Health News Roundup: US FDA staff raise concerns over data from J&J, Bristol's CAR-T therapies; Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife and more

The company said it plans to conduct two separate trials testing Gardasil 9 in men and women 16-26 years old to examine whether a single dose of the vaccine provides comparable long-term protection when compared with the approved three-dose regimen. US FDA staff raise concerns over data from J&J, Bristol's CAR-T therapies The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's staff on Wednesday raised concerns that it was unclear if Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb's cell therapies would benefit blood cancer patients when given as early treatments.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UnitedHealth unit Change Healthcare's pharmacy network back online

UnitedHealth Group said on Wednesday its unit Change Healthcare's pharmacy network was back online, weeks after a cyberattack had a knock-on effect across the country's healthcare system that depends heavily on insurance. Change Healthcare processes about 50% of medical claims in the United States for around 900,000 physicians, 33,000 pharmacies, 5,500 hospitals and 600 laboratories.

Lilly partners with Amazon to deliver Zepbound and other drugs

Eli Lilly said on Wednesday it has brought on Amazon.com's pharmacy unit to deliver drug prescriptions sent to its direct-to-consumer service, LillyDirect. Lilly launched the platform in January to enable patients to obtain their migraine, diabetes and obesity drugs, including the popular weight-loss medicine Zepbound, directly from the company via delivery from online pharmacy Truepill.

Texas man who lived seven decades in iron lung dies at age 78

A paralyzed Texas man who lived 70 years inside an iron lung after he survived polio as a child has died, his family said. Paul Alexander, 78, died on Monday, his brother Philip said in a post on Facebook. He gave no cause of death.

Merck to test single-dose regimen of HPV vaccine Gardasil 9

Merck & Co said on Wednesday it plans to conduct clinical trials testing its human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine Gardasil 9 to evaluate the efficacy and safety of a single-dose regimen compared to the approved three-dose regimen. The company said it plans to conduct two separate trials testing Gardasil 9 in men and women 16-26 years old to examine whether a single dose of the vaccine provides comparable long-term protection when compared with the approved three-dose regimen.

US FDA staff raise concerns over data from J&J, Bristol's CAR-T therapies

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's staff on Wednesday raised concerns that it was unclear if Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb's cell therapies would benefit blood cancer patients when given as early treatments. Regulatory approval for the therapies as earlier treatments could expand their use to a larger subset of blood cancer patients who are less sick than those treated with multiple therapies. The therapies - J&J's Carvykti and Bristol's Abecma - belong to class known as CAR-T.

Bird flu strain raises alarm as virus kills South American wildlife

The deadly H5N1 bird flu virus has spread more aggressively than ever before in wild birds and marine mammals since arriving in South America in 2022, raising the risk of it evolving into a bigger threat to humans, according to interviews with eight scientists. Of more immediate concern is evidence the disease, once largely confined to bird species, appears to be spreading between mammals. This strain has already killed a handful of dolphins in Chile and Peru, some 50,000 seals and sea lions along the coasts, and at least half a million birds regionwide.

Eggland's Best is sued over saturated fat claims for its eggs

Eggland's Best, one of the largest U.S. egg producers, has been sued for falsely claiming that its eggs contain less saturated fat than other eggs. The proposed class action filed on Tuesday in federal court in Chicago by Richard Vilchis challenges Eggland's Best's claim on its packaging that its eggs contain "25% less saturated fat than regular eggs."

US FDA approves expanded use of Mirum's liver disease drug

The U.S Food and Drug Administration has approved the expanded use of Mirum Pharmaceuticals' oral drug to treat itching caused by a liver disorder in patients aged five years and older, the company said on Wednesday. Mirum's shares rose 6.6% to $29.6 in extended trading.

Why did menopause evolve? New study of whales gives some clues

Menopause is a rare trait among Earth's species, known to exist in only a few. Humans are one. Killer whales and four other toothed whales are the others. New research examines menopause in these whales, with findings that may help explain why this phenomenon evolved, given that it is known in just six of the 6,000-plus mammal species living today. It might be titled: the tale of the Helpful Grandma Whale.

Class action lawsuits pile up over UnitedHealth data breach

UnitedHealth Group has already been hit with at least six class action lawsuits accusing it of failing to protect millions of people's personal data from last month's hack of Change Healthcare, its payment processing unit, with more lawsuits likely to come. In a motion filed late on Tuesday in Washington, D.C., plaintiffs' lawyers asked a federal judicial panel to consolidate the six cases in federal court in Nashville, Tennessee, where Change is headquartered, and said they expected more cases to be filed.

(With inputs from agencies.)