Health News Roundup: US psychiatrists prescribe Wegovy to battle medication-induced weight gain; Teva agrees to pay $126 million to US hospitals over opioids and more

The drugmaker said it was taking additional steps out of an abundance of caution as it released a list of 12 unique or specific presentations of nine products with high medical need. Gilead quarterly profit falls on COVID sales drop, legal settlement charge Gilead Sciences on Thursday reported lower second-quarter profit as costs from a legal settlement and sharply lower sales of its COVID-19 treatment offset another strong performance by HIV drugs.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US psychiatrists prescribe Wegovy to battle medication-induced weight gain

U.S. psychiatrists are increasingly prescribing the popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to patients who gain weight from medicines used to treat mental disorders, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, according to Reuters interviews with ten prescribers across the country. Many antipsychotic drugs and mood stabilizers can cause patients to gain significant weight and contribute to diabetes and heart disease, the leading cause of death among adults with schizophrenia. Complicated by other factors such as inadequate access to healthy food and lower physical activity, over half of patients with bipolar depression and schizophrenia are overweight or obese. Novo Nordisk's Wegovy is self-injected once a week and has been shown to help patients lose around 15% of their body weight, making it the most effective treatment available. "It's been a real welcome addition …. for people who truly have endured significant weight gain because of atypical antipsychotics and have doggedly tried their best to overcome that," said Dr. Joseph Goldberg, a professor of psychiatry at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. Wegovy received U.S. approval as an obesity treatment in June 2021, while Mounjaro, a similar drug from Eli Lilly, is expected to be authorized this year. New rivals are also in development.

Teva agrees to pay $126 million to US hospitals over opioids

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has agreed to pay up to $126 million to U.S. hospitals over 18 years to settle claims that its marketing of opioid drugs raised the hospitals' operating costs. As part of the proposed settlement, disclosed in Teva's quarterly earnings statement Wednesday, the Israel-based drugmaker also agreed to supply $49 million of the anti-overdose drug naloxone.

Mesoblast shares tank after US FDA rejects cell therapy for children

The U.S. health regulator rejected Mesoblast's cell therapy for children under 12 years of age for treating a type of complication that occurs after a stem cell or bone marrow transplant, sending its Australia-listed shares crashing about 58% on Friday. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) required more data to support marketing approval for the company's lead product remestemcel-L, Mesoblast said in a statement on Thursday.

Italy's lower house approves 'right to be forgotten' law for cancer survivors

An Italian law giving cancer survivors the right not to declare their past condition to banks and insurance agencies, shielding them from discrimination, has been approved by the lower house of parliament. The so-called "right to be forgotten" (RTBF) bill was passed on Thursday with a unanimous vote, indicating rare cross-party support for a reform that will need to be also voted by the upper Senate house before entering into force.

Moderna sees up to $4 billion in 2023 sales from private market for COVID shots

Moderna Inc on Thursday forecast as much as $4 billion in revenue from its COVID-19 vaccine when sales shift to a private market from government contracts this year, and said it expects demand to grow further in 2024 and match the market for flu shots. The vaccine maker anticipates $4 billion in sales to governments this year, and between $2 and $4 billion in a private market for the shot in the United States and other countries. It had previously expected sales of $5 billion from government contracts.

Pfizer takes more steps to manage medicine stock at North Carolina plant

Pfizer Inc said on Thursday it will begin making some products available only through its emergency ordering process, as part of steps to manage inventory at its North Carolina facility that was struck by a tornado last month. The drugmaker said it was taking additional steps out of an abundance of caution as it released a list of 12 unique or specific presentations of nine products with high medical need.

Gilead quarterly profit falls on COVID sales drop, legal settlement charge

Gilead Sciences on Thursday reported lower second-quarter profit as costs from a legal settlement and sharply lower sales of its COVID-19 treatment offset another strong performance by HIV drugs. The drugmaker raised its full-year revenue forecast, even as it trimmed its estimate for COVID antiviral Veklury due to lower pandemic-related hospitalizations.

US CDC panel recommends Sanofi-AstraZeneca's preventive RSV therapy for babies

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said its advisory panel on Thursday recommended use of Sanofi and partner AstraZeneca's antibody therapy to prevent respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants and toddlers. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended nirsevimab for preventing lower respiratory tract disease in newborns and infants below eight months of age born during or entering their first RSV season.

Merck KGaA flags steeper profit drop on lower orders from drugmakers

Germany's Merck KGaA on Thursday warned of a steeper earnings decline due to a slump in demand for materials used to produce pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, as its high-tech niche markets get drawn into a wider downturn. In a statement, it cited "persistently high inventory levels of our Life Science customers, the further delayed recovery of the market for semiconductor materials, an increased cost level due to inflation and an even stronger negative foreign exchange impact".

Amgen quarterly revenue rises 6%, profit beats Street estimates

Amgen, which is facing U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) delays to its planned acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics, on Thursday reported higher quarterly profit on strong sales of treatments for cholesterol, osteoporosis and other drugs. The biotech company, which slightly raised its outlook for full-year revenue and profit, said it currently expects the Horizon deal to close by mid-December.