Health News Roundup: US FDA clears Becton's less-invasive blood collection device; Sanofi hails drug hopefuls in wake of stock slump and more

After a 15% drop in Sanofi's stock on Oct. 27, when CEO Paul Hudson unexpectedly abandoned 2025 margin targets, investors have been seeking clarity on how much he plans to boost the research and development (R&D) budget and what the likely pay-off in new drug projects will be. Merck's lung cancer drug combo fails trial in setback for new therapy class Merck said on Thursday its experimental therapy in combination with Keytruda to treat a type of lung cancer in previously treated patients did not meet the main goal in a mid-stage study.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA clears Becton's less-invasive blood collection device

Becton Dickinson said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) cleared its finger-prick blood collection device that could provide a less-invasive option for some commonly ordered lab tests. The device, BD MiniDraw Collection System, can help collect blood samples from a patient's finger through a trained healthcare professional without the need to do it from a vein, the company said.

Sanofi hails drug hopefuls in wake of stock slump

Sanofi vaunted 12 drugs in development with the potential to make more than $1 billion in annual sales, but failed to reverse a recent plunge in its stock when it gave up a 2025 profit target. After a 15% drop in Sanofi's stock on Oct. 27, when CEO Paul Hudson unexpectedly abandoned 2025 margin targets, investors have been seeking clarity on how much he plans to boost the research and development (R&D) budget and what the likely pay-off in new drug projects will be.

Merck's lung cancer drug combo fails trial in setback for new therapy class

Merck said on Thursday its experimental therapy in combination with Keytruda to treat a type of lung cancer in previously treated patients did not meet the main goal in a mid-stage study. The results mark another setback in the field of an emerging class of therapies called anti-TIGIT that have triggered a flurry of research and deal activity.

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.

Bird flu found on another German poultry farm - authorities

About 6,700 ducks and geese are to be slaughtered after an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu on a farm in east Germany, authorities said on Thursday. The disease was confirmed on a farm in Schonberg in the eastern state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the state agriculture ministry said.

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.

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.

Soaring pollution in Pakistan's Lahore fills wards with sick children

In the packed paediatric emergency room of a Lahore public hospital, parents holding sick children lined up for treatment this week, part of a surge of young patients caused by the air pollution crisis in Pakistan's second most populous city. "We are disturbed and tense," said Mohamad Qadeer, holding a nebulizing device to his three-year-old daughter Rameen's nose, engulfing her face in a billow of steam delivering medication to ease her congested airways.