Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. CymaBay Therapeutics scraps two studies of liver drug; shares plunge

CymaBay Therapeutics Inc said on Monday it was scrapping two mid-stage trials of its liver disease drug, after biopsies found a type of liver damage in some patients, sending its shares down over 75%. The drug developer said it had observed "atypical" findings from the first set of liver biopsies, including autoimmune hepatitis, in one mid-stage trial that was testing the drug in patients with a fatty liver disease known as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). FDA approves Global Blood Therapeutics sickle cell disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Monday it approved a drug from Global Blood Therapeutics Inc to treat sickle cell disease in adults and children 12 years or older. The treatment will be priced at $10,417 per month, or around $125,000 per year, and will be sold under the brand name Oxbryta. It is the second drug in recent days to win U.S. approval for sickle cell anemia, and the first to target the underlying cause of the disease rather than symptoms. Roche eyes quick FDA approval in SMA race with Biogen, Novartis

Roche expects its risdiplam medicine for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) to get U.S. approval by May, the Swiss drugmaker said on Monday, as it takes on Novartis and Biogen in the lucrative rare disease area. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted priority review for risdiplam, an oral medicine for those with the potentially deadly muscle-wasting disorder. Roche, whose drug is seen as a rival for Biogen's Spinraza and Novartis's Zolgensma gene therapy, said the FDA is due to decide by May 24. Adamis shares slump as FDA declines to approve opioid overdose treatment

Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp said on Monday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its opioid overdose treatment, Zimhi, sending its shares plunging 56%. In a so-called complete response letter (CRL), the FDA questioned the treatment's chemistry, manufacturing and controls process, but not its safety or effectiveness, the company said. U.S. heart patients cut back on life-saving drugs due to cost

(Reuters Health) - One in eight adults with heart disease delays filling prescriptions. takes less of the medication than prescribed, or skips medications altogether because of high out-of-pocket costs, a new study suggests. Compared to seniors with Medicare insurance, the effect was more pronounced - one in three - among people under 65, according to the report published in Circulation. Cannabis tied to severe heart attack risk in younger adults

(Reuters Health) - Teens and young adults who use cocaine, amphetamines and cannabis are more likely to be hospitalized for heart attacks by early adulthood than their counterparts who don't use these drugs, a recent study suggests. Researchers examined data from 2010-2014 on 1,694 patients ages 15 to 22 who were hospitalized for heart attacks, plus almost 9.4 million patients this age who were hospitalized for other reasons. Rent subsidies, mental health care tied to housing stability for homeless

(Reuters Health) - Mentally ill homeless adults may have an easier time finding and keeping stable housing when they receive rent supplements and mental health support services, a Canadian study suggests. Researchers focused on the effectiveness of Housing First, a program in Toronto that's different from traditional approaches to housing for homeless adults with mental illness that require aid recipients to achieve sobriety and or undergo psychiatric treatment. Housing First provides immediate access to housing and mental health services without any preconditions. Blackstone to invest $400 million in gene therapy venture with Ferring

Blackstone Group Inc said on Monday it will invest $400 million in a joint venture with Swiss drug company Ferring that is working on an experimental gene therapy for bladder cancer, the private equity giant's largest ever bet on drug development. Investing in yet-to-be-approved medicines is a lucrative but also risky proposition for buyout firms, and only few have had the stomach to place such bets. Blackstone made its foray in the sector last year, acquiring Clarus, an investment firm specializing in life sciences. New Roche flu drug can drive resistance in influenza viruses: researchers

Roche's influenza treatment Xofluza, a one-dose pill that can clear flu symptoms within days, may cause a mutation of the virus that leads to drug resistance, researchers reported on Monday. Results of their study suggest that common flu strains can quickly acquire resistance to the drug. They caution patients who receive it - especially children - should be watched for drug resistance. Teva partners with Israeli institutes for early-stage drug research

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries on Monday signed research agreements with two leading Israeli academic institutes, a move to boost its early-stage drug development with a focus on cancer treatments. The world's largest generic drugmaker has been looking to expand its specialty portfolio and said it is seeking more than 400 new laboratories within Israeli academia.

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