Health News Roundup: Aclaris shares tank as skin disorder drug fails mid-stage study; Put that out! Italy ministers fume over proposed smoking ban and more

The state refuses to do business with Walgreens or "any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk," said Newsom, a Democrat. Merck's drug boosts exercise capacity in pulmonary hypertension patients Merck & Co Inc said on Monday its experimental therapy helped increase exercise capacity in patients with a deadly disease that causes high pressure in blood vessels of the heart and lungs in a late-stage study, lifting its shares about 4%.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Aclaris shares tank as skin disorder drug fails mid-stage study

Aclaris Therapeutics Inc said on Monday its experimental drug failed to meet the main goal of a mid-stage study to treat a painful skin disorder, sending its shares tumbling more than 36% in premarket trading. The drug, zunsemetinib, did not meet the main goal of reducing abscesses in patients with moderate to severe hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) at week 12, compared with a placebo.

Put that out! Italy ministers fume over proposed smoking ban

The Italian health minister's proposals to extend a smoking ban include the outdoor areas of bars and parks, according to details reported by local media, drawing the ire of right-wing cabinet colleagues who labelled him a "communist." Minister Orazio Schillaci, a technocrat with no party affiliation, said in January he would crackdown on smoking, including of e-cigarettes, which are being widely used by teenagers.

Walgreens to dispense abortion pills in states where legal

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc said on Monday that it plans to dispense abortion pill Mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so. "Once we are certified by FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws," the company said in a statement.

California to not do business with Walgreens over abortion pills issue- Governor

California will not do business with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc, state Governor Gavin Newsom said in a tweet on Monday, days after the pharmacy chain said it would not dispense abortion pills in some Republican-dominated states. The state refuses to do business with Walgreens or "any company that cowers to the extremists and puts women's lives at risk," said Newsom, a Democrat.

Merck's drug boosts exercise capacity in pulmonary hypertension patients

Merck & Co Inc said on Monday its experimental therapy helped increase exercise capacity in patients with a deadly disease that causes high pressure in blood vessels of the heart and lungs in a late-stage study, lifting its shares about 4%. Sotatercept, combined with a background therapy, helped patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension to walk about 40.8 meters more in six minutes.

AstraZeneca cancer drug Enhertu show encouraging initial results for other tumours

AstraZeneca said on Monday a mid-stage trial of its cancer drug Enhertu showed positive results across multiple HER2-expressing advanced solid tumours in heavily pre-treated patients. The ongoing DESTINY-PanTumor02 Phase II trial is assessing the efficacy and safety of Enhertu in patients with locally advanced or metastatic previously treated solid tumours that are not eligible for curative therapy, including cervical, ovarian, pancreatic, and rare cancers.

Eisai, Biogen say FDA grants priority review for Alzheimer's drug Lecanemab

Japanese drugmaker Eisai Co Ltd and its U.S. partner Biogen Inc said on Monday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted priority review for traditional approval of their Alzheimer's treatment Lecanemab. The FDA accepted Eisai's supplemental Biologics License Application for the drug, supporting transition from the accelerated approval granted in January, the drugmaker said in a statement.

Activists urge human rights court to condemn El Salvador's abortion ban

Women's rights activists on Monday called for the Inter-American Court of Human Rights to condemn El Salvador in a case brought a decade ago by a woman who died after being forced to carry a pregnancy, although the fetus could not survive. In February 2013, a young woman known only as Beatriz was diagnosed with her second high-risk pregnancy.

Young Afghan women train as midwives for out-of-reach villages

In a small village circled by velvety white snow-topped mountains in Afghanistan's Bamiyan province, Aziza Rahimi mourns the baby son she lost last year after a harrowing birth with no medical care. "It was too hard for me when I lost my baby. As a mother, I nurtured the baby in my womb for nine months but then I lost him, it is too painful," said Rahimi, 35.

Britons aged over 75 to be offered COVID-19 booster shot in spring

Britons aged over 75 and those in care homes will be offered COVID-19 booster shots in spring, Britain's vaccine advisers said on Tuesday. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI)said in January that plans should be made to offer a COVID-19 booster vaccination dose to those at higher risk of severe disease.