warning signs, tracking and reporting safety issues, and water quality. Acasti's krill oil-derived drug fails late-stage study, shares tumble

Acasti Pharma Inc said on Monday its krill oil-derived drug had failed to beat placebo by a large margin in reducing a type of fat found in blood that increases the risk of heart diseases, sending its shares spiraling down nearly 67%. The company said the drug, CaPre, derived from shrimp-like crustaceans called krill, showed a 36.7% median reduction in triglyceride levels after 26 weeks of treatment, compared with an average of 28% reduction among those on placebo. Amgen CEO expects 25% of growth to come from Asia in next decade

Biotechnology giant Amgen Inc expects up to a quarter of its growth to come from Asia over the next decade, Chief Executive Officer Robert Bradway told Reuters. The forecast marks a shift for 40-year-old Amgen, which still relies on the U.S. market for more than 75% of its sales, 30 years after it won U.S. marketing approval for its first drug, red-blood-cell-booster Epogen."China and Japan are the second and third largest markets in our industry," Bradway said in an interview on Monday on the sidelines of the JP Morgan healthcare conference in San Francisco. "In the case of China, it is a rapidly growing market. ... Japan has an aging population and we expect that will be a growth market for us." Novartis to speed access to $10 billion heart drug via NHS deal

Novartis and Britain's National Health Service (NHS) on Monday announced a pact that will clear the way for accelerated review by the country's health watchdog NICE for heart drug inclisiran, which could make it broadly available as soon as 2021. Novartis hopes the NHS deal will boost sales of cholesterol-lowering inclisiran, which the Swiss drugmaker bought in a deal announced last year for nearly $10 billion and predicts will be a top seller. WHO says new China coronavirus could spread, warns hospitals worldwide

There may have been limited human-to-human transmission of a new coronavirus in China within families, and it is possible there could be a wider outbreak, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday. Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses that can cause infections ranging from the common cold to SARS. A Chinese woman has been quarantined in Thailand with a mystery strain of coronavirus, Thai authorities said on Monday, the first time the virus has been detected outside China. Roche aims to 'underwhelm' on SMA drug price to challenge rivals

Swiss drugmaker Roche plans to price its oral spinal muscular atrophy drug (SMA) risdiplam aggressively to challenge two of the world's most expensive medicines, Biogen's Spinraza and Novartis's gene therapy Zolgensma. Spinraza's list price is $750,000 in the first year, and $375,000 thereafter, while Novartis's gene therapy for the genetic muscle wasting disease lists at $2.1 million, making it the drug industry's most expensive one-time treatment. Eli Lilly to launch half-priced versions of two more insulin treatments

Eli Lilly and Co said on Tuesday it planned to sell two versions of insulin at half their current list prices, eight months after it started selling a half-priced version of its popular Humalog injection. Lilly now plans to launch new versions of Humalog Junior KwikPen and Humalog Mix75/25, which contains a mix of fast- and intermediate-acting insulin. Brain freeze: Russian firm offers path to immortality for a fee

When Alexei Voronenkov's 70-year-old mother passed away, he paid to have her brain frozen and stored in the hope breakthroughs in science will one day be able to bring her back to life. It is one of 71 brains and human cadavers - which Russian company KrioRus calls its "patients" - floating in liquid nitrogen in one of several metres-tall vats in a corrugated metal shed outside Moscow. Biogen to buy early-stage potential Alzheimer's, Parkinson's treatment from Pfizer

Biogen Inc said on Monday it has agreed to buy an early-stage experimental treatment from Pfizer Inc that it aims to test in patients with Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Under the deal, Pfizer will get $75 million upfront and will be eligible for $635 million in potential milestone payments.