Health News Roundup: US FDA approves Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for lowering heart risks; Novo Nordisk tackles harm from Ozempic fakes with global authorities and more

Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urged UnitedHealth (UHG)to take "responsibility to ensure no provider is compromised by their cash flow challenges stemming from this cyberattack on Change Healthcare." India's Serum looks beyond COVID with new vaccines for malaria, dengue The CEO of the world's biggest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India, said the company has bolstered its manufacturing ahead of launches over the next few years of shots against diseases like malaria and dengue by repurposing facilities used to make COVID-19 immunizations.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA approves Novo Nordisk's Wegovy for lowering heart risks

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy on Friday for lowering the risk of stroke and heart attack in overweight or obese adults who do not have diabetes. Novo's widely used diabetes drug Ozempic and weight-loss drug Wegovy, both chemically known as semaglutide, belong to a class of drugs called GLP-1 agonists. Originally developed for type 2 diabetes, they also reduce food cravings and cause the stomach to empty more slowly.

Novo Nordisk tackles harm from Ozempic fakes with global authorities

Novo Nordisk's CEO on Friday said the company was working with authorities in several countries to tackle counterfeit versions of its popular diabetes drug Ozempic, as new reports emerge of patient harm across the world. "This is something we take very seriously," Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen, CEO of the Danish drugmaker, told Reuters.

US officials urge UnitedHealth to expedite payments to providers

Officials from the U.S. government asked UnitedHealth Group to expedite payments to healthcare providers in an open letter on Sunday, after a hack of the insurer's Change Healthcare tech unit crippled medical claims and payments. Officials from the U.S. Department of Labor and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services urged UnitedHealth (UHG)to take "responsibility to ensure no provider is compromised by their cash flow challenges stemming from this cyberattack on Change Healthcare."

India's Serum looks beyond COVID with new vaccines for malaria, dengue

The CEO of the world's biggest vaccine maker, Serum Institute of India, said the company has bolstered its manufacturing ahead of launches over the next few years of shots against diseases like malaria and dengue by repurposing facilities used to make COVID-19 immunizations. With COVID manufacturing scaled back as demand ebbs, the company is using those facilities to instead manufacture its newer shots, which it estimates will boost total production by two and a half billion doses, CEO Adar Poonawalla said in an interview.