Health News Roundup: Pfizer to raise $31 billion for Seagen takeover in largest debt offering; EU, United States launch joint health task force and more

More than 500 bills affecting LGBTQ matters have been proposed across the country and at least 48 have been enacted, according to the Human Rights Campaign. US FDA staff flag 'serious' safety risks for Intercept's NASH treatment The U.S. health regulator's staff reviewers on Wednesday raised a string of concerns with Intercept Pharmaceuticals' treatment for a type of fatty liver disease, sending the drugmaker's shares plunging 22%.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Analysis-Amgen's antitrust woes spur wider pharmaceutical deal fears

Investors are scrambling to assess the fallout of a U.S. regulatory challenge against Amgen Inc's proposed $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics Plc, with some fearing a spillover to other big deals in the drug sector. While investors are accustomed to regulators under U.S. President Joe Biden citing potential harm to consumers in objecting to many large mergers, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) lawsuit filed on Tuesday surprised those who had brushed off the antitrust risk in Amgen's deal because of its limited business overlap with Horizon.

Pfizer to raise $31 billion for Seagen takeover in largest debt offering

Pfizer Inc is planning to raise $31 billion through its largest debt offering to finance its proposed acquisition of Seagen Inc, the drugmaker said late on Tuesday. The company struck a $43 billion deal in March to acquire Seagen and its targeted cancer therapies as it prepares for a steep fall in COVID-19 sales and generic competition for some top-selling drugs.

Explainer-Abortion pill case goes before conservative appeals court; What's next?

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans on Wednesday will hear the Biden administration's bid to overturn a Texas judge's order that, if allowed to take effect, would make the abortion drug mifepristone illegal. However the 5th Circuit rules, the case will likely continue for months or years. Here is what you need to know about the case as it further unfolds:

Brazil boosts bird flu defense to protect world's top chicken industry

Brazil is taking extra precautions to protect the world's largest poultry export industry from a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus that was this week detected among wild birds in the country after previously hitting neighboring nations. Nearly $10 billion of chicken exports would be at risk if H5N1 bird flu infects commercial flocks in Brazil, which has taken on a growing role in supplying the world's poultry and eggs as importing nations ban chicken and turkey meat from countries with the virus.

EU, United States launch joint health task force

The European Union and the United States have launched a new joint health task force to cooperate on cancer, global health threats and related supply chains and infrastructure, officials told a press conference on Wednesday. The task force was set up on the heels of a cooperation agreement signed in June last year to tackle health emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic.

US appeals judges express support for opponents of abortion pill

Federal appeals court judges appeared to express support on Wednesday for opponents of the abortion pill mifepristone to pursue their case challenging its U.S. approval, which has potentially far-reaching consequences for abortion access across the country. From the start of the high-stakes oral arguments, the judges quickly and repeatedly pressed lawyers for the U.S. government and Danco Laboratories, which sells the drug under the brand name Mifeprex, to explain their view that the doctors and organizations could not pursue the lawsuit.

Roche says new MS drug shown to reduce brain lesions

Roche said on Wednesday that its multiple sclerosis drug candidate, part of a class of compounds that has been linked to cases of liver damage, reduced brain lesions in a mid-stage trial and that no new safety concerns emerged. The Swiss drugmaker said that its fenebrutinib pill significantly reduced brain lesions in people suffering from relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, when compared to a group of patients on placebo, meeting the phase II trial's primary goal.

DeSantis signs Florida ban on gender-affirming treatment for transgender minors

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed into law a bill that bans gender-affirming medical care such as puberty blockers or hormone therapy for transgender youth, and also enacts obstacles for adults to access treatment. Taking effect in the third most populous U.S. state, the law escalates a Republican political strategy to pursue bills restricting transgender rights. More than 500 bills affecting LGBTQ matters have been proposed across the country and at least 48 have been enacted, according to the Human Rights Campaign.

US FDA staff flag 'serious' safety risks for Intercept's NASH treatment

The U.S. health regulator's staff reviewers on Wednesday raised a string of concerns with Intercept Pharmaceuticals' treatment for a type of fatty liver disease, sending the drugmaker's shares plunging 22%. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's reviewers flagged increased risk of diabetes and liver injury from using the oral tablets, called obeticholic acid (OCA), for the treatment of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH).

AstraZeneca's Tagrisso, chemo combination shows promise in lung cancer trial

The combination of AstraZeneca's cancer drug, Tagrisso, with chemotherapy to treat patients with a type of lung cancer showed positive results in a late-stage trial, the company said on Wednesday. The drug maker said patients on the combined treatment showed a meaningful improvement in progression-free survival, or how long a patient lives without the disease getting worse after treatment, than patients given only Tagrisso.

(With inputs from agencies.)