Health News Roundup: After weight loss, Alzheimer's may be next frontier for drugs like Ozempic; Novavax eases doubts on future with job cuts, COVID/flu shot data and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

After weight loss, Alzheimer's may be next frontier for drugs like Ozempic

Diabetes drugs that also promote weight loss such as Novo Nordisk's Ozempic, becoming a darling of celebrities and investors, are being studied to tackle some of the most difficult-to-treat brain disorders, including Alzheimer's disease. Diabetes regimens, from Ozempic to old mainstays like insulin and metformin, appear to address several different aspects of the metabolic system implicated in Alzheimer's disease, including a protein called amyloid and inflammation, researchers say.

Novavax eases doubts on future with job cuts, COVID/flu shot data

Novavax Inc on Tuesday announced plans to cut 25% of its workforce and unveiled promising data for its COVID-influenza combination vaccine and two other shots, raising hopes of a recovery for the cash-strapped biotech. Shares of Novavax jumped nearly 9% before the bell as the company also released its 2023 revenue forecast after earlier flagging significant uncertainty around its future.

Baxter to divest biopharma business for $4.25 billion

Baxter International Inc said on Monday a private-equity group, which includes Warburg Pincus and Advent International, has agreed to buy its biopharma solutions unit for $4.25 billion. Medical device makers such as Baxter have been grappling with supply-chain shortages that began during the pandemic, while rising costs of raw materials, labor and transportation added more pressure.

Global push to tackle maternal and newborn deaths has stalled, WHO report finds

Progress in reducing deaths during pregnancy and childbirth and among newborn infants has stalled since 2015, and over 60 countries are on track to miss 2030 targets at current rates, a World Health Organization report released on Tuesday found. The COVID-19 pandemic, poverty, and worsening humanitarian crises have strained already pressured healthcare systems, the U.N. agency said in a statement.

Chinese woman seeking to freeze her eggs makes final appeal in court

An unmarried Chinese woman made a final appeal in a court on Tuesday in her bid to sue a hospital for violating her rights by refusing to freeze her eggs because she is single. Teresa Xu, a 35-year-old freelance writer, lodged her complaint against the Beijing Obstetrics and Gynaecology Hospital in 2019 in a landmark case in China of a woman fighting for reproductive rights.

Abortion pill case to be heard by conservative, anti-abortion panel

A case brought by anti-abortion groups seeking to ban the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide will be heard next week by a panel of three deeply conservative judges hostile to abortion rights, a federal appeals court revealed on Monday. The Biden administration is expected to urge the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans on May 17 to overturn a court order that suspended the federal government's approval of mifepristone.

Novavax's COVID, flu vaccine candidates show promise in study

Novavax Inc said on Tuesday that a mid-stage study of three of its vaccines, including a combination shot targeting COVID-19 and influenza, showed strong immune responses and were found to be safe.

Indonesia confirms outbreak of African swine fever, WOAH says

Indonesia has reported an outbreak of African swine fever on a farm on the Riau Islands near Singapore, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday. The outbreak that killed 35,297 pigs in a herd of 285,034 on a farm located on Bulan island was detected on April 1 and confirmed on April 28, the Paris-based WOAH said, citing Indonesian authorities.

Drugmakers set strategy for legal fight against US pricing regulation

Some of the world's biggest drugmakers are laying legal groundwork to fight the U.S. plan to negotiate drug prices for its Medicare health coverage, including the argument that a ban against speaking about these talks violates constitutional rights, according to six industry sources. The Biden Administration's signature drug pricing reform, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), aims to save $25 billion through price negotiations by 2031 for Americans who pay more for medicines than any other country.

Abortion providers sue to preserve, expand access to abortion pill

A group of abortion providers on Monday filed a lawsuit aiming to preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone as anti-abortion opponents aim to ban it in a separate case. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Charlottesville, Virginia, is similar to one filed in Spokane, Washington by the Democratic attorneys general of 17 states and the District of Columbia in February.