Health News Roundup: US FDA approves Regeneron's ultra-rare blood disease drug; Moderna's updated COVID vaccine effective against 'Eris' variant in humans and more

On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was tracking the new, highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID. US FDA approves higher dose of Regeneron's eye disease drug Eylea The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a higher dose version of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' drug Eylea for treatment of a disease that is a leading cause of blindness among the elderly, the company said in a statement on Friday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA approves Regeneron's ultra-rare blood disease drug

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Friday the U.S. health regulator approved its drug to treat a rare blood disease. The drug pozelimab, branded as Veopoz, would treat CHAPLE disease in adult and pediatric patients 1 year of age and older.

Moderna's updated COVID vaccine effective against 'Eris' variant in humans

Moderna said on Thursday an initial study data showed its updated COVID-19 vaccine to be effective against the "Eris" and "Fornax" subvariants in humans. The company expects the updated shot to be available, pending approval from health regulators in the United States, Europe and elsewhere, in the coming weeks for the fall vaccination season.

Georgia man sentenced to 27 years in jail over $463 million genetic testing scheme

A Georgia man who was convicted late last year for his role in a $463 million genetic testing scheme to defraud Medicare was sentenced to 27 years in prison on Friday, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement. Minal Patel, 44, of Atlanta, owned LabSolutions LLC, a lab enrolled with Medicare that performed sophisticated genetic tests. Patel conspired with patient brokers, telemedicine companies, and call centers to target Medicare beneficiaries with telemarketing calls falsely stating that Medicare covered expensive cancer genetic tests, according to prosecutors.

US CDC tracks new lineage of virus that causes COVID

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday that it was tracking a new, highly mutated lineage of the virus that causes COVID-19. The lineage is named BA.2.86, and has been detected in the United States, Denmark and Israel, the CDC said in a post on messaging platform X.

US FDA staff raise no concerns about Otsuka, Medtronic blood pressure devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) staff reviewers said on Friday they found no safety and effectiveness issues with devices made by Otsuka Holdings and rival Medtronic Plc for use in a blood pressure treatment surgery. The FDA staff's assessment comes ahead of meetings of two independent expert panels next week, where they will make recommendations on whether or not to approve the devices for treatment.

UK reports first case of new COVID virus variant

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday the first case of COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 had been detected in the country in an individual with no recent travel history. On Thursday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was tracking the new, highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID.

US FDA approves higher dose of Regeneron's eye disease drug Eylea

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a higher dose version of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' drug Eylea for treatment of a disease that is a leading cause of blindness among the elderly, the company said in a statement on Friday. The drug, Eylea HD, is priced at $2,625 per single-use vial in the U.S. and is used to treat patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic macular edema (DME) and diabetic retinopathy (DR), Regeneron said.

Boehringer to test obesity drug in three late-stage trials

Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim said on Thursday it would conduct three late-stage studies for its obesity drug candidate after it showed up to 19% weight loss after 46 weeks in a mid-stage trial. The private company plans to start enrollments for the trial of the drug, survodutide, which it co-invented with Danish biotech company Zealand Pharma, before the end of the year.

Blue Shield of California looks to cut reliance on CVS, taps Amazon

Blue Shield of California plans to stop using most of CVS Health's pharmacy benefit management services and work with others, including Amazon.com and Mark Cuban's drug firm, in a bid to reduce drug costs for its insurance plan members. The non-profit insurer, which serves roughly 4.8 million members, said on Thursday it now plans to tap five different partners for services typically provided by pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs), which negotiate drug prices with manufacturers.

Explainer-Extreme heat may mean using a different sunscreen

With world temperatures reaching record highs this summer, you may want to reconsider which sunscreen you are using, experts say. Sunscreens are not all the same. The two major types – mineral and chemical – handle the sun's ultraviolet (UV) rays differently, and during extremely hot weather, those differences can matter.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)