Health News Roundup: AstraZeneca and Daiichi's breast cancer drug meets goal in study; Britain's Superdrug to stop selling single-use vapes and more
Nearly five million disposable vapes are thrown away every week in Britain according to research by non-governmental organisation Material Focus and YouGov. The vapes, many of which contain lithium-ion batteries, frequently end up in landfill. Explainer-What you need to know about RSV and the new vaccines Expert advisers to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday recommended Pfizer's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for women in the middle of the third trimester of pregnancy to protect their babies from severe illness.
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Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Big Pharma bets on AI to speed up clinical trials
Major drugmakers are using artificial intelligence to find patients for clinical trials quickly, or to reduce the number of people needed to test medicines, both accelerating drug development and potentially saving millions of dollars. Human studies are the most expensive and time-consuming part of drug development as it can take years to recruit patients and trial new medicines in a process that can cost over a billion dollars from the discovery of a drug to the finishing line.
More bumps in the road to wiping out polio - report
The global effort to end polio is likely to miss two key targets this year on the path towards defeating the virus, according to an independent strategic review. The aim in 2023 was to interrupt the transmission of wild polio in the two countries where it is still endemic, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and do the same for a variant form of polio known as "vaccine-derived" that is causing outbreaks elsewhere.
US CDC panel backs Pfizer's maternal RSV vaccine to protect infants
Advisers to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday backed Pfizer's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for women in the middle of their third trimester of pregnancy to protect their babies from severe illness. The panel members by a vote of 11 to 1 recommended use of the shot in women 32 weeks to 36 weeks into their pregnancy from September to January, paving the way for it to become the first maternal vaccine for the seasonal respiratory virus available in the country.
Britain's Superdrug to stop selling single-use vapes
British pharmacy chain Superdrug will stop selling single-use vapes, the company announced on Friday, citing the environmental impact caused by their disposal and the popularity of the products among young people. Nearly five million disposable vapes are thrown away every week in Britain according to research by non-governmental organisation Material Focus and YouGov. The vapes, many of which contain lithium-ion batteries, frequently end up in landfill.
Explainer-What you need to know about RSV and the new vaccines
Expert advisers to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday recommended Pfizer's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine for women in the middle of the third trimester of pregnancy to protect their babies from severe illness. That Pfizer shot and one developed by GSK in May became the first two RSV vaccines to win U.S. approval, for use in people aged 60 and over to prevent severe illness. In August, Pfizer's vaccine also won approval for the maternal use. Here's what you need to know.
Sunak may ban cigarettes in UK for future generations -The Guardian
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering introducing measures that would ban the next generation from ever being able to buy cigarettes, The Guardian reported on Friday, citing government sources. Sunak is looking at anti-smoking measures similar to laws New Zealand announced last year, which include a ban on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, the report said.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi's breast cancer drug meets goal in study
AstraZeneca said on Friday its experimental precision drug had slowed the progression of a common type of breast cancer in a late-stage trial, a boost for the company after its shares fell in July on results from a separate trial of the same drug for lung cancer. The drug, datopotamab deruxtecan, which AstraZeneca is jointly developing with Japan's Daiichi Sankyo, is being closely watched by analysts and investors in part due to the promise of the class of drugs to which it belongs, known as antibody drug conjugates (ADC).
Emissions from Tata Steel's Dutch plant reduce life expectancy, research shows
People living close to Tata Steel's Dutch steelworks have a life expectancy that is 2.5 months lower than the average for the Netherlands due to the plant's emissions, the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment said on Friday. The Institute said its research showed that exposure to particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide increases the risk of lung cancer and that 4% of the new cases in the area could be attributed to the emissions from the plant.
Abbott India warns of laxatives shortage in tussle with Goa regulator
Abbott Laboratories' Indian unit has warned of potential supply shortages of two popular laxative syrups after production was prohibited in India's Goa state, where drug inspectors have found lapses at a company factory, a letter shows. Goa, where Abbott has one of its two India plants, asked the company to halt production of Cremaffin and Duphalac syrups last month. The request followed the recall of another Abbott drug which triggered factory inspections by health officials who found contamination risks and sanitisation issues.
Merck, Eisai's combination therapy fails in lung cancer studies
Drugmakers Merck and Eisai said on Friday a combination of their cancer therapies did not prolong the lives of patients in two late-stage studies testing it as a treatment for a type of lung cancer. The pairing of Merck's blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda and Eisai's Lenvima has previously failed in studies evaluating it in patients with types of head-and-neck cancer, skin cancer and colon cancer as well.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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