Health Buzz: From Pharma Exports to New Drug Trials

Current health updates include India’s 11% growth in pharmaceutical exports, J&J’s new drug for depression and insomnia, South Korea’s medical school admissions hike, the U.S. proposing milk tests for bird flu, and the WHO emergencies department’s funding woes. Other highlights cover nicotine alternatives in vapes and Merck’s acquisition of EyeBio.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

India's pharma export sales to grow faster this year, trade body says

India's pharmaceutical export sales growth is expected to pick up to nearly 11% this fiscal year, from a roughly 10% increase last year, led by the key U.S. and UK markets, a government-backed trade body said on Thursday. India, the world's third-largest drugmaker by volume, has seen exports soaring despite global countries' concerns regarding the quality of medicinal products following cough syrup-linked deaths in Gambia and Uzbekistan.

J&J's drug eases depression and insomnia symptoms in late-stage study

Johnson & Johnson's experimental drug helped reduce symptoms of depression as well as insomnia in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a late-stage trial, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The trial was testing the drug, called seltorexant, in patients with both depression and insomnia. Sleep disturbances often accompany depression, despite treatment with commonly-used antidepressant drugs.

South Korea presses ahead with medical school admissions hike despite trainee doctor strike

South Korea said on Thursday its medical schools will accept almost 1,500 additional students next year, pressing ahead with an admissions hike that has caused trainee doctors across the country to go on strike. The government said the hike is necessary to address a doctor shortage, arguing that unless action is taken South Korea faces having 15,000 fewer doctors than it needs to maintain essential services.

Exclusive-US proposes bulk milk testing for bird flu before cattle transport

The U.S. Agriculture Department has proposed allowing farmers to bulk test the milk of their dairy cows for bird flu rather than test milk from individual cows before gaining approval to ship them across state lines, according to state and industry officials and agency documents. The spread of the virus to cows and two dairy workers since late March raised concerns about the threat of a pandemic, and government officials are trying to contain the disease while minimizing economic damage to the farm sector.

Exclusive-Nicotine-like chemicals in U.S. vapes may be more potent than nicotine, FDA says

Nicotine alternatives used in vapes being launched in the U.S. and abroad, such as 6-methyl nicotine, may be more potent and addictive than nicotine itself, though the scientific data remains incomplete, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and independent researchers. The synthetic substances - which have a chemical structure similar to that of nicotine - are not subject to U.S. tobacco and vaping regulations that are designed to control traditional nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

WHO emergencies team faces funding crunch as health crises multiply

The World Health Organization's emergencies department is facing “existential threats” as multiplying health crises have left it so short of cash that it needed emergency funds to pay staff salaries at the end of last year, an independent report said. It will likely have to ask for funding again to cover salaries up to June, the document, released ahead of the WHO’s annual meeting in Geneva this week, said.

US health insurer shares fall after UnitedHealth flags Medicaid medical use

Shares of U.S. health insurers fell on Wednesday after UnitedHealth Group's chief executive said the company was keeping an eye on medical services used by Medicaid members, which could drive up costs. CEO Andrew Witty identified the performance of Medicaid as something worth watching given the program's membership turnover in multiple quarters.

US nears deal to fund Moderna's bird flu vaccine trial, FT reports

The U.S. government is nearing an agreement to fund a late-stage trial of Moderna's mRNA pandemic bird flu vaccine, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as an H5N1 outbreak spreads through egg farms and among cattle herds. The vaccine maker's shares rose nearly 6% to $156.62 in premarket trading.

Sherlock Bio evaluates over-the-counter rapid test for STIs, aims launch in 2025

Sherlock Bio said on Thursday it had begun a trial of its over-the-counter rapid test for detecting sexually transmitted infections (STI) such as chlamydia and gonorrhea, and aims to launch it by mid-2025. The Massachusetts-based startup expects to become the first to launch a prescription-free rapid test for the infections, which affected 2.3 million people in the United States in 2022. Current options include lab tests from Quest and LabCorp, among others.

Merck to buy eye-focused drug developer EyeBio for as much as $3 billion

Merck on Wednesday agreed to buy privately held biotech EyeBio for as much as $3 billion, as it looks to diversify its portfolio of experimental drugs with treatments for eye diseases. The drugmaker agreed to pay $1.3 billion in cash and another $1.7 billion in future milestone-based payments for EyeBio, and will gain access to its retinal disease drug Restoret as part of the deal.