Health News Roundup: Weight-loss drug developer Metsera raises $290 million in funding; German watchdog approves Novo's acquisition of Cardior Pharmaceuticals and more

The acquisition of Hanover-based Cardior Pharmaceuticals for up to 1.03 billion euros ($1.1 billion) comes as Novo works to expand its focus on diabetes and weight-loss therapies to include cardiovascular disease treatments. Weight-loss drug developer Metsera raises $290 million in funding Weight-loss drug developer Metsera has raised $290 million in funding, led by biotech investor ARCH Venture Partners as well as participation from firms such as SoftBank and Mubadala Capital, the company said on Thursday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

German watchdog approves Novo's acquisition of Cardior Pharmaceuticals

The German cartel office has approved a deal by Denmark's Novo Nordisk to purchase Cardior Pharmaceuticals, the regulator said in a statement on Thursday. The acquisition of Hanover-based Cardior Pharmaceuticals for up to 1.03 billion euros ($1.1 billion) comes as Novo works to expand its focus on diabetes and weight-loss therapies to include cardiovascular disease treatments.

Weight-loss drug developer Metsera raises $290 million in funding

Weight-loss drug developer Metsera has raised $290 million in funding, led by biotech investor ARCH Venture Partners as well as participation from firms such as SoftBank and Mubadala Capital, the company said on Thursday. The funding comes at a time when multiple drug companies are competing to grab a slice of the weight-loss drug market, which is estimated by analysts to reach at least $100 billion by the end of the decade.

Elevance's higher premiums keep costs under control, boost quarterly profit

Elevance Health on Thursday reported quarterly profit above Wall Street estimates and slightly raised its annual earnings forecast, as higher premiums from commercial insurance plans helped keep medical costs in check. Shares of the health insurer rose more than 3% to $525 in premarket trading.

UK drug shortages swell amid Brexit supply woes, think-tank data shows

Drug shortages in the UK more than doubled between 2020 and 2023 with Brexit likely to "significantly weaken" the country's ability to tackle supply chain snags, according to a report published by the Nuffield Trust think-tank on Thursday. The research found drug companies issued 1,643 warnings of impending medicine shortages in 2023, compared with 648 in 2020 - the year Britain left the European Union (EU).

Most of Lilly's Mounjaro and Zepbound doses in limited supply, FDA says

Most doses of Eli Lilly's diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight-loss drug Zepbound would be in limited supply through the second quarter of this year due to increased demand, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website showed on Wednesday. Both drugs had limited availability for the 5 milligram (mg), 7.5 mg, 10 mg, 12.5 mg and 15 mg doses, the website noted. The 2.5 milligram doses for the treatments were listed as available.

Indian food regulator begins enquiry into Nestle over alleged sugar use in baby foods, ET reports

The Indian food regulator has started an enquiry into Nestle India over the alleged use of sugar in baby food products in low-income countries, including India, by its Swiss parent, the Economic Times (ET) reported on Thursday. A Swiss investigative organisation, Public Eye, on Wednesday, released a report saying that Nestle, the world's biggest packaged food company, adds sugar to its baby food products sold in low-income countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia, but not in its main markets in Europe or the UK.

Arizona Republicans uphold 1864 abortion ban, Democrats still seek repeal

Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives tried repeatedly to repeal an 1864 ban on abortion on Wednesday but failed to get the Republican support they needed against the Civil War-era measure poised to become state law once again. In four votes, the chamber deadlocked 30-30 on a procedural motion that would have allowed a repeal bill to come to the floor, with one Republican joining the 29 Democrats.

Cerevel's Parkinson's disease drug improves symptom control in late-stage trial

Cerevel Therapeutics said on Thursday its Parkinson's disease drug improved symptom control in patients when tested as an add-on therapy, meeting the main goal in a late-stage study. The trial, which enrolled 507 adults, tested Cerevel's tavapadon as an add-on therapy to levodopa, the standard of care for the nervous system disorder that causes progressive brain damage and impacts movement.

FDA classifies recall of Boston Scientific device as 'most serious'

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday classified a recall of Boston Scientific's device used to block blood flow during excessive bleeding or hemorrhaging as "most serious". An investigation showed that Boston's device, Obsidio Embolic, when used with a specific technique posed a higher risk of bowel ischemia during procedures to stop gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, the agency said.

After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'

The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.

The Geneva-based U.N. health agency released a technical document on the topic on Thursday. It said it was the first step towards working out how to better prevent this kind of transmission, both for existing diseases like measles and for future pandemic threats.

(With inputs from agencies.)