Health News Roundup: U.S. government looking into Pfizer's operations in China; British police arrest 104 Londoners for breach of lockdown restrictions and more

Arguing that governments should consider a "pay for risk" approach to encourage their populations to have COVID-19 shots when they become available, Julian Savulescu, a professor at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford University, said it would allow people to make an informed choice U.S. coronavirus cases climb by record for second day in a row, up over 120,000 Coronavirus cases in the United States surged by at least 120,276 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, the second consecutive daily record rise as the outbreak spreads in every region.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc said U.S. health regulators were doing a careful analysis of its experimental antibody cocktail to treat COVID-19 and that it was hopeful the drug could be authorized for emergency use in the country soon. The treatment, which was given to U.S. President Donald Trump during his COVID-19 infection, has been under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration since last month.

U.S. government looking into Pfizer's operations in China

Pfizer Inc received informal requests relating to its operations in China from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June and August, respectively, its regulatory filing https://bit.ly/38geoz2 showed on Thursday. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act units of the Justice Department and the U.S. SEC had sought documents relating to its Chinese operations, the company said in its filing, adding that it is producing records pursuant to these requests.

Experts spar over ethical question: Should we be paid to get COVID-19 shots?

A suggestion by an ethics professor at a leading UK university that governments should pay citizens to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has sparked debate over whether such incentives are ethical, or dangerous, and would boost or limit uptake. Arguing that governments should consider a "pay for risk" approach to encourage their populations to have COVID-19 shots when they become available, Julian Savulescu, a professor at the Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics at Oxford University, said it would allow people to make an informed choice U.S. coronavirus cases climb by record for second day in a row, up over 120,000

Coronavirus cases in the United States surged by at least 120,276 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, the second consecutive daily record rise as the outbreak spreads in every region. U.S. cases have risen by over 100,000 for three out of the last seven days, putting pressure on hospitals in several states and causing families to rethink their plans for Thanksgiving dinner on Nov. 26.

British police arrest 104 Londoners for breach of lockdown restrictions

British police said they arrested 104 Londoners on Thursday for breach of coronavirus regulations, adding that they expected more arrests as policing operations continued into the night. People gathered in central London despite new restrictions that have been imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to begin clinical trials in China-exec

AstraZeneca Plc plans to start early and mid-stage clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate in China this year, a senior executive said on Friday, as it prepares a global rollout of the vaccine. The vaccine candidate is already in the final stage of clinical trials in other countries, and AstraZeneca and its partner on the project, the University of Oxford, expect data from the late-stage trials this year.

Japan's Takeda eyes new focus on vaccines after OTC asset sales: CEO

Japan's Takeda Pharmaceutical Co is looking at making vaccines a core business after completing asset sales to lower debt following its takeover of Shire Plc, Chief Executive Christophe Weber said. Japan's biggest drugmaker by revenue recently completed $10 billion in sales of mostly over-the-counter drug assets to reduce debt after its $59 billion purchase of Shire, saying it would focus on five key business areas.

Denmark tightens lockdown in north, mink cull devastates industry

Denmark announced strict new lockdown rules on Thursday in the north of the country after authorities discovered a mutated coronavirus strain in minks bred in the region, prompting a nationwide cull that will devastate the large pelt industry. The government said on Wednesday that it would cull all minks - up to 17 million - to prevent human contagion with a mutated coronavirus, which authorities said could be more resistant against future vaccines.

Celltrion's COVID-19 antibody drug cut recovery time-early study

South Korean drugmaker Celltrion Inc said on Friday patients treated with its experimental COVID-19 antibody drug in a small-size early-stage trial showed at least a 44% improvement in recovery time. The result bodes well for Celltrion, which plans to seek conditional approval for the monoclonal antibody treatment, CT-P59, for emergency use by the end of this year in South Korea.