Health News Roundup: Pfizer to cut 500 jobs at UK site as part of wider cost cuts; EU regulator backs GSK's bone marrow cancer therapy and more

Ozempic is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes but has increasingly been prescribed "off-label" to treat weight loss because it has the same active ingredient as Novo's hugely popular - and scarce - anti-obesity drug Wegovy. Healthcare execs expect M&A activity to rise again in 2024 -survey Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the global healthcare sector should continue to rise next year, led by healthcare companies rather than private equity, according to a survey of industry executives.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

AstraZeneca's Imfinzi plus chemoradiotherapy fail main goal of late stage trial

Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Tuesday its cancer drug Imfinzi given along with chemoradiotherapy (CRT) failed to meet its main goal in a late-stage trial to treat unresectable, Stage 3 non-small cell lung cancer. Imfinzi administered sequentially after platinum-based CRT is already an established standard of care for the treatment of that type of lung cancer.

Novo Nordisk shares rise as Wegovy shows heart benefits beyond weight loss

Novo Nordisk shares rose 3% on Monday as the market reacted to data the drugmaker presented over the weekend showing that the heart protective benefits of its popular obesity drug Wegovy are not solely due to weight loss. The data presented on Saturday at a major medical meeting in the United States gave investors and analysts even more confidence in the cardiac benefits of Wegovy after Novo released preliminary data in August from its large study, sending its shares soaring 17% on the day to record highs.

Belgium bans use of Ozempic for weight loss until summer

Belgium has decided to temporarily ban the use of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic as a weight loss treatment amid a shortage of the medicine, according to a royal decree published in the country's Official Gazette on Tuesday. Ozempic is approved to treat Type 2 diabetes but has increasingly been prescribed "off-label" to treat weight loss because it has the same active ingredient as Novo's hugely popular - and scarce - anti-obesity drug Wegovy.

Healthcare execs expect M&A activity to rise again in 2024 -survey

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the global healthcare sector should continue to rise next year, led by healthcare companies rather than private equity, according to a survey of industry executives. The report, published by investment bank Jefferies on Tuesday, surveyed 600 senior leaders in the sector. It found 68% of respondents expected the volume of deals in healthcare to rise in 2024, with 60% believing companies within the sector will dominate the transactions.

Critically ill British girl dies after life support removed - family

Indi Gregory, a critically ill eight-month-old baby girl from Britain who was taken off life support over the weekend following a legal battle, has died overnight, her family said on Monday. Gregory's parents lost a legal fight last month to keep her on life-support machines and have her transferred to a Vatican children's hospital in Rome.

Add chickenpox vaccine to UK child immunisation programme -vaccine advisors

Britain should add the chickenpox vaccine to its routine childhood immunisation programme, the government's vaccine advisory body said on Tuesday. The recommendation would bring the UK in line with many other countries, like the United States and Germany, which routinely vaccinate children against the illness.

Catalent delays quarterly filing with SEC on $700 million impairment charge

Catalent will delay its quarterly filing with the U.S. securities regulator due to a goodwill impairment charge of about $700 million related to acquisitions in the company's consumer health and biomodalities unit, the company said late Monday. The contract drug manufacturer, whose annual results were delayed several times this year to account for production snags, said it will report preliminary first-quarter results on Wednesday.

Pfizer to cut 500 jobs at UK site as part of wider cost cuts

Pfizer will cut 500 jobs at its Sandwich, Kent site in the U.K. as part of its $3.5 billion cost-cutting plan, the drugmaker said on Tuesday. The U.S. drugmaker announced the cost-cutting program in October after slashing its full-year revenue forecast due to lower-than-expected sales of its COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.

EU regulator backs GSK's bone marrow cancer therapy

British drugmaker GSK on Monday said the human medicines committee of the European Medicines Agency had recommended approving its oral therapy to treat anaemia in patients with a type of bone marrow cancer called myelofibrosis. A decision for the marketing authorization of the therapy, momelotinib, is expected by early 2024, GSK said in a statement.