Health Roundup: Sanofi loses case; Ebola in Congo; Nipah virus; US elders; more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Sanofi loses German patent case against Amgen over cholesterol drug

Germany's highest civil court on Tuesday rejected French drugmaker Sanofi's bid to fend off a legal challenge by U.S. rival Amgen against Sanofi's cholesterol drug Praluent. In the latest setback for Sanofi in the drawn-out patent dispute with Amgen, which is selling its rival drug Repatha, the German court ruled that Sanofi was not entitled to a special license that would have protected its Praluent business.

Congo Ebola infections exceed 2,000 as new case rate triples

The number of cases of Ebola in eastern Congo has passed 2,000, government figures showed late on Monday, as the rate of new cases tripled and containment efforts faltered in the remote, unstable region. Local mistrust of health workers and attacks on Ebola clinics by armed militias have contributed to an acceleration in what is now the second-worst outbreak of the virus on record.

China wants domestically made baby formula to supply 60% of the market

China aims to increase local production of baby formula so that more than 60% of the market can be supplied domestically, according to a document jointly released by the country's central planner and several ministries. The document, dated in May but released on Monday, said production of domestic baby formula is increasing, there is more consumer confidence in the domestic formula, and Chinese brands are getting more competitive globally.

Top lawmaker signals support to classify all illicit fentanyl copycats like heroin

A top U.S. Senator signalled some support on Tuesday for legislation permanently placing illicit chemical knock-offs of the extremely potent opioid fentanyl into the same legal class as heroin to boost prosecutions of traffickers and makers of the drugs, a proposal championed by top federal officials. The new classification is proposed by the Justice Department and the Office of National Drug Control Policy is meant to help fight the proliferation of chemically tweaked versions of fentanyl, known as analogues, that are fueling the U.S. opioid drug epidemic.

Nipah virus resurfaces in India's Kerala after killing 17 last year

The deadly brain-damaging Nipah virus has resurfaced in the southern Indian state of Kerala a year after it killed 17 people, state officials said on Tuesday. A 23-year-old student tested positive for the virus, which is transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected bats, pigs or other people.

Melanoma can occur on skin that doesn't get much sun

Spending time in the sun without protection increases the risk of melanoma, but the potentially deadly skin cancer can occur even on sites with minimal sun exposure, doctors warn. Melanoma accounts for only about 1% of skin cancers but causes the majority of skin cancer deaths.

FDA approves Lilly's migraine drug as first ever cluster headache treatment

Eli Lilly and Co's migraine treatment Emgality on Tuesday became the first drug to gain U.S. approval for decreasing the frequency of episodic cluster headache attacks, the Food and Drug Administration said. Emgality belongs to a new class of drugs called CGRP inhibitors that are used to prevent migraines or reduce their frequency. It competes with Ajovy from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd and Amgen Inc's Aimovig, all approved within months of each other last year, creating a fierce battle for market share. The approval for a second use could help Lilly differentiate Emgality from its rivals.

Immigrants play a big role in caring for the elderly and disabled in the U.S

Even as a shortage of U.S. workers who care for the elderly and disabled grows, proposed limits on immigration may worsen the situation, researchers say. As of 2017, immigrants accounted for more than 18% of U.S. healthcare workers, researchers report in the journal Health Affairs. In nursing homes, nearly one in four workers who directly care for patients are immigrants, as are nearly one in three housekeeping and maintenance workers.

Many U.S. kids still eating laundry pods

Many American children are still being poisoned by laundry pods, according to a new study that suggests voluntary safety standards may not do enough to prevent kids from eating them. Poison control centres fielded nearly 73,000 calls for help related to single-use liquid laundry detergent packets, or pods, from 2012 through 2017, the first six years these products were on the market. Nearly all of these cases were among kids under six years old. In many instances, kids easily unwrapped brightly coloured packages they mistook for candy.

More elderly Americans dying from falls

Death rates from falls are rising among elderly Americans - and climbing fastest among seniors in their 90s, a U.S. study suggests. Among all adults 75 and older, mortality from falls climbed 5.1 per cent from 2000 to 2016, researchers report in JAMA. Death rates from falls rose the most - 6.4 per cent - among people 95 and up.

(With inputs from agencies.)