Health News Roundup: Wegovy weight loss sustained for four years in trial, Novo Nordisk says; New breast cancer genes found in women of African ancestry, may improve risk assessment and more

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have recently taken a tougher line against the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that smaller innovative companies can compete with bigger rivals and that prices for drugs and products remain affordable. New breast cancer genes found in women of African ancestry, may improve risk assessment Twelve breast cancer genes identified in women of African ancestry in a large study published on Monday may one day help better predict their risk for the disease and highlights potential risk differences from women of European descent.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Sanofi pledges new 1 billion euros worth of investments in French production sites

Sanofi on Monday announced it would invest over 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) to create new medicines and vaccine production capacities at three of its French sites. The announcement came ahead of this year's "Choose France" event - an annual summit aimed at attracting foreign investment to France.

First human to receive transplanted pig kidney dies

A man with end-stage renal disease who earlier this year became the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig has died, Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston said. "The Mass General transplant team is deeply saddened at the sudden passing of Mr. Rick Slayman," the hospital said in a statement on Saturday. "We have no indication that it was the result of his recent transplant."

Edwards Lifesciences hit with Meril's EU antitrust complaint

U.S. heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences has been hit with an EU antitrust complaint by Indian rival Meril including for allegedly anti-competitive practices related to patents, a move that could bolster EU regulators' scrutiny of Edwards. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have recently taken a tougher line against the pharmaceutical industry to ensure that smaller innovative companies can compete with bigger rivals and that prices for drugs and products remain affordable.

New breast cancer genes found in women of African ancestry, may improve risk assessment

Twelve breast cancer genes identified in women of African ancestry in a large study published on Monday may one day help better predict their risk for the disease and highlights potential risk differences from women of European descent. Studies to identify genetic mutations linked with breast cancer have previously mainly focused on women of European ancestry.

Wegovy weight loss sustained for four years in trial, Novo Nordisk says

Patients taking Novo Nordisk's popular Wegovy obesity treatment maintained an average of 10% weight loss after four years on the treatment, the company said on Tuesday. Novo presented the new long-term data at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, Italy, gleaned from a large study for which much of the results had been published last year.

Merck stops testing combo drug for skin cancer as more patients discontinue

Merck said on Monday it had discontinued an experimental combination treatment testing a new type of immunotherapy in patients with a severe form of skin cancer after side effects led to high discontinuation. This is the latest setback for the experimental drug, vibostolimab, and the related promising new class of immunotherapies called anti-TIGIT.

Turkey arrests spider smuggler said to be American Museum of Natural History curator

Turkish police arrested a man suspected of trying to smuggle valuable poisonous spiders and scorpions out of the country, with state media identifying the suspect on Monday as a curator at New York's American Museum of Natural History. Police arrested the suspect at Istanbul Airport on Sunday and seized dozens of bags from his luggage containing some 1,500 scorpions and spiders, including tarantulas, as well as dozens of plastic bottles containing unspecified liquids, police said.

Japan's Shionogi says COVID treatment did not meet endpoint in late-stage trial

Japan's Shionogi & Co said on Monday its pill-based treatment for COVID-19 did not meet the primary endpoint of showing a statistically significant reduction of 15 common symptoms of the illness in a global, late-stage trial. The company's pivotal Phase 3 study (SCORPIO-HR) of ensitrelvir did however demonstrate a potent antiviral effect compared to placebo, the company said.

Denmark faces Wegovy shortage due to rising demand

Denmark faces a supply shortage for two doses of Novo Nordisk's Wegovy weight-loss drug in the coming months due to rising demand, the Danish Medicines Agency said on Monday. The hugely popular Wegovy is given by weekly injection and belongs to a class of drugs known as GLP-1 agonists originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes.

US reclassification could drive fresh research funding into pot sector

The U.S. pot sector could see an influx of medical research funding from healthcare investors amid renewed interest from pharmaceutical firms, should a proposal to reclassify cannabis as a lower-risk substance be approved, industry experts said. The current classification as a Schedule I substance has limited research into cannabis due to restricted access to cannabis products, regulatory hurdles and funding limitations.

(With inputs from agencies.)