Health News Roundup: Equatorial Guinea confirms eight more Marburg cases - WHO; California ruling on GSK's Zantac litigation unsurprising, but case still weighs on shares and more

Thursday's ruling by Alameda County Super Court Judge Evelio Grillo takes no view on the plaintiff's expert opinion itself, analysts from Citi and UBS observed in separate research notes. US FDA declines to approve AbbVie's Parkinson's disease therapy AbbVie Inc said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had declined to approve its Parkinson's disease therapy for adults and had requested for more information on the device used to administer the treatment.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Equatorial Guinea confirms eight more Marburg cases - WHO

Eight new confirmed cases of Marburg disease have been reported in Equatorial Guinea, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday. This brings the total of laboratory-confirmed cases to nine and probable cases to 20 since the outbreak of the deadly disease similar to Ebola was declared in February. Twenty deaths have been reported.

California ruling on GSK's Zantac litigation unsurprising, but case still weighs on shares

A California judge's decision to allow expert testimony linking GSK's heartburn drug Zantac to cancer wasn't a surprise, analysts said Friday, though the litigation will likely weigh on the drugmaker's share price until a trial in the summer. Thursday's ruling by Alameda County Super Court Judge Evelio Grillo takes no view on the plaintiff's expert opinion itself, analysts from Citi and UBS observed in separate research notes.

US FDA declines to approve AbbVie's Parkinson's disease therapy

AbbVie Inc said on Wednesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had declined to approve its Parkinson's disease therapy for adults and had requested for more information on the device used to administer the treatment. The therapy, ABBV-951, is a formulation of carbidopa-levodopa, the standard of care for the disease. It is administered subcutaneously, or under the skin, through an infusion pump.

Human rights court begins review of high-stakes El Salvador abortion case

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights on Wednesday began hearing the historic case of a Salvadoran woman who was denied an abortion in 2013 despite doctors' calls to terminate her high-risk pregnancy. The case of the woman, a domestic worker known only as Beatriz, became a symbol of El Salvador's blanket ban on abortion, which punishes with prison time those who undergo the procedure and those who perform or assist in it.

US FDA grants accelerated approval for Incyte's skin cancer therapy

Incyte Corp said on Wednesday its monoclonal antibody, Zynyz, has won accelerated approval from the U.S. health regulator for treating a rare and aggressive type of skin cancer in adults. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the therapy in Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) patients for whom the cancer has come back or spread to other parts of the body.

Sanofi, Regeneron unveil 'blow-out' smoker's lung drug data

Sanofi's asthma drug Dupixent met all targets in a trial to treat "smoker's lung", potentially adding billions to the French drugmaker's growth prospects, but also underscoring a heavy reliance on its bestseller. In a late stage trial Dupixent, jointly developed with Regeneron, led to a 30% reduction in moderate or severe acute exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), a potentially deadly disease marked by progressive lung function decline.

Masimo CEO waives right to $600 million payout in fight with activist investor

Masimo Corp Chief Executive Joe Kiani has waived his rights for roughly $600 million in special payment if the U.S. medical device maker appoints a lead independent director, the company said on Thursday. The company, which named board member Michael Cohen as a lead independent director, said Kiani has also agreed that a move by Masimo to appoint two new directors would not constitute a change in control.

Moderna signs licensing deal with Generation Bio in push beyond COVID

Moderna Inc has entered a licensing deal with Generation Bio Co to develop treatments targeting the immune system and liver, the latest such transaction by the vaccine maker as it expands beyond its COVID shots. Generation Bio's shares rose about 13.14% to $4.40 in premarket trading on Thursday.

COVID pandemic erased gains in early autism identification -US report

U.S. gains in the early identification of children with autism, considered critical in enabling them to reach their full potential, were largely wiped out by disruptions in evaluations in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. health officials reported on Thursday. Such disruptions in connecting children to the services they need "could have long-lasting effects,” Dr. Karen Remley, director of U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, said in a statement.

Analysis-In US abortion pill case, FDA could soften blow of court-ordered restrictions

A conservative federal judge in Texas could soon order the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to reconsider its 22-year-old approval for a pill used in the most common form of abortion in the United States, or order the approval revoked outright. Of the various potential rulings possible in the case involving the abortion pill mifepristone, either of those outcomes would be unprecedented judicial intervention in the agency's regulatory process.

(With inputs from agencies.)