Health News Roundup: Mexico president says to present constitutional reform banning fentanyl consumption; US FDA approves Dupixent to treat younger kids with esophageal condition and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US House bill would curb genetic info sharing with China's Wuxi Apptec, BGI

A congressional committee focused on China has introduced a bill that would restrict federally funded medical providers from allowing China's BGI Group, WuXi Apptec and other biotech companies from getting genetic information about Americans. The House select committee on China, led by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, said the legislation unveiled on Thursday is aimed at BGI Group and its subsidiaries MGI and Complete Genomics, along with WuXi Apptec, according to a statement.

Mexico president says to present constitutional reform banning fentanyl consumption

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Friday he will present a constitutional reform to ban consumption of chemical drugs such as fentanyl. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has pressured Mexico to devote sufficient resources to help stem the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl into the United States.

China's MGI Tech, GemPharmatech defend themselves after US bill proposed

China's MGI Tech said on Sunday as an upstream equipment provider in the gene sequencing industry, its business does not involve data collection, after a proposed U.S. Biosecure Act included its name in the bill. "The data generated by customers based on our sequencing platform are collected, stored, processed and controlled by the customers themselves," MGI Tech said in a filing to the Shanghai stock exchange.

No decision yet on Wegovy heart benefits from EU drug regulator

The EU's drug regulator said on Friday it would continue to review whether Novo Nordisk's popular weight-loss drug Wegovy could also be used in some cases to reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks. The expert panel assessing Novo's request to include certain heart benefits in the product's label did not adopt an opinion, a spokesperson for the regulator said.

Bayer ordered to pay $2.25 billion in latest Roundup trial

Bayer was ordered on Friday to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the company's Roundup weedkiller, the man's attorneys said. A jury in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas found that John McKivision's non-Hodgkins lymphoma was the result of using Roundup for yard work at his house for a period of several years. The verdict includes $250 million in compensatory damages and $2 billion in punitive damages.

US FDA approves Dupixent to treat younger kids with esophageal condition

The U.S. health regulator has approved the use of Regeneron and Sanofi's Dupixent to treat an allergic inflammation of the esophagus in children aged one to 11 years old and weighing at least 15 kg, the companies said on Thursday.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2022 approved the blockbuster anti-inflammatory drug for treating eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) in patients aged 12 years and older, making it the first for the immune condition in the country.

Lonza chairman to step down, drugmaker confirms targets, shares soar

Lonza said on Friday Chairman Albert Baehny will step down in May after six years in the job, in a second senior management reshuffle in recent months as the Swiss contract drug manufacturer grapples with the loss of COVID-related business. The company also reported better-than-expected sales and margins last year and confirmed its 2024 and mid-term margin targets.

(With inputs from agencies.)