Health News Roundup: Vaping rules not stalled, Trump plans Friday meeting; Bristol-Myers misses main goal of late-stage skin cancer trial

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Alnylam's rare genetic disorder drug priced at $575,000 per year

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc priced its gene silencing drug to treat patients with a rare genetic disorder that can cause severe pain at $575,000 per year after receiving an early U.S. approval on Wednesday. The drug, Givlaari, uses a Nobel Prize-winning mechanism known as RNA interference to target and "silence" specific genetic material and is the second such drug to be approved http://bit.ly/37oqz9Z by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

France pledges debt relief for hospitals, unions call another strike

France will absorb 10 billion euros ($11.1 billion) of public hospital debt, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said on Wednesday, in an emergency measure designed to end months of protests by disgruntled doctors and nurses. Philippe also promised an extra 1.5 billion euros over three years for hospitals, including an 800 euro bonus for 40,000 nurses and carers earning less than 1,900 euros per month.

China plans to add more drugs to price-slashing bulk-buy program

China will add more drugs to its bulk-buy program in an effort to curb high medicine prices, the country's cabinet said, in a move that could increase downwards price pressure on multinational pharmaceuticals' off-patent established products. Medicines, where generic versions are significantly cheaper than branded drugs, will be prioritized for inclusion in a centralized procurement program, a State Council meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang said on Wednesday.

Charity to pay $4 million to resolve U.S. pharma kickback probe

A Florida-based charity will pay $4 million to resolve claims that it acted as a conduit for companies including Biogen Inc and Novartis AG to pay kickbacks to Medicare patients using their high-priced multiple sclerosis drugs, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday. The settlement with the patient assistance charity The Assistance Fund marked the third so far with a foundation linked to an industry-wide probe that has resulted in $850 million in settlements with drugmakers and charities.

White House: Vaping rules not stalled, Trump plans Friday meeting

President Donald Trump will host a meeting on vaping at the White House on Friday with a range of groups, including industry and public health representatives, a White House spokesman said on Wednesday, as his administration considers calls to tighten e-cigarette regulations amid alarm over serious health issues. "The policy making process is not stalled," White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a statement. Trump on Nov. 11 said he would be meeting with industry representatives after previously saying his administration would release its position on vaping last week, though it never was.

Traditional soup broths may have anti-malaria effects

With the help of some London primary school children, scientists have discovered that certain soup broths passed down from generation to generation might aid in battling malaria by interrupting the life cycle of the deadly parasite. British researchers tested the activity of homemade soups children brought to school and found that some of the broths, which had a reputation for bringing down fevers, could actually block growth of the malaria parasites, according to a report in Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Dutch hospitals close down as workers strike for higher pay

Dozens of hospitals throughout the Netherlands closed for anything but the most urgent cases on Wednesday, as nurses and doctors went on strike demanding higher pay and better working conditions. Hospital workers are demanding a general wage hike of 5%, higher bonuses for unexpected extra work and measures to relieve their workload.

Bristol-Myers misses main goal of late-stage skin cancer trial

Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Wednesday a late-stage trial testing a combination of its cancer drugs missed a main goal of preventing skin cancer from recurring in a certain group of patients, sending its shares down nearly 1%. The company said the trial will continue unchanged as per the recommendation of a data monitoring committee.

U.S. health regulators drop plan to sharply cut nicotine in cigarettes: Bloomberg

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has shelved a proposal to drastically cut the level of nicotine in cigarettes, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday citing a regulatory document. Shares of tobacco giants Altria Group Inc and Philip Morris International rose on the report.

Healthcare battles in Democratic White House race could carry risk in 2020, polls show

A trio of polls released ahead of Wednesday's Democratic presidential debate showed a majority of Americans support Medicare for All, but offered conflicting signals about whether the proposed healthcare overhaul could hurt the party in the November 2020 general election. As with the previous four debates, Wednesday's televised clash in Atlanta is likely to be dominated by the intra-party battle over how best to expand healthcare coverage to millions of Americans.

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