Health News Roundup: WHO scientist sees regulators cooperating to speed COVID-19 vaccine approval; Singapore to finish virus testing at migrant worker dorms within two weeks and more

EMA to review results from study testing common steroid drug against COVID-19 The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it has started reviewing the results of a study by UK researchers evaluating the use of a widely known steroid called dexamethasone against the coronavirus.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO scientist sees regulators cooperating to speed COVID-19 vaccine approval

Regulators that normally work within their own countries or regions will likely harmonize efforts on potential COVID-19 vaccines to speed up their approvals once they become available, WHO chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan said on Friday. Swaminathan, answering questions on social media platforms, also said testing vaccines for safety and efficacy - usually a years-long process could be accelerated to just six months in the midst of the pandemic, if data satisfied regulators that they have enough information to issue approvals.

Singapore to finish virus testing at migrant worker dorms within two weeks

Singapore will complete testing for COVID-19 cases among migrant workers living in dormitories by Aug. 7, about four months after authorities started quarantining tens of thousands of workers in their quarters due to mass outbreaks of the disease. The vast majority of Singapore's 49,375 cases are from cramped dormitories that house more than 300,000 mostly South Asian workers.

Novartis sickle cell drug Adakveo put on path to EU approval

Novartis's sickle cell disease treatment Adakveo appears set for European approval after a key committee on Friday gave its backing to the drug that booked $36 million in first-half U.S. sales. The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion, which the European Commission nearly always follows.

Exclusive: UK's home testing dogged by delays, undermining push to reduce virus transmission

When Rachel Holdsworth recently developed a fever, she went online and looked up the location of the nearest government coronavirus testing centre. It was an hour away by foot. So she ordered a home test kit through the National Health Service. It didn't arrive for two days. Her sample wasn't delivered to a laboratory until two days after that. By the time she received the test result in a text message it was negative five days had passed.

GSK's blood cancer drug wins European panel thumbs-up

A panel of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday has recommended approving GlaxoSmithKline's experimental treatment for a common form of blood cancer, days after a similar nod from a U.S. Food and Drug Administration panel. EMA's human medicines committee (CHMP) recommended the approval of belantamab mafodotin for treating adults with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma who no longer respond to treatment with an immunomodulatory agent.

EMA to review results from study testing common steroid drug against COVID-19

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said on Friday it has started reviewing the results of a study by UK researchers evaluating the use of a widely known steroid called dexamethasone against the coronavirus. Dexamethasone, commonly used against a range of inflammatory conditions, has been proven to decrease the risk of death in COVID-19 patients who were using oxygen or mechanical ventilation, according to results published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Drop in UK COVID infections has levelled off, statisticians say

The number of people in Britain infected with COVID-19 has stopped falling, and now stands at around one in 2,000 people who are not in hospitals or care homes, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday. "Despite decreases in the level of COVID-19 infection from mid-May to mid-June this has slowed in recent weeks and has now levelled off. As the Government relaxes lockdown measures, we are closely monitoring these results for any changes," ONS statistician Heather Bovill said.

U.S. coronavirus deaths top 1,100 for a third day in a row

The United States on Thursday recorded more than 1,100 deaths from COVID-19, marking the third straight day the nation passed that grim milestone as the pandemic escalates in southern and western U.S. states. Fatalities nationwide were recorded at 1,118 on Thursday. Deaths were 1,135 on Wednesday and 1,141 on Tuesday.

Why COVID-19 is killing U.S. diabetes patients at alarming rates

Devon Brumfield could hear her father gasping for breath on the phone.

Darrell Cager Sr., 64, had diabetes. So his youngest daughter urged him to seek care. The next day, he collapsed and died in his New Orleans home.

Cipla gets India approval to sell COVID-19 drug favipiravir

Cipla Ltd has received Indian regulatory approval to sell anti-viral drug favipiravir to treat COVID-19, the drugmaker said on Friday, as coronavirus infections in the world's third worst-hit nation show no sign of abating. The Drug Controller General of India granted Cipla accelerated approval to make and sell favipiravir in an effort to meet the "urgent and unmet" need for COVID-19 treatment options in the country, the company said.