Health News Roundup: Nvidia, Amgen back AI-driven drug firm Generate:Biomedicines' $273 million fundraise; India's Nipah virus trackers gather samples from bats, fruit and more

The FDA panel voted 9 to 3 that the benefits of the drug, patisiran, outweigh its risks for treating patients with a type of heart muscle disease, cardiomyopathy, caused by a wild-type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR). What is the Nipah virus that killed two in India and how is it treated? India's southern state of Kerala shut some schools and offices this week as officials raced to halt the spread of the deadly Nipah virus, after it killed two people in the fourth outbreak since 2018.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Nvidia, Amgen back AI-driven drug firm Generate:Biomedicines' $273 million fundraise

Drug developer Generate:Biomedicines, which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find new treatments, said on Thursday it has raised $273 million from investors including Nvidia's venture capital arm and Amgen. The company said it would use the Series C funding to support its pipeline of drugs for various disease areas such as cancer, infectious diseases and immunological conditions.

India's Nipah virus trackers gather samples from bats, fruit

Experts have fanned out in India's southern state of Kerala to collect samples of fluid from bats and fruit trees in a region where the deadly Nipah virus has killed two people and three more have tested positive. The state is battling its fourth outbreak since 2018 of a virus for which there is no vaccine, and which spreads through contact with the body fluids of infected bats, pigs or people, killing up to 75% of those infected.

U.S. FDA panel backs expanded use of Alnylam's gene silencing drug

An outside panel of experts to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday backed the expanded use of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals' gene silencing drug to treat a type of heart disease associated with a rare organ-damaging disorder. The FDA panel voted 9 to 3 that the benefits of the drug, patisiran, outweigh its risks for treating patients with a type of heart muscle disease, cardiomyopathy, caused by a wild-type or hereditary transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis (ATTR).

What is the Nipah virus that killed two in India and how is it treated?

India's southern state of Kerala shut some schools and offices this week as officials raced to halt the spread of the deadly Nipah virus, after it killed two people in the fourth outbreak since 2018. Here is what we know about the virus:

Bristol Myers plans to double experimental treatments to expand research pipeline

Bristol Myers Squibb said on Thursday it plans to double the number of treatments it is testing in clinical trials, with a focus on cell therapies, over the next 18 months, as it contends with increasing generic competition for two of its top-selling drugs. The drugmaker, which currently has six candidates in trials, will advance six more in its research pipeline - including three cell therapies that target immune system disorders and different types of cancer.

UK to invest extra 200 million pounds in National Health Service over winter

The British government said on Thursday it would invest 200 million pounds ($250 million) of extra funding in the National Health Service (NHS) to help boost its resilience during the busy winter months. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made cutting NHS patient waiting lists one of his five top priorities ahead of a national election expected next year. More than 7.5 million people in England are on a waiting list for hospital treatment.

Moderna flu shot succeeds in late-stage study

Moderna on Wednesday said its flu vaccine had generated a stronger immune response against all four A and B strains of the influenza virus compared to traditional flu shots in a late-stage trial. Shares of the U.S. biotech closed more than 3% higher at $108.59 on Wednesday.

US pharmacy chains gear up to administer updated COVID shots

U.S. drugstore chains CVS Health and Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Wednesday that updated COVID-19 vaccines would be available at their stores as soon as this week. Shots were being delivered in some locations on Wednesday, including at a Northwell Health facility in New York.

Goa state warns Abbott India on antacid Digene license suspension

India's Goa state has warned the local unit of Abbott Laboratories it plans to suspend the manufacturing license of its popular antacid medicine after inspectors flagged contamination risks and sanitization issues at its factory, government documents show. The U.S. based drugmaker is locked in a tussle with drug regulators in the tourist state of Goa in western India after the company, starting August, voluntarily recalled many batches of its Digene Gel syrup produced there after it received customer complaints on taste and odor.

Indian firms linked to cough syrup deaths had received warnings

The deaths of 12 children in northern India between December 2019 and January 2020, police allege, were caused by adulterated cough syrup made by drugmaker Digital Vision. It was not the first time the company's medicines have come under scrutiny. Indian drugs regulators found quality shortfalls in drugs made by Digital and its unit Orison Pharmaceuticals at least 22 times between 2012 and July this year, according to a Reuters review of records from five states and India's federal drugs regulator CDSCO.