Health News Roundup: UK government to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children; Fractyl Health targets up to $762 million valuation in US IPO and more

A jury in a Philadelphia court on Friday ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the Roundup weedkiller, based on the chemical glyphosate. Philips' US sales of sleep apnea devices face years-long halt after FDA deal Dutch health technology company Philips will not sell new devices to treat sleep apnea in the U.S. in the coming years as it works to comply with a settlement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK government to ban disposable vapes to prevent use by children

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce plans on Monday to ban the sale of disposable vapes to prevent their use by children, and reiterate the government's intention to introduce a law preventing younger generations from buying tobacco. Under the new powers, there would be restrictions on vape flavours, a requirement for plain packaging, and changes to how vapes, or e-cigarettes, are displayed to make them less attractive to children.

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.

Fractyl Health targets up to $762 million valuation in US IPO

Therapy developer Fractyl Health said on Monday it was aiming for a market valuation of up to $762 million in its U.S. initial public offering (IPO). The company plans to raise up to $132 million by selling about 7 million shares priced between $16 and $18 each.

Bayer shares fall nearly 6% on court order to pay $2.25 billion in damages

Shares in Bayer dropped as much as 5.7% on Monday after the embattled German company was ordered to pay $2.25 billion in damages, the highest amount yet in its ongoing litigation linked to an alleged carcinogenic effect of its Roundup weedkiller. A jury in a Philadelphia court on Friday ordered Bayer to pay $2.25 billion to a Pennsylvania man who said he developed cancer from exposure to the Roundup weedkiller, based on the chemical glyphosate.

Philips' US sales of sleep apnea devices face years-long halt after FDA deal

Dutch health technology company Philips will not sell new devices to treat sleep apnea in the U.S. in the coming years as it works to comply with a settlement with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced on Monday. The agreement followed the recall of millions of breathing devices and ventilators used to treat sleep apnea in 2021 because of concerns that foam used to reduce noise from the devices could degrade and become toxic, carrying potential cancer risks.

Sarepta says its experimental Duchenne drug more effective than older medicine

Sarepta Therapeutics said on Monday a mid-stage trial showed its experimental drug produced higher levels of a specific protein deficient in some patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) than its older drug Exondys 51. DMD, a muscle wasting disorder, is a rare genetic disorder that affects an estimated one-in-3,500 male births worldwide, and majority of the patients lack the dystrophin protein which keeps muscles intact.

Bangladesh reports first death from Nipah virus this year

Bangladesh reported on Monday its first fatality this year from the brain-damaging Nipah virus when a man died after drinking raw date juice. The virus, transmitted to humans through contact with bodily fluids of infected bats, pigs or other people, was first identified in 1999 during an outbreak affecting farmers and others in contact with pigs in Malaysia.