Reuters Health News Summary

The Maryland-based drugmaker's stock more than doubled in Friday trading to $8.97 following the deal as the company also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

US FDA pushes decision on Moderna's RSV vaccine to end of this month

The U.S. drug regulator has pushed back its decision on Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine due to "administrative constraints" and will complete the review by the end of this month, the company said on Friday. Moderna's shares fell 3% to $119.02 in early trading.

Pandemic treaty talks will go on after missed deadline, some progress, WHO says

Talks to draw up a global pact to help fight future pandemics have ended without a draft agreement by the expected deadline, but progress has been made, the World Health Organization said on Friday. Negotiators from the World Health Organization's (WHO) 194 member states were hoping to have a final draft agreement by the end of Friday, with a view toward adopting the legally-binding text at the World Health Assembly later this month.

India's Cipla open to partnering with Eli Lilly to market their obesity drugs, CEO says

Cipla is open to partnering with U.S. drugmaker Eli Lilly to market its blockbuster obesity treatment drugs in India, the company's CEO said on Friday. 'Absolutely and always open...we value our partnership with Lilly tremendously and I think the two companies are culturally aligned," Cipla's Global CEO Umang Vohra said in response to a Reuters query.

US to provide nearly $200 million to contain bird flu spread on dairy farms

The Biden administration said on Friday it will provide nearly $200 million to fight the spread of avian flu among dairy cows, in the government's latest bid to contain outbreaks that have fueled concerns about human infections with the H5N1 virus.

The virus has been detected among dairy cattle in nine states since late March. Scientists have said they believe the outbreak is more widespread based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration findings of H5N1 particles in about 20% of retail milk samples.

Roughly 1 in 8 US adults have taken GLP-1 drugs like Wegovy, poll shows

About one in eight adults have taken a drug belonging to the GLP-1 class of medications for weight loss and related conditions, a poll by Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF) showed on Friday. The data also showed that 6% of those polled said they were currently using a GLP-1 drug, such as Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic or weight-loss treatment Wegovy, or Eli Lilly's obesity drug Zepbound.

Novavax erases doubts about its ability to remain in business

COVID-19 vaccine maker Novavax, on Friday, erased doubts about its ability to remain in business by removing a so-called "going concern" notice. In February last year, Novavax had raised doubts about its ability to remain in business and announced plans to slash spending as it worked to prepare for a fall vaccination campaign.

Exclusive-Biden to put tariffs on China medical supplies - sources

The Biden administration is expected to issue new tariffs on Chinese-made medical devices like syringes and personal protective equipment when it unveils its new trade strategy next week, according to two sources familiar with the decision. The expected moves are part of the administration's broader strategy to protect the U.S. against supply shortages seen during the COVID pandemic that left hospitals scrambling to find critical equipment, the sources said.

Pharmacy exec sentenced in Michigan over deadly 2012 meningitis outbreak

A former owner of a Massachusetts compounding pharmacy whose mold-tainted drugs sparked a deadly U.S. fungal meningitis outbreak in 2012 was sentenced on Friday to at least 10 years in prison for his role in the deaths of 11 Michigan residents. Barry Cadden, the former president of New England Compounding Center (NECC), was sentenced by Judge Matthew McGivney in Howell, Michigan, after pleading no contest in March to involuntary manslaughter charges related to the 11 deaths.

Novavax shares soar on license deal with Sanofi at lofty valuation

Novavax on Friday said it had struck a licensing deal worth at least $1.2 billion with Sanofi for its COVID-19 vaccine in exchange for a stake that valued the U.S. biotech firm at double its current market capitalization. The Maryland-based drugmaker's stock more than doubled in Friday trading to $8.97 following the deal as the company also removed a warning notice from February last year that raised doubts about it being in business. At their peak in 2021, shares traded at about $332.

Final tests of US dairy samples are negative for bird flu virus, US FDA says

Final testing of U.S. retail dairy samples came back negative for viable H5N1 bird flu virus, the Food and Drug Administration said on Friday. The FDA said it finished its laboratory research into 297 retail dairy samples tested for bird flu, after previously reporting that preliminary results showed the commercial milk supply was safe.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)