Health News Roundup: US FDA declines to approve Viatris's injection for multiple sclerosis; China to increase number of response teams for new infectious diseases and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

China to increase number of response teams for new infectious diseases

China will increase the number of specialized teams tasked with responding to future infectious disease outbreaks by five to 25, its top health official has said. The country will also improve early warning and relevant regulatory or legal systems, according to Wang Hesheng, a director at the National Disease Control and Prevention Administration.

Fortrea sells enabling services and patient access businesses for up to $345 million

Contract research firm Fortrea Holdings on Monday said it will sell two of its businesses to private equity firm Arsenal Capital Partners for up to $345 million. The North Carolina-based company said it will receive $295 million for its enabling services segment and patient access businesses when the deal closes in the second quarter of 2024, with a further $50 million to be paid upon reaching specific transition-related milestones.

US FDA declines to approve Viatris's injection for multiple sclerosis

The U.S. FDA has declined to approve Viatris and Mapi Pharma's once-a-month injection for treating relapsing forms of the debilitating neurological condition multiple sclerosis (MS), the companies said on Monday. The companies were reviewing the content of the health regulator's so called complete response letter (CRL) and would soon determine the appropriate next steps, they said, without disclosing further details.

US officials urge UnitedHealth to expedite payments to providers

Officials from the U.S. government asked UnitedHealth Group to expedite payments to healthcare providers in an open letter on Sunday, after a hack of the insurer's Change Healthcare tech unit crippled medical claims and payments. Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urged UnitedHealth (UHG)to take "responsibility to ensure no provider is compromised by their cash flow challenges stemming from this cyberattack on Change Healthcare."

India's Serum looks beyond COVID with new vaccines for malaria, dengue

The CEO of the world's biggest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India, said the company has bolstered its manufacturing ahead of launches over the next few years of shots against diseases like malaria and dengue by repurposing facilities used to make COVID-19 immunizations. With COVID manufacturing scaled back as demand ebbs, the company is using those facilities to instead manufacture its newer shots, which it estimates will boost total production by two and a half billion doses, CEO Adar Poonawalla said in an interview.

(With inputs from agencies.)