Health News Roundup: Roche launches genomic profiling kit to ease cancer research; Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine protective, safe in young children and more

The AVENIO Tumour Tissue Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) Kit was developed with Roche unit Foundation Medicine, a molecular information specialist whose products help doctors match patients to appropriate therapies and clinical trials. Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine protective, safe in young children Moderna Inc said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated in children aged six to 11 years, citing interim data from a study.


Reuters | Updated: 25-10-2021 18:44 IST | Created: 25-10-2021 18:29 IST
Health News Roundup: Roche launches genomic profiling kit to ease cancer research; Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine protective, safe in young children and more
Representative image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Roche launches genomic profiling kit to ease cancer research

Roche is launching a new genomic profiling kit that lets cancer researchers explore tumours without having to send tissue samples to centralised laboratories, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday. The AVENIO Tumour Tissue Comprehensive Genomic Profiling (CGP) Kit was developed with Roche unit Foundation Medicine, a molecular information specialist whose products help doctors match patients to appropriate therapies and clinical trials.

Moderna says its COVID-19 vaccine protective, safe in young children

Moderna Inc said on Monday its COVID-19 vaccine generated a strong immune response and was generally well-tolerated in children aged six to 11 years, citing interim data from a study. The company said it planned to submit the data to U.S., European and other regulators soon.

Bausch, Clearside receive U.S. approval for eye injection

Bausch Health Companies Inc and Clearside Biomedical Inc said on Monday they received approval from the U.S. health regulator for their eye injection, giving patients access to a novel treatment for vision loss resulting from an inflammatory eye condition. The drug, Xipere, is injected to the back of the eye and delivers a version of a steroid commonly used for the treatment of uveitis, an inflammation of tissues in the eye.

EU regulator starts real-time review of Merck's COVID-19 pill

U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co Inc said on Monday the European Union's drug regulator has initiated a real-time review of its experimental COVID-19 antiviral drug for adults. Under the procedure, also known as a "rolling review", the European Medicines Agency (EMA) would assess data as soon as it becomes available, instead of waiting for a formal application when all required information has been gathered.

Indonesia in talks to buy Merck's COVID-19 antiviral pill - minister

Indonesia is "finalising" a deal with Merck & Co to procure its experimental antiviral pills, named molnupiravir, to treat COVID-19 ailments, its health minister said on Monday. Results from a large clinical trial this month showed that the pill, made with Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, cut hospitalisations and deaths by 50%. Merck asked for an emergency use clearance from the United States earlier this month.

Novartis lung cancer drug fails another Phase III trial

Novartis said on Monday its canakinumab drug had failed in another trial, missing targets to improve overall survival rates for lung cancer patients and prevent the progression-free survival of people with the condition. The Swiss company said its Canopy-1 Phase III study did not meet its primary endpoints when treating patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic non-small cell lung cancer in combination with pembrolizumab plus platinum-based doublet chemotherapy.

S.Africa's Aspen aiming for 1.3 billion dose/year COVID-19 vaccine capacity by 2024

South Africa's Aspen Pharmacare is aiming to ramp up its COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing capacity to 1.3 billion doses a year by February 2024, up from annual output of around 250 million doses now, the company's CEO told Reuters. Aspen is doing the final stages of manufacturing for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine in a so-called "fill and finish" deal, but CEO Stephen Saad said in an interview that the companies were close to announcing a broader deal for Aspen to produce Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 shot under licence.

Analysis: Capitol Hill drug pricing reform opponents among the biggest beneficiaries of pharma funds

Democratic Party lawmakers holding up proposed drug pricing reforms are among the largest beneficiaries of the pharmaceutical industry's push to stave off price cuts, a Reuters analysis of public lobbying and campaign data shows. The industry, which traditionally gives more to Republicans, channeled around 60% of donated campaign funds to Democrats this year. It has spent over $177 million on lobbying and campaign donations in 2021.

UK likely to force NHS staff to have COVID shots, Javid says

Britain is likely to require staff in the National Health Service to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Monday. He told Sky News that mandatory vaccines for health workers would help to protect patients, and that he was not deterred by the fact there is already a staff shortage in the health system.

Fauci says vaccines for kids between 5-11 likely available in November

Vaccines for kids between the ages of 5 and 11 will likely be available in the first half of November, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday, predicting a timetable that could see many kids getting fully vaccinated before the end of the year. "If all goes well, and we get the regulatory approval and the recommendation from the CDC, it's entirely possible if not very likely that vaccines will be available for children from 5 to 11 within the first week or two of November," Fauci said in an interview with ABC's This Week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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