Health News Roundup: Johnson & Johnson to submit application to start trials for surgical robot; Appeals court blocks California warning requirement for glyphosate and more

The highly infections virus has not yet reached commercial flocks, meaning Brazil's status as an avian influenza-free country before the World Organization for Animal Health remains, the statement added. Syphilis cases in US newborns rise 10-fold over a decade The number of newborns with syphilis in the United States surged more than 10-fold in the last decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US Senate confirms Monica Bertagnolli as NIH director

The U.S. Senate on Tuesday voted to confirm President Joe Biden's pick to run the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, filling the director spot at the country's top medical research agency after a vacancy of almost two years. Bertagnolli, a cancer surgeon, was approved by a bipartisan 62 to 26 vote. The NIH had been without a director since December 2021, when former director Francis Collins retired, ending a 12-year reign.

Johnson & Johnson to submit application to start trials for surgical robot

Johnson & Johnson's MedTech unit said on Tuesday it would submit an application to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in the second half of 2024 to initiate clinical trials of its robotic surgical system. The surgical robot, Ottava, incorporates four robotic arms into a standard size surgical table and has the ability to reposition a patient without interrupting the surgical procedure, the company said.

Tuberculosis fight recovering from COVID-19 knock but still off target- WHO

The global fight against tuberculosis (TB), badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, is beginning to recover but remains a long way off target, according to a World Health Organization report. During the first two years of the pandemic, there were around 4 million “missing” TB patients per year, meaning people who developed TB but who were not diagnosed or treated. That gap narrowed to around 3.1 million in 2022, the U.N. agency’s annual report estimated, back to the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Appeals court blocks California warning requirement for glyphosate

A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld an injunction barring California from requiring businesses to warn consumers that glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup weedkiller, causes cancer. In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was unconstitutional for California to require Bayer AG's Monsanto unit, which makes Roundup, and some agricultural producers to provide the warning under a state law known as Proposition 65.

US FTC disputes over 100 medical patents listed with FDA including asthma inhalers

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Tuesday said it sent letters to medical device companies and drugmakers including AbbVie, AstraZeneca and Teva disputing the accuracy or relevance of 110 patents that could lead to delays in generic competition. Many of the patents at issue in the Food and Drug Administration's Orange Book listing of approved products were for devices such as asthma inhalers and epinephrine autoinjectors, the FTC said.

Biogen-Sage Therapeutics postpartum depression pill priced at $15,900

Sage Therapeutics has priced the oral postpartum depression (PPD) pill it developed with partner Biogen at $15,900 for a full 14-day course of treatment, the company said on Tuesday, months after the drug was approved by the U.S. health regulator. The companies had sought U.S. approval for Zurzuvae to treat clinical depression, a much larger market, and postpartum depression, but the Food and Drug Administration in August approved it only for PPD.

Exclusive-Activist investor Elliott targets drugmaker BioMarin -sources

Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a stake in BioMarin Pharmaceutical and has been in discussions with the biotechnology company for months about its future, according to two people familiar with the matter. The hedge fund, which oversees some $60 billion in assets, has spent over $1 billion on the stake in BioMarin, which focuses on rare genetic disorders and is valued at about $16 billion, the sources said.

Brazil extends avian flu health emergency for 180 days - ministry

Brazil's agriculture ministry has extended a national health emergency for another 180 days due to more detections of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) virus in wild birds, according to a statement on Tuesday. The highly infections virus has not yet reached commercial flocks, meaning Brazil's status as an avian influenza-free country before the World Organization for Animal Health remains, the statement added.

Syphilis cases in US newborns rise 10-fold over a decade

The number of newborns with syphilis in the United States surged more than 10-fold in the last decade, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on Tuesday. The agency said 3,761 cases were recorded in 2022, the highest in over 30 years, up from 334 cases in 2012. The 2022 cases included 231 stillbirths and 51 infant deaths.

Novo Nordisk to present new data from weight-loss, diabetes trials

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said on Tuesday it will present new cardiometabolic disease data, including results from its SELECT trial, at the annual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions from Nov. 11-13. Novo's SELECT trial earlier this year concluded that the highly effective Wegovy obesity treatment also had a clear cardiovascular benefit.

(With inputs from agencies.)