Health News Roundup: WHO declares end to mpox public health emergency; FDA issues marketing denial for 6,500 flavored e-cigarettes and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

WHO declares end to mpox public health emergency

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday it was ending a 10-month-long global health emergency for mpox, a viral disease that led to confirmed cases in more than a hundred countries. The organization declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern in July 2022 and backed its stand in November and February.

Eisai, Biogen Alzheimer's drug Leqembi would cost US Medicare up to $5 billion a year, study finds

Wide coverage of Alzheimer's drug Leqembi would raise future costs for the U.S. Medicare health plan by $2 billion to $5 billion a year, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Leqembi, sold by partners Eisai Co Ltd and Biogen Inc at an annual list price of $26,500, was approved this year under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's accelerated pathway. Trial results later showed it slowed the rate of cognitive decline by 27% compared with a placebo in patients with early disease.

US FDA advisers narrowly back Sarepta's Duchenne gene therapy for accelerated approval

Advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday narrowly recommended that the agency grant accelerated approval to Sarepta Therapeutics Inc's first-of-its-kind gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). Eight expert advisers voted in favor of the therapy, and six against.

FDA issues marketing denial for 6,500 flavored e-cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday issued marketing denial orders to 10 companies which collectively manufacture and market about 6,500 flavored e-liquid and e-cigarette products. The health regulator said these companies cannot market or distribute the products in the U.S. and retailers who sell them risk FDA enforcement action.

Factbox-Drugmakers bulk up with bets on weight-loss treatments

Zealand Pharma and partner Boehringer Ingelheim on Wednesday announced positive trial data for their weight-loss treatment and joined the race for a share of a global obesity drug market that is expected to touch $100 billion within a decade. More than half a dozen companies are developing weight-loss therapies similar to Novo Nordisk's Wegovy, with Eli Lilly and Co's tirzepatide widely expected to be the next to hit the market.

US FDA approves Astellas Pharma pill for menopause hot flashes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Japanese drugmaker Astellas Pharma Inc's oral drug Veozah for the treatment of hot flashes associated with menopause. Hormonal changes during menopause make the body more sensitive to fluctuations in body temperature, causing so-called vasomotor symptoms, or hot flashes and night sweats.

Exclusive-Wegovy, other weight loss drugs 'no silver bullet', says WHO amid obesity review

New highly-effective weight loss drugs such as Novo Nordisk's Wegovy are not a "silver bullet" for addressing the rapid rise in global obesity rates, the World Health Organization's nutrition chief told Reuters, as the agency conducts its first review of obesity management guidelines in more than 20 years. The global health body is first revising guidelines for treating children and adolescents with obesity, and will then update recommendations for adults, said Francesco Branca, WHO director of nutrition and food safety.

G7 plans new vaccine program for developing nations -Yomiuri

The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new program to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week's summit of leaders, Japan's Yomiuri newspaper said on Saturday. In addition to the G7, G20 nations such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank will participate, it added, citing Japanese government sources.

France tightens bird flu measures in southwest after new outbreaks

France has reinforced sanitary measures to curb a wave of bird flu cases on duck farms in the southwest, where it has broken a recent lull in outbreaks, the French agriculture ministry said on Friday. France has been among the countries worst affected by the unprecedented spread of avian influenza - commonly called bird flu - around the world in the past year.

Pfizer CEO calls US drug price plan 'negotiation with a gun to your head'

Pfizer Inc Chief Executive Albert Bourla called U.S. plans to negotiate drug prices for its Medicare health program "negotiation with a gun to your head" and said he expects drugmakers to sue in an attempt to halt the process. "It is not negotiation at all. It is price setting," Bourla said at a Reuters newsmaker event on Thursday, referring to the Biden Administration's signature drug pricing reform, part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). The law aims to save $25 billion through price negotiations by 2031 for Americans who pay more for medicines than any other country.

(With inputs from agencies.)