Health News Roundup: Pfizer to remain aggressive on obesity market after setback; Weak economy, COVID rampage likely shrank China's population again in 2023 and more

"We're doing this to protect the health of our local poultry population as well as poultry workers and consumers since H5N1 is a virus that can be transmitted to humans by infected animals," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a statement. Weak economy, COVID rampage likely shrank China's population again in 2023 China's population likely dropped for a second consecutive year in 2023 due to a surge in COVID-related deaths after the country abruptly ended strict lockdowns, while weak confidence in the economy's prospects keeps birth rates depressed.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Grifols to hold board meeting Tuesday afternoon after Gotham City report

Spanish pharmaceutical company Grifols is set to hold a board meeting on Tuesday afternoon in reaction to a report from Gotham City Research questioning the company's accounting released earlier, board member Tomas Daga told Reuters. The company's crisis committee met earlier on Tuesday, Daga said, adding: "Our house is clean, we are very sure about that".

Pfizer to remain aggressive on obesity market after setback

Pfizer will remain aggressive in trying to break into the lucrative obesity market, even after dropping a high profile weight-loss drug candidate late last year due to strong side effects, Chief Executive Albert Bourla said on Monday. "Pfizer's position is that we believe that obesity is a place that we have the ability to play and win. So we will have to play," Bourla told reporters ahead of his presentation at the JPMorgan healthcare conference in San Francisco.

Philippines bans poultry imports from Belgium, France to halt bird flu spread

The Philippines' department of agriculture said on Tuesday it has imposed an indefinite ban on imports of poultry and related products, including wild birds, from Belgium and France following a bird flu outbreak there. "We're doing this to protect the health of our local poultry population as well as poultry workers and consumers since H5N1 is a virus that can be transmitted to humans by infected animals," Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said in a statement.

Weak economy, COVID rampage likely shrank China's population again in 2023

China's population likely dropped for a second consecutive year in 2023 due to a surge in COVID-related deaths after the country abruptly ended strict lockdowns, while weak confidence in the economy's prospects keeps birth rates depressed. Demographers estimate population data on Jan. 17 to show the number of new births in 2023 falling below the 9.56 million in 2022 as long-standing issues such as gender inequality and high childcare costs remained largely unaddressed. China's birth rate has been declining since 2016.

Gotham City accounting queries wipe $3.83 billion off Grifols value

Shares in Grifols fell by more than 40% on Tuesday, wiping $3.83 billion off its market value, after hedge fund Gotham City Research questioned its accounting, prompting the Spanish drugmaker to "categorically" deny any wrongdoing. Gotham questioned Grifols reported debt and earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) which reduces its leverage ratio. It said the leverage ratio is close to 10 to 13 times EBITDA, rather than the six times reported by Grifols, which makes drugs with human plasma.

GSK boosts respiratory portfolio with $1.4 billion Aiolos Bio deal

GSK on Tuesday said it would acquire asthma drug maker Aiolos Bio in a deal worth up to $1.4 billion, as the British drugmaker boosts its growing respiratory diseases portfolio. Founded in 2023, Aiolos is focused on developing therapies for respiratory and inflammatory conditions. It is currently developing 'AIO-001', a treatment for asthma which is ready to enter mid-stage clinical trials.

BioNTech predicts return to revenue growth in 2025

BioNTech on Tuesday said it would return to revenue growth in 2025, forecasting that the ongoing decline in its COVID-19 vaccine business would bottom out and that it would also invest to scale up its oncology business. The German biotech firm, which works with Pfizer on COVID shots, predicted total revenues of about 3 billion euros ($3.28 billion) for 2024, down from revenues of about 4 billion to 5 billion euros it had targeted for 2023.

Sweden reports bird flu outbreak in southern part of country -WOAH

Sweden has reported an outbreak of the highly pathogenic H5N1 bird flu virus on a farm in the southern part of the country, the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) said on Tuesday, as the disease spreads in Europe. The virus killed 1,316 birds, with the rest of the 47,938-strong flock slaughtered, the WOAH said, citing a report from the Swedish authorities.

China approves Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi by Eisai and Biogen

Eisai and Biogen said on Tuesday that their Alzheimer's treatment Leqembi had won approval in China, the third country after the United States and Japan. The two companies are preparing to launch the drug in the second quarter of Eisai's 2024/25 business year starting in April.

US FDA declines to approve Astellas' gastric cancer drug

Japan's Astellas Pharma said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has declined to approve its experimental drug to treat a type of gastric cancer, citing issues related to a third-party manufacturer. The FDA has not raised any concerns related to the clinical data, and is not requesting additional clinical studies, Astellas said.