Health News Roundup: WHO clears Takeda's dengue vaccine; Canada says its commercial milk tests negative for bird flu and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. No shortage of Wegovy weight-loss drug in Denmark, Novo Nordisk says Novo Nordisk does not expect a shortage of its Wegovy weight-loss drug in Denmark despite an earlier warning by the Danish Medicines Agency of strained supply of two separate doses in the coming weeks, the company said.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

No shortage of Wegovy weight-loss drug in Denmark, Novo Nordisk says

Novo Nordisk does not expect a shortage of its Wegovy weight-loss drug in Denmark despite an earlier warning by the Danish Medicines Agency of strained supply of two separate doses in the coming weeks, the company said. The Danish regulator on Monday issued two statements saying the country faced a shortage of the Wegovy Flextouch 1 mg injection pen from late May to mid-June and the 0.5 mg Wegovy Flextouch injection pen between mid-June and mid-July.

Exclusive-Musk's Neuralink has faced issues with its tiny wires for years, sources say

Neuralink's disclosure last week that tiny wires inside the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position is an issue the Elon Musk company has known about for years, according to five people familiar with the matter. The company knew from animal testing it had conducted ahead of its U.S. approval last year that the wires might retract, removing with them the sensitive electrodes that decode brain signals, three of the sources said. Neuralink deemed the risk low enough for a redesign not to be merited, the sources added.

Britons warned to boil water on concern over parasite contamination in Devon areas

Residents in part of Devon in southwestern England were warned on Wednesday to boil water before consuming it after the region's water utility found traces of an intestinal parasite that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. South West Water issued the notice to its customers in Alston and the Hillhead area of Brixham, and said it was urgently investigating the source of the contamination.

First drop in overdose deaths in 6 years, US preliminary data shows

The number of deaths from drug overdose fell 3% to 107,543 in 2023 from the previous year, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Wednesday. States including Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Maine saw declines of 15% or more in such deaths, mostly from opioids, while Alaska, Washington and Oregon reported notable increases of at least 27% compared to 2022, the data showed.

Novo Nordisk owner buys majority stake in Austrian life science tools company

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, said on Wednesday it would buy a controlling stake of about 60% in Single Use Support, an Austria-based life science tools company. It declined to give a precise value for the deal but a spokesperson said it would be a "high triple-digit million euros" amount.

Walgreens launches own brand of opioid overdose reversal drug

U.S. pharmacy chain operator Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Wednesday it has launched its own brand of popular overdose reversal drug, naloxone, which would be available over-the-counter (OTC). The launch comes weeks after Walgreens' brand was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.

Eisai starts rolling submission for injectable version of Alzheimer's drug with US FDA

Eisai and partner Biogen said on Tuesday that the Japanese drugmaker has begun submitting data on a rolling basis to the US health regulator for a marketing application of a subcutaneous form of their Alzheimer's disease drug Leqembi. The companies are seeking the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approval of a weekly dose of Leqembi to be given as an under-the-skin injection.

Canada says its commercial milk tests negative for bird flu

Canadian government officials said samples of commercially sold milk as of May 14 have shown "no evidence" of H5N1 bird flu after enhanced testing aimed at alleviating Canadians concerns following the virus' detection in some U.S. dairy cattle. Dairy cattle in nine U.S. states have been found to have the virus, prompting warnings to dairy workers even as the threat to the general population is considered low.

UK weight-loss drug price rivalry intensifies with Pharmacy2U mark-down

Britain's Pharmacy2U said on Wednesday it had cut the prices of weight-loss medication Wegovy and Mounjaro, becoming the latest in a slew of online pharmacies and slimming clinics to do so as initial supply shortages of the drugs ease in the country. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

WHO clears Takeda's dengue vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it had cleared Takeda Pharmaceuticals' dengue vaccine, giving international procurement agencies another option against the disease that affects millions of people each year. The approval, called a prequalification, comes amidst a surge in mosquito-borne viral infections across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including new spread into previously unaffected areas.

(With inputs from agencies.)