Health News Roundup: Activist Icahn prepares a second board challenge at Illumina -letter; GSK's cancer drug combination meets primary goal in late-stage trial and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Activist Icahn prepares a second board challenge at Illumina -letter

Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Monday that he plans to oust directors at Illumina, laying the groundwork for a second board challenge at the gene-sequencing company months after shareholders elected one of his director candidates. Icahn disclosed his plans without offering details in a letter to other shareholders less than 24 hours after Illumina said it will divest blood test maker Grail.

Planned Parenthood drops challenge to Kentucky abortion ban

Lawyers at Planned Parenthood and other groups said Monday that they had dropped a class action lawsuit challenging Kentucky's near-total abortion ban, after the named plaintiff lost standing to bring the case because she was no longer pregnant. Lawyers at Planned Parenthood and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said they had filed a notice in Kentucky state court on Sunday ending the case. They had announced last week that their client, Jane Doe, learned her embryo did not have cardiac activity days after the lawsuit was filed.

South Korea reports eight outbreaks of H5N6 bird flu on farms, WOAH says

South Korea reported eight outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N6 bird flu on farms, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday. The outbreaks killed a total of 47 birds and led to the slaughter of the rest of the flocks totalling 513,810 poultry, the Paris-based body said, quoting information from the South Korean authorities.

GSK's cancer drug combination meets primary goal in late-stage trial

GSK said on Monday that a combination of its cancer drugs Zejula and Jemperli, when as used as a maintenance therapy following Jemperli plus chemotherapy, met the main goal of a late-stage trial to treat a certain type of endometrial cancer.

The results from the trial showed that Jemperli plus chemotherapy followed by Jemperli and Zejula improved progression-free survival, compared to chemotherapy alone in both the overall patient population and in a subpopulation of patients with certain types of tumours.

Exclusive-IndiaMART is working with Novo Nordisk to halt illegal Wegovy sales -source

Indian online marketplace IndiaMART has been removing unauthorized listings of Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy after holding talks with the Danish drugmaker in early October, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. The drugmaker's India legal team held discussions with IndiaMART's top executives to develop a "framework" for regularly alerting the online marketplace about listings by counterfeiters in an effort to curtail illegal sales, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Europe revokes marketing authorization for generic versions of Biogen's MS drug

Biogen Inc said on Tuesday the European Commission has revoked the marketing authorization for generic versions of its multiple sclerosis drug Tecfidera held by the firms Accord, Neuraxpharm, Polpharma and Teva. While the patent for Biogen's drug has expired in the United States, it had scored a win in Europe in March after the EU's Court of Justice blocked generic versions of Tecfidera in the region.

Checkpoint Therapeutics slides after US FDA declines cancer therapy approval

Checkpoint Therapeutics said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had declined to approve its experimental therapy to treat a form of skin cancer following an inspection at a contract manufacturer, sending its shares down nearly 50%.

Shares of the Waltham, Massachusetts-based company were down 47.3%, to $1.7 in premarket trade, among the worse performing stocks across U.S. stock exchanges.

Novo owner commits $265 million of Wegovy windfall to respiratory diseases

The Novo Nordisk Foundation, which controls drug maker Novo Nordisk, said on Monday it would commit up to 1.8 billion Danish crowns ($265 million) to setting up an initiative aimed at improving vaccines for respiratory diseases. A huge windfall from the runaway success of Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy has bulged coffers of the foundation, potentially making it a major philanthropist and environmental, social and governance (ESG) investor.

Aldeyra Therapeutics' skin disease drug succeeds in mid-stage study

Aldeyra Therapeutics said on Tuesday its experimental drug to treat a type of chronic skin disease was safe and well tolerated in a mid-stage study. The drug, ADX-629, also helped reduce the severity of eczema symptoms in adult patients with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis, the Lexington, Massachusetts-based company said.

BioNTech aims to start mRNA vaccine output in Rwanda in 2025

COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech aims to start production at its mRNA vaccine factory site in Rwanda in 2025, company officials said on Monday, the first foreign company mRNA vaccine manufacturing site on the continent. The German company's first modular factory elements, based on shipping containers, were delivered to the Kigali construction site in March and were then assembled into so-called BioNTainers.

(With inputs from agencies.)