Health News Roundup: Novartis raises sales growth target to 5% a year through 2027; US FDA investigating safety risk of CAR-T cancer therapies and more

At a meeting at the White House on Monday, officials and manufacturers also agreed to plan now to meet next year's demand for the vaccines targeting respiratory syncytial virus, which generally causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can develop into severe illness in infants and older adults. SpringWorks' non-cancerous tumor drug to be priced at $29,000 per month in US SpringWorks Therapeutics' drug for treating adult patients with a type of rare non-cancerous soft-tissue tumor will be sold in the U.S. at a list price of $29,000 for a 30-day supply, the company said on a conference call on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

White House urges RSV vaccine makers to meet demand

Senior Biden administration officials met with RSV vaccine makers this week to underscore the need for manufacturers such as Sanofi and AstraZeneca to urgently meet demand as winter approaches, the White House said on Tuesday. At a meeting at the White House on Monday, officials and manufacturers also agreed to plan now to meet next year's demand for the vaccines targeting respiratory syncytial virus, which generally causes mild, cold-like symptoms but can develop into severe illness in infants and older adults.

SpringWorks' non-cancerous tumor drug to be priced at $29,000 per month in US

SpringWorks Therapeutics' drug for treating adult patients with a type of rare non-cancerous soft-tissue tumor will be sold in the U.S. at a list price of $29,000 for a 30-day supply, the company said on a conference call on Tuesday. The monotherapy nirogacestat, branded as Ogsiveo, became the first approved treatment for desmoid tumors — abnormal growths that occur in connective tissues and are associated with a high rate of recurrence — following the U.S. health regulator's nod on Monday.

Novartis raises sales growth target to 5% a year through 2027

Novartis has dialled up its sales growth target to 5% per year until 2027, citing demand for innovative drugs after the spin off of its generics business. The medium-term target, which excludes any foreign exchange effects, is mainly driven by six drugs, led by Kisqali, the Swiss drugmaker said in a presentation on Tuesday.

US FDA investigating safety risk of CAR-T cancer therapies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday it was investigating cancer therapies made by companies such as Gilead Sciences, Johnson & Johnson and Novartis over the risk of hospitalizations and death due to a serious safety issue. The FDA said it had received reports of T-cell malignancies, which refer to a group of blood disorders including lymphomas and leukemias, after treatment with CAR-T therapies or chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapies.

Suspected fake Ozempic causes hypoglycemia in 11 in Lebanon

Eleven people suffered bouts of dangerously low blood sugar in Lebanon this year, one of whom required hospitalization, after injecting suspected fake versions of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic, according Lebanese health officials. A director for the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health, Rita Karam, said officials suspected the drugs were fake after discovering the doses were different from the ones calibrated for authentic Ozempic injector pens.

Biden campaign taps Pelosi on Obamacare after Trump threatens health law

President Joe Biden's re-election campaign enlisted former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Tuesday to warn about threats to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), better known as Obamacare, after former President Donald Trump pledged new efforts to replace the law if he wins a second term. THE TAKE: Tuesday's push, a Pelosi call with reporters and campaign staff, highlights a new Biden campaign strategy, dubbed "Trump's America in 2025," which plans to highlight what Democrats think the Republican former president will do in office if elected, as well as his multiple legal troubles.

AIDS response 'under threat' amid human rights backlash - UN

The global response to AIDS is "under threat" because of an unprecedented backlash against human rights that is stigmatizing the groups most at risk of HIV infection, the head of the United Nations AIDS programme has warned. Winnie Byanyima, executive director of UNAIDS, said countries where there are laws against LGBTQ people, or which criminalise sex work or personal drug use, are largely the places seeing a rise or plateau in new infections.

Disease could be bigger killer than bombs in Gaza - WHO

More people could die from disease than from bombings in the Gaza Strip if its health system is not repaired, a World Health Organization spokesperson said on Tuesday, warning of a surge in infectious diseases and diarrhoea in children. In figures deemed reliable by the United Nations, Gaza health authorities say more than 15,000 people have been confirmed killed in Israel's bombardment of the narrow enclave, around 40% of them children, with many more feared to be lost under rubble.

BioMarin prices hemophilia gene therapy at nearly 29,000 euros per vial in Germany

BioMarin Pharmaceutical said on Tuesday it will price its therapy for severe hemophilia A at 28,933.53 euros ($31,725.62) per vial for insurers covering a majority of the population in Germany, Europe's largest pharmaceutical market. The company has fixed the reimbursement amount for the therapy, Roctavian, with the German National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, Germany's primary public health insurance body.

WHO authorizes emergency use of Novavax's updated COVID shot

Novavax's updated vaccine has been granted emergency-use authorization by the World Health Organization (WHO) for active immunization to prevent COVID-19 in individuals aged 12 and older, the company said on Tuesday. The updated Novavax shot, which was authorized in the U.S. last month, targets a descendant of the XBB lineage of the coronavirus that was globally predominant earlier this year.

(With inputs from agencies.)