Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Merck's Keytruda fails late-stage study in liver cancer patients

Merck & Co Inc's cancer drug Keytruda failed a late-stage trial's main goals of slowing disease progression and extending the life of patients with a common type of liver cancer, the company said on Tuesday. The results could hamper prospects for the drug, which had received an accelerated approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in November as a treatment for patients with advanced liver cancer who had been previously treated with Bayer AG's Nexavar. Expired drugs may remain effective, safe to use in a pinch

Even medicines that are years past their expiration date and haven't always been kept in strict climate-controlled conditions may still retain their original potency, a small study suggests. That is good news for people working in remote areas of the world where sometimes an expired medication is the only one available and the alternative is having no way to treat a serious illness, the study authors write in the journal Wilderness & Environmental Medicine. Friendly texts tied to fewer suicide attempts in the military

Military service members who are at risk for suicide may be less likely to attempt to harm themselves when they receive supportive text messages, a U.S. study suggests. Soldiers in the study had all received behavioral health services for considering or attempting suicide in the past, and all were on active duty, in the Reserve or in the National Guard. They all received standard treatments like medication or psychotherapy as needed; half of the 650 participants were also randomly assigned to received occasional texts with messages like "hope you're having a good day." Eating nuts tied to lower heart disease risk for diabetics

People with diabetes who regularly eat nuts may be less likely to develop heart disease than their counterparts who rarely, if ever, consume nuts, a U.S. study suggests. Diabetics who ate at least five 28-gram (one-ounce) servings of nuts a week were 17 percent less likely to develop heart disease than people with diabetes who had no more than one serving of nuts weekly, the study found. Israeli biopharma firm BiomX raises $32 million in private funding

Israeli biopharma firm BiomX said on Wednesday it raised $32 million in a private funding round that will primarily be used to advance the company's drug candidates for the treatment of acne and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The round was led by existing investors OrbiMed, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc, Takeda Ventures Inc, 8VC, MiraeAsset, Seventure Partners’ Health for Life Capital I, and SBI Japan-Israel Innovation Fund. They were joined by additional European investors and new investors. Czechs order inspection of all Polish beef imports: CTK agency

Czech authorities will inspect all beef imported into the Czech Republic from neighboring Poland following the discovery of salmonella in a 700 kg batch of imported Polish beef, news agency CTK said on Wednesday. The agency reported that Agriculture Minister Miroslav Toman had said the government was also considering a ban on Polish imports. China confirms first African swine fever outbreak in Shandong province

China's agriculture ministry said on Wednesday it has confirmed the first African swine fever outbreak in Shandong province, a major region for livestock production in the country's east. The highly contagious disease was found on a farm with 4,504 pigs in the provincial capital Jinan, infecting 17 of the animals and killing three hogs, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said in a statement. Measles outbreak in Canada's British Columbia province affects 9

A measles outbreak in Vancouver that has infected nine individuals since Feb. 15 has led officials in the western Canadian city to urge the unvaccinated and under-vaccinated to be immunized. Bonnie Henry, provincial health officer of British Columbia, told Reuters on Tuesday that being under-vaccinated would include people who have had only one measles shot, when two doses are required for long-term immunization. Indivior launches generic version of its Suboxone opioid drug

British drugmaker Indivior Plc said on Wednesday it had launched a copycat version of its blockbuster opioid addiction drug Suboxone in the United States, just one day after a court decision cleared the way for its rivals to market generic versions of it. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling marked a victory for India-based generic drugmaker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, which had earlier been blocked. Prescription opioids may play role in some fatal two-car crashes

In fatal two-car crashes, drivers deemed to have caused the wreck were almost twice as likely as those who were not at fault to test positive for opioids, a U.S. study finds. The most common error leading to fatal crashes, whether or not opioids were involved, was drivers veering out of their lanes, according to the results published in JAMA Network Open.