Health News Roundup: African swine fever, Africans dyeing due to fake drugs, Monsanto weed-killer cancer trial

Key AstraZeneca lung cancer treatment misses study goal

AstraZeneca said on Friday it's immunotherapy drug Imfinzi did not meet the main goal of improving survival rates for patients with the most advanced form of lung cancer, putting pressure on its shares. The study, known as "Mystic", was among the industry's most anticipated clinical experiments and was viewed as central to proving the value of the group's new drug pipeline and its future as an independent company, after it spurned a $118 billion takeover attempt by Pfizer in 2014.

China's Sichuan province becomes 18th to report African swine fever

China's agricultural ministry confirmed on Friday the first outbreak of deadly African swine fever in the southwest province of Sichuan, the country's top pig-producing region, raising the likelihood of a major impact to pork supplies in coming months. The highly contagious disease was discovered on a farm of 40 pigs in Yibin city, in Sichuan's southeast, making it the 18th province or municipality to report an outbreak of African swine fever since it was first detected in China in early August.

Tens of thousands die in Africa each year due to fake drugs

When Moustapha Dieng came down with stomach pains one-day last month he did the sensible thing and went to a doctor in his hometown of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The doctor prescribed a malaria treatment but the medicine cost too much for Dieng, a 30-year-old tailor, so he went to an unlicensed street vendor for pills on the cheap.

Therapy through song: Choir helps Hungarian lung patients breathe more easily

A Hungarian doctor has prescribed her lung disease patients a new form of physical and spiritual therapy - singing in public as part of a choir. The "Breathing for the Soul" choir, which was formed this spring, gave its second performance on Thursday in the ballroom of a Budapest Hotel.

California judge orders next Monsanto weed-killer cancer trial for March

A California judge on Thursday granted an expedited trial in the case of a California couple suffering from cancer who sued Bayer AG's Monsanto unit, alleging the company's glyphosate-containing weed killer Roundup caused their disease. The order by Superior Court Judge Ioana Petrou in Oakland, California, comes on the heels of a $289 million verdict in the first glyphosate trial in San Francisco, in which a jury found Monsanto liable for causing a school groundskeeper's cancer.

China reports first African swine fever case in wild boar

China said it had found African swine fever virus in a dead wild boar in Jilin province, the agriculture ministry said in a statement released on its website on Friday, the nation's first case confirmed among wild hogs. The new case was found in Baishan city, Jilin province, in northeastern China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said.

Cavs' Love on a mission to change attitudes about mental health

Kevin Love is one of the toughest players in the NBA but the embodiment of that type of masculinity is 'outdated' and 'dangerous' and stops men from seeking help for depression and anxiety, according to the Cleveland Cavaliers forward. The five-time All-Star knows only too well how debilitating burying emotions can be after he suffered a panic attack during a game last November.

Novartis launches third-to-market Remicade copy in Germany

Novartis launched a copy of Johnson & Johnson's (J&J) inflammation-fighting Remicade in Germany on Thursday as the Swiss drugmaker aims to catch rival biosimilars that are already available in Europe's largest healthcare market. Novartis's Sandoz generics unit in May won European approval for Zessly, known generically as infliximab. It has been ramping up production for six months, and Germany is the first European market where Novartis will sell its medicine to treat conditions such as arthritis and Crohn's disease.

FDA to ban flavoured e-cigarettes at U.S. convenience stores

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced sweeping new restrictions on flavoured tobacco products, including electronic cigarettes popular among teenagers in an effort to prevent a new generation of nicotine addicts. The much-anticipated announcement will mean that only tobacco, mint and menthol e-cigarette flavours can be sold at most traditional retail outlets such as convenience stores. Other fruity- or sweet-flavoured varieties can now only be sold at age-restricted stores or through online merchants that use age-verification checks.

New jury fails to reach a verdict in J&J South Carolina talc cancer trial

A second South Carolina jury on Thursday failed to reach a verdict in the retrial of a case by a woman whose family said her long-term use of Johnson & Johnson's baby powder led to her death from asbestos-related cancer. The case of Bertila Boyd-Bostic, who died of a rare form of cancer in 2017 at the age of 30, is the latest in a series of trials in the United States that centre around allegations that the company's talc-based powder contains cancer-causing asbestos.

(With inputs from Reuters)