Health News Roundup: FDA approves Bristol Myers' oral heart disease drug; Child hepatitis cases rise in UK amid worldwide outbreak and more

Soriot told reporters after AstraZeneca published its first quarter results that although the focus as now shifted to protection from severe disease in cases of COVID-19, AstraZeneca's shot, which it developed with Britain's Oxford University, is expected to offer durability. Moderna asks Canada for extension of COVID vaccine to young children Canada is reviewing a request by Moderna to approve its COVID-19 vaccine for pediatric use in children aged 6 months to 5 years, the government and the company said on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

FDA approves Bristol Myers' oral heart disease drug

Bristol Myers Squibb said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its oral heart disease drug Mavacamten, making it the first cardiac myosin inhibitor to be permitted for use in the country. Mavacamten, which Bristol Myers acquired in its $13 billion buyout of MyoKardia in 2020, will be used in the treatment of adults with symptomatic New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II-III obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Purdue urges skeptical appeals court to revive Sackler opioid lawsuit shield

Judges on a U.S. appeals court appeared hesitant on Friday to revive a legal shield that would protect the Sackler family that owns Purdue Pharma from lawsuits related to the prescription opioid OxyContin, a key to ending the company's bankruptcy. During oral arguments, a three-judge panel on the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals probed the limits of a bankruptcy judge to protect non-bankrupt parties like the wealthy Sacklers, in the absence of clear legal authority.

Child hepatitis cases rise in UK amid worldwide outbreak

The UK Health Security Agency has identified 34 confirmed hepatitis cases in children since Monday, bringing the total number to 145 amid a series of unexplained cases among children around the world. The agency said 10 children had received liver transplants but none had died.

U.S. likely to find out about next COVID booster by summer -Fauci

Scientists and health officials by this summer should have a better sense of what type of COVID-19 booster will be needed to deal with the next phase of the pandemic and when it should be administered, top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday. The National Institutes of Health, where Fauci serves as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is conducting clinical studies to determine if the next COVID booster should be specific to a particular variant of the coronavirus or designed to address more than one variant, known as a bivalent vaccine, ahead of the fall season, he said.

Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths surpasses 800,000

Russia's total number of COVID-related deaths has exceeded 803,000 since the start of the pandemic in April 2020, Reuters calculations based on new data from the Rosstat state statistics service showed on Friday. Rosstat said that 35,584 people had died of COVID-19 or related causes in March, down from 43,543 in February.

Moderna plans to build vaccine facility in Canada's Quebec province

Moderna Inc said on Friday it plans to build an mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Quebec province as part of the COVID-19 vaccine maker's 10-year partnership with the Canadian government to better prepare for future pandemics. The construction of the facility, which would be able to produce up to 100 million mRNA respiratory vaccine doses annually, is expected to start this year and is likely to be operational by end 2024, Moderna said in a statement.

South Africa says it may be entering fifth COVID wave

South Africa may be entering a fifth COVID wave earlier than expected after a sustained rise in infections over the past 14 days that seems to be driven by the BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron sub-variants, health officials and scientists said on Friday. The country that has recorded the most coronavirus cases and deaths on the African continent only exited a fourth wave around January and had predicted a fifth wave could start in May or June, early in the southern hemisphere winter.

Pfizer's vaccines head Kathrin Jansen to retire this year

Pfizer Inc's vaccines head Kathrin Jansen, who led the development of the U.S. drugmaker's COVID-19 shot, has decided to retire later this year. "Over the last two years, Kathrin's legendary resolve, stellar scientific intuition, and vaccine development expertise ushered in the first glimmer of hope for humanity in the middle of the pandemic," Chief Scientific Officer Mikael Dolsten said in a LinkedIn post announcing the retirement.

AstraZeneca says its COVID shot has market potential despite lower demand

AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine still has market potential despite an expected global oversupply of shots and delays in the vaccine's approval in the United States, its chief executive Pascal Soriot said on Friday. Soriot told reporters after AstraZeneca published its first quarter results that although the focus as now shifted to protection from severe disease in cases of COVID-19, AstraZeneca's shot, which it developed with Britain's Oxford University, is expected to offer durability.

Moderna asks Canada for extension of COVID vaccine to young children

Canada is reviewing a request by Moderna to approve its COVID-19 vaccine for pediatric use in children aged 6 months to 5 years, the government and the company said on Friday. Moderna's Canada General Manager Patricia Gauthier said at a news conference the request was filed with Canada Health on Thursday night.

(With inputs from agencies.)