Health News Roundup: GSK's cancer drug Jemperli gets file acceptance from US FDA; Sri Lanka to reduce drug prices by 16% as crisis eases- minister and more

The lawsuit, expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that under the law, drugmakers would be forced to negotiate prices for drugs in the government's Medicare health insurance program at below market rates. Novocure's lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study Novocure said on Tuesday its experimental device to treat a type of lung cancer showed a statistically significant improvement in extending overall survival among patients in a late-stage study.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

GSK's cancer drug Jemperli gets file acceptance from US FDA

GSK said on Tuesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had granted file acceptance for its cancer drug, Jemperli, when combined with chemotherapy to treat adult patients with certain types of endometrial cancer. (The story has been refiled to change the image)

Sri Lanka to reduce drug prices by 16% as crisis eases- minister

Sri Lanka will slash the price of 60 essential drugs by 16% from June 15, the Health Minister said on Tuesday, as the country sees a glimmer of relief from its worst financial crisis in decades. The island off India's southern coast plunged into crisis last year as its foreign exchange reserves ran out, food and energy prices spiralled and protesting mobs forced the ouster of the country's then president.

UK government challenge to COVID inquiry to be heard around end-June - lawyer

The British government's legal challenge to the COVID-19 public inquiry will likely be heard on June 30 or shortly afterwards, the counsel to the inquiry said on Tuesday. The government has refused to hand over internal WhatsApp messages it has described as "unambiguously irrelevant" to the inquiry, and has sought a judicial review at London's High Court against the demand.

Novavax exec says its new COVID shot should work against variants on the rise

Novavax Inc's head of research and development on Monday said an updated COVID-19 vaccine the company is already producing is likely to be protective against other fast-growing coronavirus variants circulating in the U.S. Protein-based vaccines like Novavax's take longer to produce than the messenger RNA-based (mRNA) versions made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech.

Factbox-Britain's COVID inquiry into the handling of the pandemic

Britain is holding a public inquiry into the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the government is already seeking legal action against it even before it has started hearing evidence. Here are the key facts about the inquiry.

Analysis-Stelara patent deal puts J&J back on path to $57 billion 2025 revenue forecast

Johnson & Johnson's legal settlement with Amgen Inc to delay a biosimilar version of its blockbuster psoriasis treatment Stelara until January 2025 could make the drug a larger contributor to J&J's 2024 and 2025 sales than Wall Street is forecasting. Stelara, introduced in 2009, has been J&J's top-selling drug since 2019, with sales reaching $9.7 billion in 2022. Its patents begin to expire this year, opening the door to a cheaper biosimilar entering the market, and raising expectations that the company would need to lower the $13,000 per month price of Stelara.

Cancer vaccines poised to unlock 'new treatment paradigm' with Merck/Moderna data

Adding an experimental mRNA-based vaccine from Moderna Inc and Merck & Co reduced the risk that the most deadly skin cancer would spread by 65% over treatment with immunotherapy alone in a mid-stage trial, the companies reported on Monday. With this and earlier data, Moderna is considering seeking faster approval from regulators for the treatment, the company told investors after having presented the results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago.

Merck sues US government to halt Medicare drug price negotiation

Merck & Co said it sued the U.S. government on Tuesday, seeking an injunction of the drug price negotiation program contained in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which it argues violates the Fifth and First Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit, expected to be filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that under the law, drugmakers would be forced to negotiate prices for drugs in the government's Medicare health insurance program at below market rates.

Novocure's lung cancer device extends survival in late-stage study

Novocure said on Tuesday its experimental device to treat a type of lung cancer showed a statistically significant improvement in extending overall survival among patients in a late-stage study. The therapy is the first in more than seven years to show a significant extension in overall survival in metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) in late-stage study.

New Zealand curbs disposable vapes to deter the young

New Zealand unveiled measures on Monday to curb vaping by young people, from limits on sales near schools to a ban on some disposable units, as it extends aggressive anti-smoking campaigns. Although the Pacific nation has one of the lowest rates of adult smoking among the 38 nations in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development, it has banned future generations from smoking in a push to be "smokefree" by 2025.