Health News Roundup: U.S. FDA advisers say more data needed for cancer drug tested in China; Biden touts plan to bring down drug prices as helping to tame inflation and more

In a statement on Thursday, Bayer said the Food and Drug Administration granted fast track designation for the review of drug candidate asundexian when tested to prevent a repeat in patients that suffered a non-cardioembolic stroke from clogged vessels. Africa transitioning out of pandemic phase of COVID, says WHO Africa is transitioning out of the pandemic phase of the COVID-19 outbreak and moving towards a situation where it will be managing the virus over the long term, the head of the World Health Organization on the continent said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Light at end of tunnel for Czech services as government drops COVID pass

Czech restaurant and hotel operators saw light at the end of the tunnel on Thursday as the government cancelled rules requiring vaccination certificates to enter restaurants and events as Omicron infections started to ebb. Hotels and restaurants in Prague, a prime tourist destination, have suffered badly throughout the pandemic and now hope restrictions will not come back.

U.S. FDA advisers say more data needed for cancer drug tested in China

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday voted to recommend that Innovent Biologics Inc and Eli Lilly and Co be required to conduct a trial of their lung cancer drug that is applicable to the U.S. population. Data submitted to the FDA for approval consideration was from a clinical trial conducted only in China.

Biden touts plan to bring down drug prices as helping to tame inflation

U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday touted his plan to bring down the cost of prescription drugs as an antidote to high inflation on a day when government data showed consumer prices posted their biggest annual gain in 40 years in January. Speaking at an event in Virginia, Biden said that proposals in his Build Back Better legislation would help bring down prices for families. The roughly $1.7 billion bill, which includes social spending and climate change provisions, is stalled and Biden has said previously that chunks, rather than the full package, could pass.

Biogen urges Medicare to reverse proposed limits on coverage of Alzheimer's drug

Biogen Inc is urging Medicare to broadly reimburse its recently authorized Alzheimer's drug, in response to a proposal by the U.S. government to sharply limit coverage of new drugs for the brain-wasting disease. In a preliminary proposal last month, the U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS), which runs the government health plan for people age 65 and older, said it would cover Biogen's Aduhelm, and similar Alzheimer's treatments in development, only for patients enrolled in approved clinical trials.

Mexico says will restrict poultry products from Indiana after bird flu outbreak

Mexico's agriculture ministry said on Thursday it will ban the entry of poultry products originating or coming from the U.S. state of Indiana after an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian flu. The disease, known as bird flu, has been circulating in wild birds along the U.S. East Coast this year. An outbreak was reported on Wednesday in an Indiana turkey flock, the nation's first case in a commercial poultry operation since 2020.

French virologist who co-discovered HIV virus has died - AFP

French virologist Luc Montagnier, who won a Nobel Prize for his part in discovering the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS, has died, French news agency AFP reported on Thursday. Montagnier, who was 89, shared half of the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine with fellow French scientist Francoise Barre-Sinoussi for their role in discovering the virus. The other half was awarded to German cancer researcher Harald zur Hausen.

Bayer gets FDA fast track status for next-generation blood thinner

Germany's Bayer has won fast-track status from U.S. drugs regulators for a new blood thinner designed to prevent certain types of strokes, as it seeks to follow up on the success of its anticoagulant Xarelto. In a statement on Thursday, Bayer said the Food and Drug Administration granted fast track designation for the review of drug candidate asundexian when tested to prevent a repeat in patients that suffered a non-cardioembolic stroke from clogged vessels.

Africa transitioning out of pandemic phase of COVID, says WHO

Africa is transitioning out of the pandemic phase of the COVID-19 outbreak and moving towards a situation where it will be managing the virus over the long term, the head of the World Health Organization on the continent said on Thursday. "I believe that we are transitioning from the pandemic phase and we will now need to manage the presence of this virus in the long term," Dr Matshidiso Moeti told a regular online media briefing.

Spain scraps outdoor masks but many choose to keep them on

Spain lifted a requirement to wear face masks outdoors on Thursday as COVID-19 infections continue to recede from record heights but some Spaniards, wary of contagion, chose to keep the face coverings on. "With a mask I feel protected, especially when there's a lot of people around," said Julia de Isidro, 50, who works at Spain's National Library.

GSK-Vir therapy has neutralising activity against Omicron sub-variant, data shows

An antibody-based COVID-19 therapy developed by GSK and Vir Biotechnology retains neutralising activity against the emerging BA.2 form of the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to data from a laboratory study cited by Vir on Thursday. Based on data using a pseudovirus engineered to resemble the variant and extensive pharmacokinetic data, the company said it believed the 500-milligram dose of sotrovimab is sufficient to retain activity against BA.2, which is in line with findings on all other variants of concern and interest.

(With inputs from agencies.)