Health News Roundup: AstraZeneca signs $2 billion agreement with Quell to develop cell therapies; HIV alarm in Uganda as anti-gay law forces LGBT 'lockdown' and more

Many in those states are wondering what they need to know about a first-time wildfire smoke event. US FDA panel backs Sanofi-AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers on Thursday backed the use of Sanofi and partner AstraZeneca's experimental antibody to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

AstraZeneca signs $2 billion agreement with Quell to develop cell therapies

AstraZeneca said on Friday it had signed an agreement with Quell Therapeutics potentially worth more than $2 billion to develop cell therapies that could cure autoimmune diseases. The agreement includes developing, manufacturing and commercialising cell therapies that have the potential to be curative in type 1 diabetes and inflammatory bowel disease indications, the drugmaker said in a statement.

HIV alarm in Uganda as anti-gay law forces LGBT 'lockdown'

The HIV/AIDS treatment centre in Kampala is almost empty, days after Uganda enacted one of the most draconian anti-gay laws on Earth. The usual daily influx of around 50 patients has all but dried up, say staff. Antiretroviral drugs pile up unused.

Novartis' Sandoz wagers its standalone future on biosimilar success

Novartis' soon-to-be spun off generics division Sandoz is betting on biosimilars, copies of high-priced drugs used to treat illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and cancer, to fuel its future as a standalone company, executives said on Thursday.

Sandoz hosted its first-ever capital markets day in New York to make the case it has enough firepower it its pipeline to surmount the difficult global macroinflationary environment.

U.S. government sets penalties on 43 drugs over price hikes

The Biden administration on Friday announced it would impose inflation penalties on 43 drugs for the third quarter of 2023, having fined 27 earlier this year, in a move it said would lower costs for older Americans by as much as $449 per dose. Drugmakers hiked the price of these 43 drugs by more than the rate of inflation and are required to pay the difference of those medicines to Medicare, the federal health program for Americans over age 65.

Explainer-What health experts say wildfire smoke novices need to know

Wildfires are increasingly causing destruction and illness around the world, but the smoke drifting southward from eastern Canada this week is a new experience for the tens of millions who live in the U.S. Northeast. Many in those states are wondering what they need to know about a first-time wildfire smoke event.

US FDA panel backs Sanofi-AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisers on Thursday backed the use of Sanofi and partner AstraZeneca's experimental antibody to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections in infants. The advisers voted unanimously in favor of using the antibody, nirsevimab, in newborns and infants to prevent infections in their first RSV season.

New York AG sues anti-abortion group that trespasses clinics

New York Attorney General Letitia James on Thursday sued an anti-abortion group dedicated to entering abortion clinics and trying to stop abortions, saying a court order was needed to stop further actions. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan, targets the group Red Rose Rescue and several individual activists. It seeks to prevent the activists, and anyone else working with them, from coming within 30 feet of an abortion clinic, and to award money damages for past actions.

El Nino rains intensify record dengue outbreak in Peru

Peru's worst dengue outbreak on record could intensify further as an El Nino climate phenomenon brings torrential rains and mosquitoes, driving the death toll this year past 200 with over 130,000 recorded cases, the health ministry said on Thursday. Most of the deaths have occurred in northern Peru, where hospitals have exceeded their capacity, bringing back recent memories of the health crisis suffered by the country during the coronavirus pandemic.

FDA panel to debate US approval for Alzheimer's drug from Eisai and Biogen

A panel of experts on Friday will discuss whether to recommend traditional U.S. regulatory approval for Eisai and Biogen's new Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, a move expected to expand Medicare payment for the treatment. Leqembi won accelerated approval by the Food and Drug Administration in January based on its ability to remove toxic amyloid plaques from the brain. The agency is expected to make its decision on traditional approval by July 6.

India study estimates 11% of population is diabetic

Some 11% of Indians are diabetic, a government study found, adding that diabetes, hypertension and obesity are much more common in India than previously estimated. The study of more than 113,000 people also found that around 15% of Indians were pre-diabetic and around 35% have hypertension. It was conducted between October 2008 and December 2020 across 31 Indian states and territories.