Health News Roundup: US FDA approves Biogen's ALS drug; North Dakota governor signs strict abortion bill into law and more

But rape and incest victims would have to carry their pregnancies to term unless "the probable gestational age of the unborn child is six weeks or less," Senate Bill 2150 says. Biogen trims pipeline programs to cut costs, focus on Alzheimer's drug launch Biogen Inc said on Tuesday it will pause or discontinue at least four studies of experimental drugs to focus on more potentially lucrative options including its second Alzheimer's treatment, Leqembi, in the latest attempt by the new CEO to trim costs.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Biotech firm raises $2.2 million in first Russian IPO this year

Russian biotech startup Genetico raised 178.8 million roubles ($2.2 million) on Tuesday in an IPO on the Moscow Exchange - only the second Russian stock market launch since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine last year. An unprecedented package of Western sanctions and Russian countermeasures have effectively cut Russia's financial markets off from Western capital over the last 14 months and forced many Russian firms that were looking to go public to reconsider.

US FDA approves Biogen's ALS drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved Biogen Inc's drug for treating a form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), making it the first available treatment targeting a genetic cause of the disease. The drug, branded as Qalsody, got a green light under the agency's accelerated approval pathway.

North Dakota governor signs strict abortion bill into law

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum on Monday signed into law a bill that would ban most abortions, creating an exception for rape and incest victims but only during the first six weeks of pregnancy. The law, which makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion, provides other exceptions including to save the life of the mother or in cases where her health is at serious risk. But rape and incest victims would have to carry their pregnancies to term unless "the probable gestational age of the unborn child is six weeks or less," Senate Bill 2150 says.

Biogen trims pipeline programs to cut costs, focus on Alzheimer's drug launch

Biogen Inc said on Tuesday it will pause or discontinue at least four studies of experimental drugs to focus on more potentially lucrative options including its second Alzheimer's treatment, Leqembi, in the latest attempt by the new CEO to trim costs. "We made good progress on the previous program that it amounts $1 billion of cost savings," Chief Executive Christopher Viehbacker said on a conference call to discuss the company's first-quarter earnings, adding that Tuesday's announcement was part of a new cost-saving effort.

Novartis says no liver toxicity seen so far its BTK inhibitor

Novartis said no signs of liver damage had been seen in trials testing its anti-inflammatory drug candidate remibrutinib so far, voicing cautious optimism that it could elude the side effects that have beset rival products in the same drug class. "We have yet to see any liver toxicity," CEO Vas Narasimhan said on an analyst call after the release of first-quarter results.

Cancer victims urge US judge to dismiss J&J talc unit second bankruptcy

Cancer victims on Monday urged a U.S. judge to dismiss a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary's second bankruptcy filing, saying the company is abusing the bankruptcy system in its renewed attempt to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that J&J's baby powder and other talc products caused cancer. The J&J subsidiary, LTL Management, this month filed for bankruptcy a second time, seeking to settle all current and future talc claims for a proposed $8.9 billion. LTL's first bankruptcy was dismissed after a federal appeals court ruled the company was not in financial distress and therefore not eligible for bankruptcy.

China to replace PCR test requirement with antigen test for inbound travellers

China's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that all inbound travellers will only need to show COVID-19 antigen tests result taken within 48 hours before boarding flights starting April 29, dropping the PCR test requirement. Currently, China requires inbound traveller from some countries to take PCR tests before entering the country.

WHO says contaminated cough syrup made in India found in Western Pacific

Contaminated cough syrup made by an Indian company has been found in the Marshall Islands and Micronesia, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, after a spate of child deaths linked to other syrups in some countries last year.

The WHO statement did not say whether any children in the Marshall Islands or Micronesia had fallen sick.

Novartis, helped by cost cuts, raises full-year outlook

Novartis on Tuesday raised its full-year earnings outlook following cost cuts, a breast cancer drug trial success and progress in boosting output of a radiotherapy drug against prostate cancer. The Swiss drugmaker said in a statement that excluding Sandoz, a generic drug division to be spun off in the second half of the year, group core operating income would grow by a "high single digit to low double digit" percentage.

Device maker Medtronic blasts rival's 'threadbare' antitrust lawsuit

Medical technology company Medtronic PLC has asked a U.S. judge in California to dismiss as "threadbare" an antitrust lawsuit from rival device manufacturer Applied Medical Resources Corp accusing it of unlawful discounts and exclusive contracting. In a filing in Santa Ana federal court, lawyers for Medtronic on Monday night said Applied Medical had failed to show any harm to market competition for a device the two companies make that is used to cut tissue and seal blood vessels during surgery.

(With inputs from agencies.)