Health News Roundup: Children traumatised by Nepal quake need aid to rebuild lives - UNICEF; Biogen's rare genetic disorder drug gets approval in EU and more

The approval, the first for patients with Friedreich's ataxia in the European Union, was based on a mid-stage study that showed patients who took Biogen's Skyclarys experienced an improvement in neurological functions such as speaking, swallowing and standing, compared to a placebo. Gilead to buy CymaBay for $4.3 billion in bets on liver disease treatment Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3 billion, gaining access to an experimental liver disease treatment with blockbuster potential as the U.S. drugmaker looks beyond its older HIV drugs for growth.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Otsuka's drug for Alzheimer's disease agitation fails in late stage study

Japan's Otsuka Holdings said on Tuesday that its experimental drug failed to meet a primary late-stage trial goal in treating agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The treatment, AVP-786, failed to achieve statistically significant difference on the primary trial goal testing the efficacy of the candidates, compared to placebo.

Novo Nordisk's controlling shareholder plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, plans to invest about $35 billion by 2030, CEO Kasim Kutay told Reuters in an interview on Monday. Novo Holdings would invest about $5 billion a year in the next five years, and that could go up to $7 billion a year by 2030, Kutay said.

Weight-loss drugs tied to benefit after hip replacement

New diabetes and weight-loss drugs may benefit patients undergoing hip replacement, without adding to complication risks, according to preliminary data released on Monday at a large meeting of orthopedic surgeons. In one study reviewing use of Ozempic - the brand name for Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide prescribed for hard-to-control diabetes – the drug was associated with 44% lower odds of developing an infection of the newly implanted joint, after other risk factors were taken into account, researchers said. Semaglutide is sold under the name Wegovy for weight-loss.

Takeda's treatment becomes first oral therapy for esophageal condition in US

Takeda Pharmaceutical's therapy for an allergic inflammation of the esophagus has received approval from the U.S. FDA, the Japanese drugmaker said on Monday, capping a years-long regulatory process. The U.S. health regulator's approval makes the therapy the first oral treatment for the condition, which currently only has Sanofi and Regeneron's injection Dupixent.

Children traumatised by Nepal quake need aid to rebuild lives - UNICEF

About 68,000 children and their families who survived Nepal’s deadliest quake in eight years need further humanitarian aid to rebuild their lives, UNICEF said on Sunday, 100 days after the tremors that devastated parts of west Nepal. A 6.4 magnitude earthquake struck two districts of Jajarkot and Rukum West in the remote western region of the Himalayan country on Nov. 3, killing at least 154 people, more than half of them children.

Biogen's rare genetic disorder drug gets approval in EU

Biogen said on Monday its drug for treating a rare genetic disorder that causes progressive damage to the nervous system has won European health regulator's approval for use in adults and adolescents aged 16 years and older. The approval, the first for patients with Friedreich's ataxia in the European Union, was based on a mid-stage study that showed patients who took Biogen's Skyclarys experienced an improvement in neurological functions such as speaking, swallowing and standing, compared to a placebo.

Gilead to buy CymaBay for $4.3 billion in bets on liver disease treatment

Gilead Sciences has agreed to buy CymaBay Therapeutics for $4.3 billion, gaining access to an experimental liver disease treatment with blockbuster potential as the U.S. drugmaker looks beyond its older HIV drugs for growth. Shares of the Newark, California-based drug developer jumped 24.6% to a record high of $32.01 in morning trading on Monday, compared to the offer price of $32.50 per share. Gilead's shares rose 1.1% to $74.49.

Proteins may predict who will get dementia 10 years later, study finds

A study of frozen blood samples has turned up a trove of proteins that may predict several forms of dementia more than 10 years before the disease is diagnosed, researchers from the U.K. and China reported on Monday. The study, published in the journal Nature Aging, is part of ongoing research from multiple teams to identify patients at risk for dementia using a simple blood test, an advance many scientists believe will accelerate the development of new treatments.

Pharmaceutical group's lawsuit over Medicare drug price program dismissed

A federal judge on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by a major pharmaceutical industry trade association challenging a new program that allows Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies for selected costly drugs. U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Austin, Texas, sided with President Joe Biden's administration in dismissing a lawsuit by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) and two other groups that argued the program was unconstitutional.

Moderna shares slide on concerns over drop in RSV vaccine efficacy (Feb 9)

Data posted on Thursday ahead of an RSV conference next week showed an efficacy of about 63% after 8.6 months in preventing RSV-related respiratory disease, down from 84% at 3.3 months.