Health News Roundup: Lilly to cut some list prices by 70% and offer $25 insulin; Novavax sinks on concerns about COVID vaccine maker's prospects and more

The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) advisory committee voted unanimously in favor of the vaccine, saying the company's clinical study data showed the shot was effective in preventing lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults aged 60 and above. Lilly to cut some list prices by 70% and offer $25 insulin Eli Lilly and Co on Wednesday said it will cut list prices by 70% for its most commonly prescribed insulin products, Humalog and Humulin, beginning from the fourth quarter of this year, a move that could help millions of Americans afford their medicine.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Reata shares hit 1-year high after surprise FDA nod for rare disease drug

Shares of Reata Pharmaceuticals Inc soared 175% to hit a one-year high in early trading on Wednesday, after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its rare disease drug and ended years of uncertainty over its future. The U.S. biotech firm's shares jumped to $86, their highest since December 2021. With 3.3 mln trades — three times the 50-day moving average — the stock was also among the highest percentage gainers across U.S. exchanges.

Genentech sues Biogen for royalties on blockbuster MS drug

Roche's Genentech Inc sued Biogen MA Inc on Tuesday in San Francisco federal court, claiming Biogen owes additional patent royalties from worldwide sales of its blockbuster multiple-sclerosis and Crohn's disease drug Tysabri. Genentech's lawsuit said Biogen owes royalties for all the Tysabri that was produced using Genentech's patents before the patents expired, even if it was sold later.

GSK catches up with Pfizer in RSV vaccine race after FDA panel's backing

A panel of outside advisers to the U.S. health regulator on Wednesday backed GSK Plc's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, setting it up for a race with rival Pfizer to become the first approved U.S. shot against the disease. The Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) advisory committee voted unanimously in favor of the vaccine, saying the company's clinical study data showed the shot was effective in preventing lower respiratory tract disease caused by RSV in adults aged 60 and above.

Lilly to cut some list prices by 70% and offer $25 insulin

Eli Lilly and Co on Wednesday said it will cut list prices by 70% for its most commonly prescribed insulin products, Humalog and Humulin, beginning from the fourth quarter of this year, a move that could help millions of Americans afford their medicine. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker also will lower the price of its Lispro insulin injection to $25 a vial and expand its insulin value program so that an existing $35 cap on some insulins will now apply in about 85% of U.S. pharmacies.

California fertility clinic sued for using embryo with deadly cancer gene

A California couple sued a Pasadena-based fertility clinic on Wednesday, saying it allegedly implanted an embryo carrying a rare gene that causes deadly stomach cancer and then falsified records to cover up its mistake. In their lawsuit against HRC Fertility, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Jason and Melissa Diaz said their son, now a year old, will require total stomach removal surgery as a young adult to prevent or treat the cancer. They said they went to HRC Fertility specifically to avoid having a child with the gene, which Jason carries.

Novavax sinks on concerns about COVID vaccine maker's prospects

Novavax Inc's shares plunged to a three-year low on Wednesday, a day after the COVID-19 vaccine maker raised doubts about its ability to remain in business. The stock fell as much as 28.3% to $6.64 as of 1:30 p.m. ET (1830 GMT), while its Frankfurt-listed shares slumped nearly 30%.

China scoffs at FBI claim that Wuhan lab leak likely caused COVID pandemic

The FBI has assessed that a leak from a laboratory in the central Chinese city of Wuhan likely caused the COVID pandemic, director Christopher Wray said on Tuesday, a claim China said had "no credibility whatsoever". "The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan," Wray told Fox News.

'Havana syndrome' not caused by foreign adversary, U.S. intel finds

An extensive U.S. intelligence investigation has concluded it is "very unlikely" a foreign adversary is responsible for the "Havana syndrome" ailments that have afflicted American diplomats and intelligence officers worldwide, according to declassified findings released on Wednesday. The mysterious syndrome, first reported by U.S. officials in the Cuban capital Havana in 2016, has afflicted U.S. diplomats, intelligence officers and other U.S. personnel worldwide. Symptoms have included migraines, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness.

EU silence over Pfizer COVID contract talks is problem that won't go away -watchdog

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's silence about her dealings with drugmaker Pfizer leading to the EU's biggest COVID-19 vaccine contract is hurting public trust and is a problem that will not go away, its ombudsman said. "We need to hear what went on, otherwise it's going to drag on," Emily O'Reilly said in an interview, pointing to the EU public prosecutor's investigation of the bloc's acquisition of vaccines and the European parliament's COVID committee's plans to hold more hearings on the issue. "So it just won't go away."

Pfizer/BioNTech seeks U.S. nod for updated COVID vaccine as booster in kids under 5

Pfizer Inc and its German partner BioNTech SE have applied for emergency use authorization of their Omicron-adapted COVID-19 vaccine in the United States as a booster dose for children aged six months through four years, the companies said on Wednesday.The Omicron-adapted vaccine is currently authorized by the U.S. health regulator as the third dose of the three-dose primary course of vaccination in the country for children in this age group. If the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorizes the vaccine as a booster dose, children who have completed their primary series - either with three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech's original vaccine or with two doses of their original and one dose of the adapted vaccine - would be eligible to receive the booster dose at least two months after the completion of their primary series.