Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Inside a COVID-19 hospital in India, doctors see no end in sight

It was barely noon on Thursday when the metal doors of the mortuary at a hospital in south New Delhi swung open and staff in white coveralls rolled out a stretcher. Mourning relatives looked on, as a body bag was loaded into an ambulance and taken away to a cemetery. It was yet another casualty from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed over 4,500 people and infected more than 150,000 across India. While infection rates from the virus have begun to fall in many countries, in India they are still rising sharply, and epidemiologists warn peak is yet to come. Sun Pharma to test pancreatitis drug in COVID-19 patients in India

Drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Friday it has received Indian regulatory approval to start clinical trials of a pancreatitis drug in COVID-19 patients. The company joins other Indian drugmakers Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd and Strides Pharma Science Ltd that are conducting trials in India for potential drugs for COVID-19, which currently has no approved treatment or vaccine. AstraZeneca, Daiichi niche drug shows promise beyond breast cancer

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu helped patients with three different types of cancer live longer in trials, pointing to potential broader use of the breast cancer treatment. Positive data from different trials for advanced gastric, colorectal and lung cancers presented at the virtual American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) conference this week showed Enhertu's effectiveness in patients with mutations in the HER2 gene, AstraZeneca said on Friday. South Korea seeks to import anti-viral remdesivir as new coronavirus cases emerge

South Korean health authorities said on Friday they would request imports of Gilead Sciences Inc's anti-viral drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19, as new outbreaks of the disease flare as social distancing restrictions are eased. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety must approve the import but a government panel concluded remdesivir showed positive results, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Director Jeong Eun-kyeong said. U.S. hospitals slash use of drug championed by Trump as coronavirus treatment

U.S. hospitals said they have pulled way back on the use of hydroxychloroquine, the malaria drug touted by President Donald Trump as a COVID-19 treatment, after several studies suggested it is not effective and may pose significant risks. Early hopes for the decades-old drug were based in part on laboratory experiments and its anti-inflammatory and antiviral properties. But its efficacy has so far failed to pan out in human trials, and at least two studies suggest it may increase the risk of death. EU regulator promises speedy review of potential COVID-19 drug remdesivir

The European health regulator has vowed to conduct a speedy review of Gilead Sciences' potential COVID-19 drug, remdesivir, but said it has not yet received an application from the U.S. drugmaker. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday its human medicines committee's (CHMP) timeline to assess the drug would be "reduced to the absolute minimum,". (https://bit.ly/2ZPh6HA) Sanofi's head of vaccines leaves for smaller competitor Ipsen

Sanofi's head of vaccines David Loew will quit to become chief executive of Ipsen from July 1, the two French drugmakers said on Friday. The announcement comes at a critical time as Sanofi is working on two vaccine projects to protect against COVID-19, the illness caused by the new coronavirus. What you need to know about the coronavirus right now

Here's what you need to know about the coronavirus right now: Hospitals slash use of hydroxychloroquine Pakistan drug firm to import potential COVID-19 treatment from Bangladesh

A pharmaceutical company in Pakistan plans to import the antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown promise in treating coronavirus patients, from neighbouring Bangladesh, it said in a stock exchange filing on Friday. The announcement by Searle Company Limited came a day after 56 virus deaths recorded by the south Asian nation, its highest toll in a single day. European agency panel recommends approval of J&J's Ebola vaccine

A panel of the European health regulator on Friday recommended approving Johnson & Johnson's two-dose experimental vaccine for Ebola in the European Union. J&J submitted its application to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in November for its vaccine, which targets an Ebola strain that causes the virus in most people.