Novartis,TELUS Health, Akcea Therapeutics,smoke-free:Current Health News round-up

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novartis unloads U.S. assets at loss to bargain-hunting Aurobindo

New Novartis Chief Executive Vas Narasimhan has further reshaped the Swiss drugmaker, announcing on Thursday he is selling U.S. dermatology and generic pill assets to India's Aurobindo Pharma Ltd for up to $1 billion. The deal, which comes after price pressure hurt the U.S. pills business, includes some 300 products. An initial $900 million cash payment could be followed by $100 million in performance-based payments to the Basel-based drugmaker.

TELUS Health picks Babylon to bring virtual healthcare to Canada

Canada's TELUS Health is joining forces with London-based AI company Babylon to bring virtual medical services, including video consultations, to Canadians who do not have a family doctor or are in rural locations far from a surgery. TELUS Health, a provider of electronic medical records, said AI services would complement existing health care provision by making it quicker, simpler and cheaper to access care.

Akcea Therapeutics to cut about 10 percent of workforce

Akcea Therapeutics Inc said on Thursday it planned to cut its workforce by about 10 percent after the U.S. health regulator declined to approve its Waylivra drug for treating a genetic disease that causes fat accumulation in the blood. The company said it expected to book charges of $2 million to $2.5 million in the third quarter https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1662524/000114036118037945/form8k.htm, as a result of the decision, which affects only U.S. employees involved in functions focused on Waylivra.

J&J to work with India on compensation for recalled hip implants

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it would work with the Indian government to compensate patients who had suffered from hip implants that were recalled by the U.S. healthcare firm eight years ago after data showed high failure rates. This follows last week's recommendation from a government panel that J&J pay at least 2 million rupees ($27,812) to each patient for the faulty ASR hip implant. The federal government has asked states to help patients get relief soon.

Most U.S. colleges are not tobacco- and smoke-free

Most U.S. four-year colleges and universities, as well as community colleges, don't have tobacco-free or smoke-free policies on campus, a new study finds. About 35 percent have tobacco-free policies that prohibit all tobacco use. Ten percent have smoke-free policies that prohibit cigarettes but not all tobacco. And 54 percent don't have any policy, researchers report in the American Journal of Public Health.

FDA extends review of Roche's Tecentriq by three months

Roche said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had extended by three months the review period for Tecentriq in combination therapy as a first-line treatment for a form of lung cancer. The news is a sign that U.S. approval of the Swiss drugmaker's immunotherapy may not go as smoothly as hoped.

Maryland charges Insys with engaging in deceptive opioid scheme

Maryland on Thursday charged Insys Therapeutics Inc with deceptively marketing a powerful opioid painkiller so that it was prescribed inappropriately beyond its intended use with cancer patients. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced that he had filed administrative charges against Arizona-based Insys, which he said provided thousands of dollars in inducements to doctors to promote prescribing its medication Subsys to their patients.

Dementia risk doubles right after a stroke

People who have recently experienced a stroke may be more than twice as likely to develop dementia than individuals who haven't had a stroke, a new study suggests. While stroke has long been linked to a heightened risk of dementia, particularly in older adults, the exact magnitude of the increased risk hasn't been consistent across previous studies investigating this connection. For the current study, researchers pooled data from 48 previous studies with a total of 3.2 million participants worldwide.

African swine fever in China almost certain to spread in Asia: FAO

The African swine fever spreading rapidly in China is "here to stay", the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said on Friday, adding that it was almost certain to spread to other Asian countries. The fever was first detected in China in early August and has been found in 18 farms or abattoirs in six provinces, with many cases more than a 1,000 km (621 miles) apart, the FAO said in a statement.

China drug safety body finds no problems in inspections of vaccine makers

China's drug safety body has found no problems in its inspection of 45 vaccine makers and will step up supervision of vaccine quality, it said on Friday, following a scandal that put children at risk. The inspections were done between July 23 and Aug 9, the State Administration for Market Regulation said in a statement.