Health News Roundup: GlaxoSmithKline starts late-stage trial for experimental antibiotic; Travel medicine planning often skips contraception

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 gonorrhoea, 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.

AstraZeneca's combo drug for lung cancer succeeds in late-stage trial

AstraZeneca Plc said on Monday a combination of its cancer drug, Imfinzi, along with chemotherapy helped curb progression of lung cancer in a late-stage study, sending its shares up as much as 2%. The combination, when added to the drugmaker's tremelimumab therapy, also met the secondary goal of improving progression-free survival, the British drugmaker said.

Travel medicine planning often skips contraception

(Reuters Health) - When women visit travel medicine clinics before a trip, analysis of their pre-journey health needs often doesn't cover contraception options and availability, a new paper warns. Women who visit these clinics are told about vaccines and infectious diseases they might encounter, but it's also important to discuss contraceptive methods, emergency options and potential gynecological issues, writes Dr. Sarah Borwein of the TravelSafe Medical Centre in Hong Kong in the Journal of Travel Medicine.

Missouri, Planned Parenthood debate 'safety concerns' at abortion clinic hearing

The fate of Missouri's only abortion clinic was at stake on Monday, as a state arbiter heard arguments from Planned Parenthood and state officials who have threatened to close it 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.

Allergan settles Alzheimer's therapy lawsuit for $750 million

Allergan Plc would pay $750 million to settle a class action lawsuit from a group of direct purchasers of Alzheimer's disease therapy Namenda, the drugmaker said, in a resolution to the litigation that was set to face trial on Monday. The settlement makes no admission of wrongdoing on its part and will be recorded as a charge to its third-quarter earnings, the company said.

With more choices of vegetarian cafeteria meals, more are sold

When cafeterias sell more vegetarian meals, people will indeed purchase more meat-free entrees, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data on 94,644 meals purchased in 2017 at three university cafeterias. When the cafeterias doubled the proportion of vegetarian meals available from 25% to 50%, vegetarian meal sales rose by 41% to 79%.

Mirati drug shrinks tumors in some cancer patients in early-stage trial

An experimental drug from Mirati Therapeutics Inc that targets a specific genetic mutation significantly reduced tumor size in 40% of patients with advanced lung and colorectal cancer so far evaluated in a small, early-stage trial, researchers said on Monday. Investors have been keen to see how Mirati's data stacks up against results for a similar drug, AMG510, under development by Amgen Inc. Both target a mutated form of a gene known as KRAS that occurs in around 13% of non-small cell lung cancer cases, 3-5% of colorectal cancers and up to 2% of other solid tumor cancers.

Female and minority health professionals face discrimination from rural colleagues

Even as rural America struggles to attract enough healthcare providers, women and minority health professionals are sometimes driven out of rural communities by the discrimination and harassment from colleagues, a new study finds. In interviews for the study, many of the healthcare professionals who were female, nonwhite, and of certain sexual orientation and gender identity minority groups described burnout from bias, harassment and hostility from their colleagues, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)