Health News Roundup: EU regulator recommends Eli Lilly's Mounjaro for weight management; AstraZeneca prioritizes US for RSV drug amid surge in cases and more

AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot in an interview at the Reuters office in New York said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been asking for more of the antibody therapy that was co-developed with French drugmaker Sanofi. Wegovy's heart benefits due to more than weight loss, Novo says Novo Nordisk on Saturday said the heart protective benefits of its wildly popular Wegovy obesity treatment are due to more than weight loss alone, according to new data presented at a major medical meeting on Saturday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

EU regulator recommends Eli Lilly's Mounjaro for weight management

Europe's medicines regulator said on Friday its human medicines committee had recommended Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro also be approved as a weight-loss treatment. The drug, tirzepatide, has been sold under the brand name Mounjaro to treat type-2 diabetes since 2022.

Mirati's lung cancer drug gets EU's regulatory backing

Mirati Therapeutics said on Friday the European medicines regulator's panel has recommended approval of its treatment for a type of lung cancer. The European Medicine Agency's committee backed Krazati following a re-examination of the drug the panel had declined to back for authorization in July, saying the requirements for conditional support were not fulfilled, which Mirati had disagreed with.

AstraZeneca prioritizes US for RSV drug amid surge in cases

AstraZeneca on Friday said it was prioritizing the U.S. market for additional doses of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) drug Beyfortus, which was approved in July to prevent the disease in infants and toddlers, as a surge of cases is outpacing supply. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot in an interview at the Reuters office in New York said the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had been asking for more of the antibody therapy that was co-developed with French drugmaker Sanofi.

Wegovy's heart benefits due to more than weight loss, Novo says

Novo Nordisk on Saturday said the heart protective benefits of its wildly popular Wegovy obesity treatment are due to more than weight loss alone, according to new data presented at a major medical meeting on Saturday. Early data from the Danish drugmaker's Select trial released in August demonstrated that Wegovy, which has been shown to help patients lose an average of 15% of their weight, also reduced incidence of heart attack, stroke or death from heart disease by 20%.

FDA approves Valneva's Chikungunya vaccine for adults

French drugmaker Valneva said on Friday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its Chikungunya single-dose vaccine in individuals aged 18 and above. The company said it plans to start selling the IXCHIQ vaccine in the U.S. early next year.

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk seeks obesity, diabetes 'bolt-on' deals

Novo Nordisk wants to buy more companies with drugs in early- to mid-stages of development through "bolt-on" deals of up to a few billion dollars, CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen told Reuters on Friday. As the company's fortunes soar on demand for its popular weight-loss medicine Wegovy, Jorgensen said Novo sought to acquire companies working on medicines in the areas where it is already focused.

UK court rejects appeal over where critically ill baby's treatment ends

The parents of a critically ill British baby girl on Friday lost their legal bid to have her life support removed at home rather than in a hospital or hospice. Eight-month-old Indi Gregory suffers from a rare mitochondrial disease which means that her cells do not produce enough energy and has been on full life support since early September.

Surgeons in New York announce world's first eye transplant

Surgeons in New York have performed the first-ever whole-eye transplant in a human, they announced on Thursday, an accomplishment being hailed as a breakthrough even though the patient has not regained sight in the eye. In the six months since the surgery, performed during a partial face transplant, the grafted eye has shown important signs of health, including well-functioning blood vessels and a promising-looking retina, according to the surgical team at NYU Langone Health.

European regulator endorses high-dose version of Bayer eye drug Eylea

Bayer said on Friday that the European Medicines Agency recommended approval of a higher dose version of eye drug Eylea for treatment of a leading cause of blindness among the elderly, stepping up competition with Roche. The European Commission, which has the final word on drug approvals in the EU, typically follows the recommendations issued by the EMA.

Novo Nordisk invests $6 billion in Wegovy production, still far below demand -CEO

Obesity drug maker Novo Nordisk said on Friday it will spend $6 billion to boost production in Denmark, although its chief executive warned the industry was far from being able to produce enough weight-loss drugs to meet global demand. Novo Nordisk has had phenomenal success with its anti-obesity drug, Wegovy, but has scrambled to address shortages that have forced it to limit the number of patients.

(With inputs from agencies.)