Health News Roundup: Restricting flavored tobacco could curb youth use; Chronic stress linked to high BP

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novartis gets U.S. nod for long-delayed Amgen copycat

Novartis on Tuesday won U.S. approval for its long-delayed version of Amgen's $4 billion seller Neulasta drug, helping the Swiss drugmaker in its uphill battle to sell copies of rivals' blockbusters in the world's top drug market. Novartis's biosimilar, called Ziextenzo, is aimed at helping cancer patients boost infection-fighting white blood cells during chemotherapy.

Restricting flavored tobacco could curb youth use

Policies that restrict flavored tobacco access can reduce teen use in as little as six months, a study in Massachusetts suggests. Researchers compared two towns 30 miles apart and found that after one community passed a restrictive policy in 2016, flavored tobacco availability and use dropped the next year. There was little change in the other community, according to the results in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Britain's AstraZeneca launches $1 billion China investment fund with CICC

AstraZeneca said it is launching a new fund with China International Capital Corporation (CICC) to invest $1 billion in China's healthcare sector, as it expands its research work in the country. The fund would look to invest in Chinese firms, with companies in a life-sciences park it helped open in the eastern city of Wuxi last year to be among its first beneficiaries, the British drugmaker's chief executive officer, Pascal Soriot, told Reuters.

Britain's AstraZeneca to distribute Sun Pharma cancer drugs in China

Indian drugmaker Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd said on Wednesday it would introduce some of its cancer treatment drugs in China through Britain's AstraZeneca. This comes after AstraZeneca said it was launching a new fund with China International Capital Corp to invest $1 billion in China's healthcare sector, as it expands its research work in the country.

UPS drone makes first home prescription deliveries for CVS

United Parcel Service Inc Flight Forward drones have flown prescription medications to the front lawn of a private home and to a retirement center, the UPS unit's first revenue-generating deliveries for drugstore chain CVS Health Corp. Flight Forward's maiden delivery flight on Friday in Cary, North Carolina, beat rivals in one phase of the race for the nascent market. The second drone flight delivered medications to a public space at a retirement community.

An extra 15-minute daily walk could boost the global economy: study

The world economy could be boosted by as much as $100 billion a year if employers successfully encouraged their staff to meet World Health Organization guidelines on exercise, according to an analysis of the economic impact of the activity. Adding an extra 15 minutes of daily walking, or jogging a steady one kilometer each day, would improve productivity and extend life expectancy - leading to more economic growth, the study by the health insurance group Vitality and the think tank RAND Europe found.

China, U.S. to disclose details of rare cooperation against the fentanyl drug scourge

Drug law enforcement officers from China and the United States will jointly brief the media on Thursday on a fentanyl smuggling case, in an unusual disclosure of rare Sino-U.S. cooperation in cracking down on fentanyl crimes. China's National Narcotics Control Commission and enforcement officers from both countries will give "detailed information" at a press conference in Xingtai city in northern Hebel province about a fentanyl smuggling case that was jointly uncovered by both sides, according to a notice circulated by the State Council Information Office.

Chronic stress linked to high blood pressure risk for African Americans

Living with moderate or high stress levels year after year may increase the risk of high blood pressure, suggests U.S. research focused on African Americans. Among more than 1,800 participants in a large, long-term health study in Jackson, Mississippi, researchers found that nearly half developed high blood pressure, or hypertension, over an average seven-year follow-up. About 30% of new diagnoses happened after a period of low stress, about 35% after years of moderate stress and almost 40% after a period of chronic high stress.

Mallinckrodt receives SEC subpoena over Acthar gel lawsuit

Mallinckrodt Plc said on Tuesday it has received a subpoena from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for documents related to the drugmaker's lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The lawsuit against the HHS and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services was filed in May over changes in the calculation of Medicaid discounts for Acthar gel, the company's biggest money-spinner. (http://bit.ly/2PNaeFz)

Researchers use drones to pilot a new tool to fight malaria

Scientists seeking a breakthrough in the fight against malaria have used drones to spray rice fields in Zanzibar - not with traditional pesticides but with a thin, non-toxic film. The fields are typical breeding grounds for the anopheles mosquito - the type that transmits malaria, which the United Nations says kills a young child every minute and causes 75 percent of all under five deaths.

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(With inputs from agencies.)