Health News Roundup: Soft drinks - sugared or low-calorie - may raise the risk of early death

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Tuberculosis rates down in most U.S. children, but still high in some groups

(Reuters Health) - Over the past decade, the number of children and teens in the U.S diagnosed with tuberculosis has decreased by nearly half, according to a new study. But that good news doesn't apply to everyone. The incidence of the disease among certain racial and ethnic groups was at least 14 times higher than among non-Hispanic white children and adolescents, researchers report in The Lancet Public Health.

Polyphor reinvents itself after abandoning antibiotic trial

Drugmaker Polyphor is hiring new managers and shifting focus after a trial of its top antibiotic hopeful proved too dangerous to continue, the Swiss company said on Wednesday. Chief Financial Officer Kalina Scott is leaving as Polyphor redirects its attention to the late-stage immuno-oncology asset balixafortide that it hopes proves effective against a type of metastatic breast cancer. Scott, who joined in 2017, will be replaced by Hernan Levett, now CFO at Auris Medical.

AstraZeneca's Tagrisso helps lung cancer patients live longer: study

AstraZeneca Plc said on Friday a late-stage study showed its top-selling drug, Tagrisso, had significantly helped patients with a type of lung cancer live longer. The British drugmaker announced overall positive survival results from the study in patients with epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

Novartis, Lonza deepen biosimilars push with MS, arthritis drug deals

Swiss drugmakers Novartis and Lonza separately deepened their push into so-called biosimilars, betting cheaper copies of name-brand drugs will make headway among cost-conscious insurers and governments. Novartis's Sandoz generics unit, among the biggest biosimilars makers, on Tuesday, agreed to license from Poland's Polpharma Biologics a version of Biogen's decade-old Tysabri for multiple sclerosis. This is the fifth proposed biosimilar licensed by Sandoz in nine months.

AstraZeneca's Tagrisso gets China OK for type of lung cancer

AstraZeneca Plc said on Wednesday it had received marketing authorization from China's National Medical Products Administration for its top-selling drug, Tagrisso, to treat adults with a form of lung cancer. China approved Tagrisso as a first-line treatment for adults with non-small cell lung cancer patients whose tumors have certain genetic mutations, AstraZeneca said.

Soft drinks - sugared or low-calorie - may raise the risk of early death

(Reuters Health) - Consumption of soft drinks, whether they're sweetened with sugar or artificial sweeteners, may raise the risk of premature death, new research suggests. In a study that followed more than 400,000 European adults for more than 16 years, the risk of premature death was heightened in those who consumed 2 or more glasses per day of soft drinks, according to the report published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Cancer overtakes heart disease as biggest rich-world killer

Cancer has overtaken heart disease as the leading cause of death in wealthy countries and could become the world's biggest killer within just a few decades if current trends persist, researchers said on Tuesday. Publishing the findings of two large studies in The Lancet medical journal, the scientists said they showed evidence of a new global "epidemiologic transition" between different types of chronic disease.

U.S. judge orders big drug companies to face opioid trial

A U.S. judge on Tuesday rejected efforts by major drugmakers, pharmacies and distributors to dismiss claims that they caused the nation's opioid crisis, clearing the way for a scheduled landmark trial even as he pushes for a nationwide settlement. U.S. District Judge Dan Polster, who oversees roughly 2,000 opioid lawsuits by states, counties and cities, said the plaintiffs can try to prove that drugmakers' deceptive marketing of the painkillers caused a harmful, massive increase in supply that pharmacies and distributors did not do enough to stop.

UK cost watchdog recommends Novartis' blindness therapy Luxturna

Novartis AG's gene therapy for blindness, Luxturna, is recommended for use on England's public health service, the country's healthcare cost-effectiveness watchdog NICE said on Tuesday. Novartis owns the rights to sell the one-time gene therapy developed by Spark Therapeutics outside the United States.

China says has only 'limited' cooperation with U.S. on fentanyl

China and the United States have only "limited" cooperation in stopping fentanyl smuggling, a Chinese narcotics official was quoted as saying on Tuesday, after complaints China isn't doing enough to help fight an opioid crisis in the United States. U.S. officials say China is the main source of illicit fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances that are trafficked into the United States, much of it through international mail. China denies that most of the illicit fentanyl entering the United States originates in China.