Health News Roundup: Therapy through song; Novartis' blood disorder drug; New Jersey viral outbreak

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Key AstraZeneca lung cancer treatment misses study goal

AstraZeneca said on Friday its 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.

Alphabet unit halts glucose-detecting contact lens project

Alphabet Inc's life sciences division Verily said on Friday that it was putting on hold one of its oldest and highest-profile projects, a smart contact lens designed to help monitor sugar levels. The project, started in 2014, aimed to help diabetics better manage their blood sugar levels by embedding sensors on a contact lens to monitor the glucose levels in their tears.

China reports new outbreaks of African swine fever in Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan and Shanghai

Four new outbreaks of African swine fever have been reported in China's provinces of Jiangxi, Yunnan and Sichuan as well as the municipality of Shanghai, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday. Ten pigs had died from the disease and 10 others had fallen ill on a farm with 150 hogs in the southeastern province of Jiangxi, the ministry said on its website. Another 348 pigs will be slaughtered in Yunnan province in the southwest, it added.

Make-a-Wish program tied to lower hospital costs for sick kids

Kids with life-threatening illnesses who receive a special gift from the Make-a-Wish Foundation may have lower hospital costs than sick children who don't get these gifts, a U.S. study suggests. Make-a-Wish arranges experiences, or "wishes," for children with progressive, life-threatening, or life-limiting illness.

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.

Pfizer to raise U.S. drug prices in January after previously backing down

Pfizer Inc said on Friday that it plans to hike U.S. prices on 41 of its medicines in January, after walking back its previous planned price increases this summer under pressure from President Donald Trump. The largest U.S. drugmaker said in a statement that the increases would be on around 10 percent of its medicines.

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.

Eleventh child dies from viral outbreak at New Jersey facility

An 11th child has died in less than four weeks at a New Jersey rehabilitation center, one of 34 young patients with compromised immune systems to have been infected by a viral outbreak, state health officials said on Friday. The child, who died late Thursday, and the others at the Wanaque Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in the town of Haskell, became ill with adenovirus between Sept. 26 and Nov. 12, the state's Department of Health said in a statement.

Novartis' blood disorder drug gets FDA approval for expanded use

Novartis AG said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the use of its low platelets drug to treat patients with a rare, genetic blood disorder. The drug, Promacta, received the green light as a combination with standard immunosuppressive therapy to treat patients two years and older suffering from treatment-resistant severe aplastic anemia (SAA).

FDA declines to approve Aquestive's Viagra rival

Aquestive Therapeutics Inc said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its erectile dysfunction treatment and sought additional data. The company said the comments in the FDA's so-called complete response letter are "manageable" and that it would work with the agency for approval.

(With inputs from Reuters)

(With inputs from agencies.)