Health News Roundup: US FDA approves Merck's drug for kidney cancer; Big Tobacco's transition under fire as WHO targets vaping and more

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday sent letters to nine companies including e-commerce retailer Chewy warning them against selling the products that it said contained antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. US CDC says there's urgent need to increase respiratory vaccine coverage The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued an alert urging healthcare providers to increase immunization coverage for influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA approves Merck's drug for kidney cancer

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved Merck's drug belzutifan for a type of kidney cancer. The drug, branded as Welireg, is used to treat patients with renal cell carcinoma who have received prior treatment.

Big Tobacco's transition under fire as WHO targets vaping

Big tobacco firms shifting to new nicotine products, including Philip Morris International (PMI) and British American Tobacco, have the most to lose if tobacco alternatives face the same rules as cigarettes, investors and analysts said. The World Health Organization on Thursday urged governments to apply tobacco-style controls to vapes, saying they are getting new users hooked on nicotine.

US agencies seize illegal e-cigarettes worth $18 million

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Customs and Border Protection seized more than $18 million worth of unauthorized e-cigarettes, which included popular brands such as Elf Bar, the FDA said on Thursday. About 1.4 million units were confiscated in a joint three-day operation in July at a cargo examination site at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the FDA.

AstraZeneca, Sanofi to supply 230,000 more RSV infant shots to US market

The makers of a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) immunization for infants that has been in tight supply will deliver an additional 230,000 doses in January, the White House said on Thursday, after U.S. government officials met with the companies to discuss meeting winter demand. According to a statement from one of the drug's makers - France's Sanofi - the additional supply means the companies will deliver 1.4 million doses of the drug in the U.S. this year, over 25% more shots than they had originally planned.

Uptake of new hemophilia gene therapies slow as field assesses options

High cost, logistical issues and the prospect of potential treatment advances are holding back adoption of the first gene therapies for hemophilia, experts said this week during the American Society of Hematology's (ASH) annual meeting. Experimental options discussed at the San Diego meeting included personalized treatments and next-generation gene therapies, many still in the earliest stages of testing.

Gaza faces 'perfect storm' of deadly diseases

For the besieged residents of Gaza who have so far survived Israel's bombs and bullets, a silent, invisible killer is now stalking them: disease. A lack of food, clean water and shelter have worn down hundreds of thousands of traumatised people and, with a health system on its knees, it's inevitable epidemics will rip through the enclave, 10 doctors and aid workers told Reuters.

Sanofi gets positive EMA opinion for sleeping sickness treatment

French healthcare company Sanofi on Friday said the European Medicines Agency (EMA) had issued a positive opinion of its treatment for sleeping sickness, also called rhodesiense. Sanofi's Fexinidazole Winthrop is the first oral treatment for an acute form of sleeping sickness, a lethal parasitic disease transmitted by the bite of infected tsetse flies and found in 36 African countries, the company said.

US FDA warns Chewy, others over selling unapproved animal antibiotics

Chewy and eight other companies are violating federal law by selling or making unapproved antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs for animals that could potentially give rise to drug-resistant superbugs, the U.S. health regulator said. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday sent letters to nine companies including e-commerce retailer Chewy warning them against selling the products that it said contained antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

US CDC says there's urgent need to increase respiratory vaccine coverage

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Thursday issued an alert urging healthcare providers to increase immunization coverage for influenza, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The health regulator said that low vaccination rates, coupled with ongoing increases in respiratory disease activity, could lead to more severe disease and increased healthcare capacity strain in the coming weeks.

Biden administration to impose inflation penalties on dozens of drugs

The Biden administration said on Thursday it had identified 48 drugs in the Medicare program whose prices rose quicker than inflation during the fourth quarter of the year and may require their makers to pay rebates. President Joe Biden's signature Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) includes a provision to penalize drugmakers who work with Medicare, a government program for people aged 65 and older or who are disabled.