Health News Roundup: Novartis wins FDA's breakthrough tag for lung cancer hopeful

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Ebola survivors face kidney problems and risk of premature death

People who survive Ebola virus infection face a dramatically higher risk of dying - probably from severe kidney damage - within a year of leaving the hospital, according to a study of survivors of an epidemic in Guinea. Researchers who followed more than 1,100 survivors of the Ebola virus outbreak - which swept through West Africa is the world's largest epidemic from 2013 to 2016 - found their mortality rates a year after discharge from hospital were up to five times higher than expected in general Guinean population.

U.S. government gives states nearly $2 billion to combat opioid crisis

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said on Wednesday it will offer states more than $1.8 billion in new funding to fight the opioid epidemic. The funds will be used for expanding access to treatments for opioid overdosing and to gather case data from across states, the HHS said.

Vietnam culls 4.7 million pigs as African swine fever spreads

Vietnam has culled about 4.7 million pigs to contain an outbreak of African swine fever that has spread to all 63 provinces in the Southeast Asian country, an official said on Friday. The disease first detected in February has been hard to contain because there is no vaccine, said Pham Van Dong, head of the Animal Health Department.

Inside drugmakers' strategy to boost cancer medicines with 'Lazarus effect'

In the halls of MD Anderson Cancer Center, the drug Vitrakvi is known for having a "Lazarus effect" in some patients because it can reverse late-stage cancer that has defied all other treatment options. Developed by Eli Lilly and Co's Loxo Oncology and marketed by German drugmaker Bayer, it fights a rare genetic mutation that appears in less than 1% of solid tumors, regardless of where they appear in the body.

Novartis wins FDA's breakthrough tag for lung cancer hopeful

Novartis has secured the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Breakthrough Therapy Designation for its investigational medicine capmatinib, which it aims to file for approval later this year against a mutated form of lung cancer. Novartis is aiming to win approval for oral capmatinib as a first-line treatment for patients with metastatic MET exon14 skipping-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), a form of the disease for which there are no targeted therapies now, the Basel-based company said on Friday.

Cigna rolls out new plan to fully cover multi-million dollar gene therapies

Health insurer Cigna Corp said on Thursday it had introduced a plan to fully cover costs for expensive gene therapies, eliminating any out-of-pocket payments for customers. Gene therapies, which in general aim to treat diseases by manipulating genes at a cellular level, are among the most expensive treatments in the world.

Novo Nordisk to cut insulin prices for some U.S. diabetics

Novo Nordisk said on Friday it would offer cheaper insulin to some U.S. diabetics in response to intense criticism over the high price of the medication and following similar moves by rivals Sanofi and Eli Lilly. The new offerings include a new generic version of the Danish drugmaker's most prescribed insulin drug Novolog, which will be priced at a 50% discount compared to the current list price, the company said in a statement.

WHO welcomes Facebook pledge to curb anti-vaccine misinformation

The World Health Organization said on Thursday it welcomed a commitment by Facebook that it would direct users seeking vaccine information on its Instagram, Facebook Search, Groups and other forums towards facts, not misinformation. After several months of talks with the WHO, Facebook has pledged to direct its users to "accurate and reliable vaccine information in several languages" on the WHO's website, the United Nations health agency said, "to ensure that vital health messages reach people who need them the most".

New video animation aims to raise AIDS awareness on Freddie Mercury's birthday

A new video animation featuring two white blood cells in love was released on Thursday to mark what would have been Freddie Mercury's 73rd birthday and help raise awareness of the continued global fight against AIDS. The British singer, songwriter and lead vocalist of the rock band Queen died in 1991 aged 45 due to complications from AIDS.

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