Health News Roundup: US FDA grants full approval to AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy; US surgeons perform first pig-to-human kidney transplant and more

The European Union's drug regulator has been reviewing wider use of the highly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to include reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks, adding to the previously-approved use to tackle obesity. Chick-fil-A rolls back commitment to antibiotic-free chicken Chick-fil-A announced it is allowing certain antibiotics in its chicken, overturning a commitment it made in 2014.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US surgeons perform first pig-to-human kidney transplant

A 62-year-man with end-stage renal disease has become the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig, doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced on Thursday. The four-hour surgery, performed on March 16, “marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients,” the hospital said in a statement.

China's Stemirna halts mRNA cancer vaccine trial, researchers say

China's Stemirna Therapeutics has halted an early stage trial for a new cancer vaccine, two of its trial researchers said, in a fresh setback to the company, which has been grappling with tight funding. Vinod Ganju, an oncologist at Paso Medical in Australia and one of principal trial investigators of Stemirna's personalised cancer vaccine SW1115C3 for patients with malignant solid tumours, said the study had been "on hold for several months".

Wegovy to be covered by US Medicare for heart disease patients

Heart patients insured under the U.S. Medicare program would be covered for Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy as long as it is prescribed to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes, the agency overseeing the program said on Thursday.

Medicare prescription drug plans administered by private insurers, known as Part D, currently cannot cover obesity drugs. Under the new guidance, however, such drugs would be paid for if they receive U.S. approval for a secondary use that Medicare does cover, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) said.

US FDA grants full approval to AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it had granted traditional approval for AbbVie's "guided missile" cancer therapy, Elahere, for patients with a type of ovarian cancer. Elahere was approved for adult patients with a type of cancer which affects the ovaries, fallopian tube, or walls of the abdomen, and have received one to three prior lines of treatment, according to the FDA.

UnitedHealth's Change to start processing $14 billion in medical claims as services come online

UnitedHealth Group said on Friday it expects more than $14 billion in medical claims to start flowing soon through its unit Change Healthcare as several services for handling them gradually come online over the next few weeks following a hack last month. The health insurer said its software for preparing medical claims Assurance went online on Monday, while its largest clearinghouse Relay Exchange will resume on the weekend of March 23.

Germany's health insurance could cover Wegovy for strokes, heart conditions, agency says

Germany's public health insurance scheme can cover certain patients with a risk of heart disease or strokes to take the weight-loss Wegovy drug, a big boost for Novo Nordisk's efforts to convince governments of its wider medical benefits. The European Union's drug regulator has been reviewing wider use of the highly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to include reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks, adding to the previously-approved use to tackle obesity.

Chick-fil-A rolls back commitment to antibiotic-free chicken

Chick-fil-A announced it is allowing certain antibiotics in its chicken, overturning a commitment it made in 2014. The company said in a recent statement posted on its website that the change will take effect in spring 2024, and is intended "to maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us."

EU regulator delays decision on Eisai-Biogen Alzheimer's drug

The European Union's medicines regulator has delayed it decision on Eisai and partner Biogen's Alzheimer's disease drug that was expected this week, the Japanese company said on Friday. On Monday, the European Medicines Agency had said it would hold a oral hearing to discuss the drug, lecanemab, this week.

Belgium says free of bird flu in poultry

Belgium has regained its status of being free of bird flu, which will allow producers to resume poultry exports and other countries to lift trade bans, Belgian food safety authorities said on Friday. The Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) approved Belgium's self-declaration of being free from highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (AFSCA) said in a statement.

Exclusive-France picks German, French firms in second bird flu vaccine tender

France has picked German company Boehringer Ingelheim and France's Ceva Animal Health to supply bird flu vaccines as part of an unprecedented vaccination campaign against the disease that has decimated poultry flocks, the companies told Reuters. France has been among the countries worst affected by a global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in previous years, which led to the death of tens of millions of poultry in the country.

(With inputs from agencies.)