Health News Roundup: Plaintiff in first Zantac lawsuit set for trial drops case; Russia's daily COVID cases cross 30,000 for first time since mid-March and more

Tuesday's news came days after shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Sanofi SA, Pfizer Inc and Haleon Plc were hit by mounting investor concern about thousands of lawsuits claiming the drug, which U.S. regulators pulled from the market in 2020, causes cancer. U.S. FDA gets over 48,000 reports of faulty Philips respiratory devices in May-July The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had received more than 48,000 reports of faulty Dutch medical equipment maker Philips' ventilators and respiratory devices between May and July, which included 44 deaths.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Plaintiff in first Zantac lawsuit set for trial drops case

The plaintiff in the first lawsuit over the heartburn drug Zantac scheduled to go to trial has agreed to drop his case, according to his attorney and drugmakers named as defendants. Tuesday's news came days after shares of GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Sanofi SA, Pfizer Inc and Haleon Plc were hit by mounting investor concern about thousands of lawsuits claiming the drug, which U.S. regulators pulled from the market in 2020, causes cancer.

Russia's daily COVID cases cross 30,000 for first time since mid-March

Russia reported 33,106 new daily coronavirus cases on Wednesday, authorities said, the highest figure since mid-March this year. Sixty-three people in Russia died of coronavirus over the past day, the country's taskforce against the virus said.

U.S. FDA gets over 48,000 reports of faulty Philips respiratory devices in May-July

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said it had received more than 48,000 reports of faulty Dutch medical equipment maker Philips' ventilators and respiratory devices between May and July, which included 44 deaths. This was more than twice the number of reports it had received in over a year until April, the agency said on Tuesday.

Baby formula supplies improving, say U.S. retailers Walmart and Target

Two big U.S. retailers Walmart Inc and Target Corp said on Tuesday that supplies of baby formula were improving, months after the country faced acute shortages that had caused a panic among parents. Considering the still-existing supply constraints, Target said it will continue with the purchase restrictions both at its stores and online.

Sanofi trial failure halts work on breast cancer treatment amcenestrant

Sanofi has stopped further work on amcenestrant, a treatment once seen to have strong commercial potential in breast cancer, after a second trial failure dealt a major blow to the French healthcare company's development prospects. The move weighed on shares and mounted pressure on Sanofi to bolster its pipeline of drug candidates as it becomes increasingly dependent on its multi-billion best seller, fast-growing eczema and asthma treatment Dupixent.

Takeda's dengue vaccine expected to be approved in Indonesia soon -Nikkei

Takeda Pharmaceutical Co's experimental vaccine for dengue fever is expected to be approved in Indonesia soon, Japan's Nikkei newspaper reported on Wednesday. The company aims to sell the vaccine in about 30 countries and generate sales of $1.6 billion, the Nikkei said.

Endo files for bankruptcy as U.S. opioid litigation drags

Endo International Plc filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday after reaching a $6 billion deal with some of its creditors, as the U.S. drugmaker seeks to settle thousands of lawsuits over its alleged role in the country's opioid epidemic. The pharmaceutical company is the latest to file for Chapter 11 to address opioid claims. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, filed in September 2019, while Mallinckrodt Plc, a generic opioid manufacturer, recently emerged from bankruptcy.

Factbox-Latest on the worldwide spread of the coronavirus

U.S. first lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House said on Tuesday, adding that President Joe Biden has continued to test negative after recently recovering from the virus. DEATHS AND INFECTIONS

China reports 3,036 new COVID cases for Aug 16 vs 2,526 day earlier

China reported 3,036 new coronavirus cases for Aug. 16, of which 637 were symptomatic and 2,399 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Wednesday. That compared with 2,526 new cases a day earlier - 591 symptomatic and 1,935 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.

U.S. approves sale of over-the-counter hearing aids

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved the sale of over-the-counter hearing aids, allowing millions of Americans to buy hearing aids without seeing an audiologist and potentially saving individuals thousands of dollars. The rules, which take effect in mid-October, apply to hearing aids for people with mild to moderate hearing loss. The aids will be available directly from stores or online without medical exams, a prescription or audiologist fitting adjustment.

(With inputs from agencies.)