Reuters Health News Summary

Its stock more than doubled before the bell to $9.29 following the deal as the company also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business. UK's CMA kicks off probe into Thermo Fisher-Olink deal Britain's competition regulator said on Friday it has initiated a probe into U.S. medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific's $3.1 billion deal to buy Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA pushes decision on Moderna's RSV vaccine to end of this month

The U.S. drug regulator has pushed back its decision on Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine due to some "administrative constraints" and will complete the review by the end of this month, the company said on Friday. The Food and Drug Administration's move prolongs the wait for Moderna's second approved product, but the company said the vaccine remains on track to be reviewed by a panel of advisers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on June 26 and 27.

Pandemic treaty talks to the wire, likely to miss first deadline, sources say

Talks to draw up a global pact to help fight future pandemics are likely to miss an initial deadline on Friday, three sources close to the process said. Negotiators from the World Health Organization's 194 member states were hoping to have a final draft agreement by the end of Friday, with a view toward adopting the legally-binding text at the World Health Assembly later this month.

India's Cipla open to partnering with Eli Lilly to market their obesity drugs, CEO says

Cipla is open to partnering with U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly to market its blockbuster obesity treatment drugs in India, the company's CEO said on Friday. 'Absolutely and always open...we value our partnership with Lilly tremendously and I think the two companies are culturally aligned," Cipla's Global CEO Umang Vohra said in response to a Reuters query.

Novavax erases doubts about its ability to remain in business

COVID-19 vaccine maker Novavax, on Friday, erased doubts about its ability to remain in business by removing a so-called "going concern" notice. In February last year, Novavax had raised doubts about its ability to remain in business and announced plans to slash spending as it worked to prepare for a fall vaccination campaign.

Merck's endometrial cancer therapy fails trial

Merck said on Thursday its therapy being tested in certain patients with a type of cancer in the uterus lining failed a late-stage trial. The drugmaker's Keytruda therapy in combination with chemotherapy was being evaluated in about 1,095 patients with high-risk endometrial cancer after surgery.

Scotland reports case of mad cow disease

The Scottish government on Friday confirmed a case of classical bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), known as mad cow disease, at a farm in the southwest of the country, the first British case of the disease in over two years. The government has imposed precautionary movement restrictions at impacted premises and on animals that have been in contact with the case in Ayrshire, it said in a statement.

Novavax shares soar on license deal with Sanofi at lofty valuation

Novavax on Friday struck a licensing deal of up to $1.2 billion with Sanofi for its COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a stake that valued the U.S. biotech firm at double its current market capitalization. Its stock more than doubled before the bell to $9.29 following the deal as the company also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business.

UK's CMA kicks off probe into Thermo Fisher-Olink deal

Britain's competition regulator said on Friday it has initiated a probe into U.S. medical equipment maker Thermo Fisher Scientific's $3.1 billion deal to buy Swedish biotech firm Olink Holding AB. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has set a deadline of July 8 for its phase 1 decision.

Novo Nordisk ties up with Metaphore to develop new obesity drugs

Novo Nordisk signed a research tie-up with U.S. biotech firm Metaphore on Thursday to develop next-generation obesity drugs. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

US to post influenza A wastewater data online to assist bird flu probe, official says

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is planning to post data on influenza A found in wastewater in a public dashboard possibly as soon as Friday that could offer new clues into the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu in cattle herds. CDC wastewater team lead Amy Kirby told Reuters on Thursday that the agency has identified spikes of influenza A, of which H5N1 is a subtype, in a handful of sites and is investigating the source. She said there is no indication of human infection with H5N1.

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