Health News Roundup: New Delhi investigating alleged illegal transplants at Apollo hospital in city; Sanofi to focus on 12 blockbuster drug candidates, immunology pipeline and more

"The incident may have affected approximately 500,000 patients, former patients, guarantors and 200 staff located across several states, U.S. territories and four countries," the German company said in a statement. Adherence to weight-loss drugs is far higher with Wegovy than older medicines Forty percent of patients who filled a prescription for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy to treat obesity in 2021 or 2022 were still taking it a year later, more than three times the rate of adherence with older medicines, according to an analysis of medical records and insurance claims data.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New Delhi investigating alleged illegal transplants at Apollo hospital in city

The New Delhi city government is investigating an Apollo hospital, part of India's largest private hospital chain, after a media report linked it to the illegal sale by Myanmar nationals of their kidneys for organ transplants. The National Organ and Tissue Transplant Organisation (NOTTO), which falls under the federal health ministry, had written to the Delhi authorities following a report in Britain's Telegraph that accused Apollo of being involved in a "cash for kidneys" scandal involving villagers from Myanmar.

France orders third shot of bird flu vaccine for foie gras ducks

France ordered that a third dose of a vaccine against bird flu be given to ducks in areas most at risk, citing "new scientific evidence" as it aims to avoid a surge in outbreaks, the farm ministry said on Wednesday. France raised the risk level of bird flu to 'high' from 'moderate' on Tuesday after new cases of the disease were detected, forcing poultry farms to keep birds indoors.

Sanofi to focus on 12 blockbuster drug candidates, immunology pipeline

Sanofi said on Thursday it will focus on 12 potential blockbuster drug candidates and prioritise development in immunology, as it faces investor pressure after abandoning 2025 margin targets while boosting research and development spending.

The 12 blockbuster drugs include nine medicines and vaccines with 2 billion to 5 billion euros ($2.15-$5.38 billion) in peak sales potential, and three "pipeline-in-a-product" assets with a potential of more than 5 billion euros in peak sales, Sanofi said.

US must do more on mental health of aviation professionals -safety official

The United States must do more to prioritize the mental health of pilots, air traffic controllers and other aviation professionals, a top safety official said on Wednesday, after an off-duty Alaska Airlines pilot allegedly tried to crash a commercial flight in October. The pilot was charged with trying to disable the engines of a jet in flight and told police afterward he was suffering a nervous breakdown.

Merck KGaA suffers major blow as MS drug fails in late-stage trials

Merck KGaA's experimental multiple sclerosis (MS) drug missed the primary goal in highly anticipated late-stage trials, dealing a major blow to the German company's growth ambitions and hitting its shares. In two Phase III trials, the compound known as evobrutinib failed to beat Sanofi's established Aubagio in reducing MS relapse rates, Merck said in a statement late on Tuesday.

Over 7 million people have signed up for 2024 Obamacare plans

Nearly 7.3 million Americans so far have signed up for health insurance for next year through the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) marketplace, according to data released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday. The enrolment for 2024 includes 1.6 million new additions to the marketplace, the data showed.

AbbVie to buy drug developer Cerevel for $8.7 billion

AbbVie said on Wednesday it would buy Cerevel Therapeutics, a developer of drugs for neurological conditions, for about $8.7 billion in a bid to replace revenue as its arthritis drug Humira faces a raft of new competition. It marks the second large deal for AbbVie in the past week, coming days after it agreed to buy cancer drug developer ImmunoGen for $10.1 billion in cash, highlighting its appetite to place big bets on promising new medicines.

Special Report-China e-cigarette titan behind 'Elf Bar' floods the U.S. with illegal vapes

A new breed of e-cigarette has addicted teenagers and confounded regulators worldwide by offering flavors like Blue Cotton Candy and Pink Lemonade in a cheap, disposable package. The tycoon dominating this latest wave is Zhang Shengwei, 50, a veteran of China’s vape industry in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen.

Fresenius Medical Care says data on 500,000 people stolen in U.S

Dialysis group Fresenius Medical Care said on Wednesday that data including medical records on 500,000 patients and former patients were stolen from a U.S. subsidiary's data warehouse. "The incident may have affected approximately 500,000 patients, former patients, guarantors and 200 staff located across several states, U.S. territories and four countries," the German company said in a statement.

Adherence to weight-loss drugs is far higher with Wegovy than older medicines

Forty percent of patients who filled a prescription for Novo Nordisk's Wegovy to treat obesity in 2021 or 2022 were still taking it a year later, more than three times the rate of adherence with older medicines, according to an analysis of medical records and insurance claims data. Only 13% of patients who started taking Contrave from Orexigen Therapeutics and 10% of those who started on Qsymia from Vivus between 2015 and 2022 were still filling their prescriptions a year later, researchers reported on Wednesday in the journal Obesity.