Health News Roundup: New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

GlaxoSmithKline starts late-stage trial for experimental antibiotic

GlaxoSmithKline Plc said on Monday it has begun a late-stage study testing its experimental antibiotic in patients with urinary tract infections and gonorrhea, a type of sexually transmitted infection. The antibiotic, gepotidacin, is the first of a new class of drugs and is expected to treat two common bacterial infections, which have been identified as antibiotic-resistant threats by U.S. health regulators.

Missouri's only abortion clinic to challenge state shutdown order

The fate of Missouri's only abortion clinic is at stake on Monday, as a state arbiter hears arguments from Planned Parenthood and state officials who have threatened to close the clinic and make Missouri the sole U.S. state without legal abortion services. Planned Parenthood, the women's healthcare and abortion provider that operates the facility, sued the state health department in June for its refusal to renew the St. Louis clinic's license. The state court judge presiding over the case referred the matter to the Administrative Hearing Commission, an independent arbiter.

New tuberculosis treatment for developing countries to cost $1,040

A newly approved three-drug treatment for tuberculosis will be available in 150 countries including India and South Africa, priced at $1,040 for a complete regimen, more than twice the cost proposed in the past by advocacy groups for other treatments. The United Nations-backed Stop TB Partnership said on Monday that BPaL would be obtainable in eligible countries through the Global Drug Facility (GDF), a global provider of TB medicines created in 2001 to negotiate lower prices for treatments.