Health News Roundup: US measles outbreak; Roche sets sights on Novartis, Biogen and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

South Korea bans liquid e-cigarettes on army bases

The South Korean Army has banned the use and possession of liquid e-cigarettes on its bases for health reasons, the military said on Monday, following a government warning for people to stop using the devices. South Korea has a large military of nearly 600,000 soldiers, primarily conscripted men, and the Army makes up the largest portion with 464,000. While the rate is declining, South Korean men are among the heaviest smokers in the world.

U.S. records one new case in measles outbreak

One new case of measles was reported this weekend in the United States, with the country suffering its worst outbreak of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease in close-to three decades. The measles case was confirmed on Saturday in an unvaccinated resident of the southeastern U.S. state of Georgia, according to the state's health department.

Roche sets sights on Novartis, Biogen as SMA trial hits target

Roche's bid to rival Biogen and Novartis in treating spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) got a lift on Monday when the Swiss drugmaker said its drug risdiplam improved motor function of patients in a key study. Roche, which plans to seek approval for the investigational medicine this year, said its SUNFISH trial demonstrated statistically significant improvements in patients aged 2-25 years with Type 2 or 3 SMA, compared to a placebo.

FDA rejects Lipocine's testosterone drug for third time

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday declined to approve Lipocine Inc's oral drug to treat a condition that results in lower production of male sex hormones for the third time, sending the drug developer's shares down 34%. The company said a letter from the regulator indicated the application could not be approved in its present form as Lipocine's trial did not meet three secondary goals that were designed to assess if higher levels of testosterone in patients could raise safety concerns.