Health News Roundup: France extends mandatory COVID tests for Chinese travellers until Feb 15; Japan gives priority review status to Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai, Biogen and more

The drug, lecanemab, which was recently granted accelerated approval in the United States, is an antibody that has been shown to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of patients in the early stages of the mind-wasting disease. China approves two domestically developed COVID drugs China has approved two domestically developed oral medicines for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, the National Medical Products Administration said on Sunday.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 30-01-2023 10:32 IST | Created: 30-01-2023 10:28 IST
Health News Roundup: France extends mandatory COVID tests for Chinese travellers until Feb 15; Japan gives priority review status to Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai, Biogen and more
Representative image Image Credit: ANI

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

France extends mandatory COVID tests for Chinese travellers until Feb 15

France has extended mandatory COVID tests for travellers from China until Feb. 15, a government decree published on Saturday showed. While Chinese officials have said infections have peaked, some global experts have warned about the possibility of a rise in cases in rural areas less equipped to deal with them as millions of Chinese travel for family reunions during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Japan gives priority review status to Alzheimer's drug developed by Eisai, Biogen

Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co Ltd and U.S. biotech firm Biogen Inc said in a joint statement that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has granted priority review status to their Alzheimer's disease treatment. The drug, lecanemab, which was recently granted accelerated approval in the United States, is an antibody that has been shown to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of patients in the early stages of the mind-wasting disease.

China approves two domestically developed COVID drugs

China has approved two domestically developed oral medicines for COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms, the National Medical Products Administration said on Sunday. The drugs, used for treating adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 infections, have been developed by Simcere Pharmaceutical Group <2096. HK> and a unit of Shanghai Junshi Biosciences Co Ltd, the administration said in a statement on its website.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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