Health News Roundup: Pfizer agrees to settle over 10,000 Zantac lawsuits, Bloomberg News reports; Regeneron's experimental gene therapy improves hearing in one patient and more

The drugmaker also said late-stage results for a new drug for schizophrenia met its primary endpoints, helping to push its New York-listed shares up more than 13% to their highest level since 2019 in late morning trade.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK refuses to sign global vaccine treaty, The Telegraph reports

Britain is refusing to sign the World Health Organization's (WHO) pandemic accord because the country says it would have to give away a fifth of its vaccines, the Telegraph reported on Wednesday. According to a draft of the pandemic accord being negotiated at the WHO, richer countries should be asked to pull their weight in helping the world cope with pandemics, including reserving 20% of tests, treatments, and vaccines for the WHO to distribute in poorer countries during emergencies.

Pfizer agrees to settle over 10,000 Zantac lawsuits, Bloomberg News reports

Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal. The agreements cover cases in U.S. state courts but don't completely resolve the company's exposure to Zantac claims, the report said, adding that financial details of the deals were not immediately available.

Ascension warns of suspected cyberattack; clinical operations disrupted

Hospital operator Ascension reported disruptions to its clinical operations on Wednesday due to a suspected cybersecurity incident and advised business partners to temporarily disconnect from its systems. Earlier this year, UnitedHealth, the largest U.S. health insurer, had reported a cyberattack at its technology unit - one of the worst hacks to hit American healthcare - that caused widespread disruptions in payments to doctors and health facilities.

AstraZeneca to withdraw COVID vaccine globally as demand dips

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it had initiated the worldwide withdrawal of its COVID-19 vaccine due to a "surplus of available updated vaccines" since the pandemic. The company also said it would proceed to withdraw the vaccine Vaxzevria's marketing authorizations within Europe.

Regeneron's experimental gene therapy improves hearing in one patient

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Wednesday its investigational gene therapy improved hearing to normal levels in a child within 24 weeks in an early to mid-stage study.

Whooping cough epidemic sweeps Europe, health agency says

European countries have reported a surge in whooping cough cases in 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, with 10 times as many identified as in each of the previous two years. In total, nearly 60,000 cases were reported by European Union and European Economic Area countries over the period, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said on Wednesday, with 11 deaths in infants and eight among older adults.

Teva, Medincell's schizophrenia drug succeeds in late-stage study

Israel-based Teva Pharmaceuticals and French partner Medincell said on Wednesday their experimental schizophrenia drug had met its main goal of reducing the severity of symptoms in a late-stage study. U.S.-listed shares of Teva were up 3.3% at $14.41 in premarket trading.

Teva Pharm to launch Humira biosimilar as Q1 profit misses estimates

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries said it was set to launch its long-awaited biosimilar of AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira in the coming weeks after it posted mixed results in the first three months of 2024. The drugmaker also said late-stage results for a new drug for schizophrenia met its primary endpoints, helping to push its New York-listed shares up more than 13% to their highest level since 2019 in late morning trade. It is developing the monthly injection with France's Medincell.

US FDA advises healthcare facilities to switch from Getinge's heart devices

The U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday advised healthcare facilities to move away from using Getinge's heart devices in patients as they faced safety and quality concerns despite a string of recalls. The recommendation is based on concerns that the company has not sufficiently addressed the problems and risks with the recalled devices, it added.

Trade association survey shows 79% of US biotech companies contract with Chinese firms

A recent survey carried out by a Washington-based trade association representing biotechnology companies found that 79% of 124 respondents have at least one contract or product agreement with a manufacturer based in China or owned by China. More than two-thirds of the survey respondents are small, emerging biotechs with fewer than 250 employees, according to the survey by the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO) detailed to Reuters on Wednesday.

(With inputs from agencies.)