Health News Roundup: CureVac files expanded patent lawsuit against Pfizer/BioNTech over mRNA technology; WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants and more

Governor Greg Gianforte, who has already authorized a bill to ban gender-affirming treatments for transgender minors this year, has until Sunday to sign or veto the new legislation, Senate Bill 458, or return it to the legislature for amendments. U.S. FDA approves Krystal Biotech's skin-disorder gene therapy The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Krystal Biotech Inc's first-of-its kind topical gene therapy for patients with a genetic skin disorder, sending its shares up 7% in afternoon trading.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

CureVac files expanded patent lawsuit against Pfizer/BioNTech over mRNA technology

CureVac NV said on Friday it had filed an expanded patent infringement claim against Pfizer Inc and BioNTech over the use of mRNA technology and that a U.S. court had granted its request to transfer the trial. The company said it filed a counterclaim alleging that Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech infringed on nine of its patents, broader than its original claim of three patents.

WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants

A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year's COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, the advisory group said, adding that other formulations or platforms that achieve neutralizing antibody responses against XBB lineages could also be considered.

Brazil investigates four more suspect cases of avian flu in wild birds

Brazil is investigating another four new potential cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) in wild birds, according to authorities from the state of Espirito Santo, where Brazil's first ever cases were confirmed this week. After the birds showed symptoms consistent with H5N1, samples were taken from the four, all of them from the Thalasseus acuflavidus species (Cabot's terns), according to a statement from Espirito Santo's Agriculture, Supply, Aquaculture and Fisheries agency on Friday.

U.S. FDA approves Genmab-AbbVie's blood cancer therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved AbbVie Inc and Danish drugmaker Genmab's blood cancer therapy for adult patients who have received at least two prior lines of treatment, the companies said on Friday. The therapy, epcoritamab, which will be sold under the brand name Epkinly, treats a type of advanced large B-cell lymphoma, a cancer that starts in white blood cells.

US FDA panel votes against approval of Intercept fatty liver drug, cites safety issues

A panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, wary of the safety of Intercept Pharmaceuticals' oral drug for a type of fatty liver disease, recommended on Friday holding off on an accelerated approval of the medicine. The panel of outside experts voted 15-to-1 against the approval for obeticholic acid (OCA) based on surrogate biomarker data suggesting it was likely to benefit patients with NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis) and fibrosis, or scarring, of the liver.

U.S. reports case of atypical mad cow disease

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in an older beef cow at a slaughter plant in South Carolina. USDA said the animal never entered slaughter channels and the agency did not expect any trade impacts as a result.

Nebraska lawmakers pass restrictions on abortion, transgender medical care

Nebraska lawmakers on Friday passed a bill that limits abortion and puts restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth in a single piece of legislation that strikes at two highly divisive issues. The bill, which Republican Governor Jim Pillen is expected to sign into law, bans abortions after 12 weeks of gestational age, making Nebraska the latest state to impose restrictions after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year.

Obesity drug brings heart health benefit alongside weight loss - study

Taking Novo Nordisk’s new obesity drug may help reduce the risk of heart disease as well as boosting weight loss, according to new research from the United States. After a year of taking semaglutide, marketed as Wegovy, patients’ risk of suffering from conditions like a heart attack or a stroke over the next ten years dropped to 6.3% from 7.6% when measured by a commonly used calculator, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found.

Montana could sign law defining sex, raising transgender rights concerns

Montana could become the fourth state to pass a law defining sex as strictly "male" or "female" and unchangeable, raising concern among LGBTQ advocates who see such legislation as the next trend in Republican bills that limit transgender rights. Governor Greg Gianforte, who has already authorized a bill to ban gender-affirming treatments for transgender minors this year, has until Sunday to sign or veto the new legislation, Senate Bill 458, or return it to the legislature for amendments.

U.S. FDA approves Krystal Biotech's skin-disorder gene therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Krystal Biotech Inc's first-of-its kind topical gene therapy for patients with a genetic skin disorder, sending its shares up 7% in afternoon trading. Patients with the rare dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa disorder suffer from open wounds, causing skin infections and are at an increased risk of vision loss, scarring and skin cancer. Most patients rarely survive beyond 30 years of age.

(With inputs from agencies.)