Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Roche says divarasib cut risk of ​death 44% in lung cancer trial

Swiss drugmaker Roche said on ​Sunday its experimental lung cancer drug divarasib reduced ‌the ​risk of death by 44% compared with existing treatments in a phase III study. • Roche said patients with previously treated KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer who received divarasib had median overall survival of ‌nearly 18 months, compared with 12 months for those treated with sotorasib or adagrasib

Bon Secours nears $6 billion takeover of Bain-backed Surgery Partners, FT reports

US based not-for-profit health system Bon Secours Mercy Health is in late-stage talks to buy a majority stake in Surgery Partners in a deal ‌which would value the company at roughly $6 billion including debt, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. Here are a few details:

Uganda imposes ‌21-day quarantine on citizens returning from Congo

Ugandan citizens returning to the country with a history of travel to Democratic Republic of Congo will be quarantined for 21 days, Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi said on Sunday as Uganda tightened Ebola precautions. Uganda says it is Ebola-free after declaring an end to its latest outbreak in July but there ⁠has been ​concern among health experts after two ⁠people who had recently passed through the country later tested positive in Kenya and Nigeria.

AstraZeneca's stomach cancer drug extends overall survival, late-stage trial data finds

AstraZeneca's experimental drug sone-ve ⁠helped patients with advanced stomach cancer who had received at least two prior treatments to live longer than analysts had expected, according to late-stage trial data ​presented on Sunday. Patients on the drug lived a median of 10 months, compared with 5 months on their doctor's choice of ⁠chemotherapy, a 53% reduction in the risk of death.

Takeda to seek Japan approval for gastric cancer drug next year

Takeda Pharmaceutical plans to seek regulatory approval in Japan next year ⁠for ​its gastric cancer drug, after it extended overall survival and delayed disease progression in a late-stage study, a company executive told Reuters. The drug, arcotatug tavatecan, or TAK-921, met both those main goals of the trial in patients with advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer who ⁠had received at least two prior therapies.

Amgen drug combined with immunotherapy extends survival in lung cancer trial

Amgen's Imdelltra used in combination with ⁠AstraZeneca's immunotherapy Imfinzi reduced the risk ⁠of death by 58% compared to the Astra drug alone in patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, according to data from a study presented at a major medical meeting on Saturday. Imfinzi is currently the standard ‌of care following ‌chemotherapy for patients with this very aggressive and hard-to-treat disease whose cancer ​does not worsen after initial chemotherapy.