Health News Roundup: Grail says about 400 patients incorrectly informed they may have cancer; Novartis drug cuts recurrence risk by 25% in early-stage breast cancer and more

Grail's flagship cancer detection blood test Galleri is designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear. Novartis drug cuts recurrence risk by 25% in early-stage breast cancer Novartis breast cancer drug Kisqali cut the risk of recurrence by more than 25% in a pivotal trial on women diagnosed at an early stage, positioning the Swiss drugmaker to win new patients and but facing strong competition from Eli Lilly.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Grail says about 400 patients incorrectly informed they may have cancer

Cancer test maker Grail Inc said on Friday that its telemedicine vendor erroneously sent letters to about 400 patients suggesting they may have developed cancer. Grail's flagship cancer detection blood test Galleri is designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms appear.

Novartis drug cuts recurrence risk by 25% in early-stage breast cancer

Novartis breast cancer drug Kisqali cut the risk of recurrence by more than 25% in a pivotal trial on women diagnosed at an early stage, positioning the Swiss drugmaker to win new patients and but facing strong competition from Eli Lilly. The company on Friday said the relative risk reduction of cancer recurrence was 25.2% and that the results were broadly consistent regardless of patients' menopausal status or cancer progression status. The results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago.

Tanzania declares end of Marburg viral outbreak

Tanzania has declared the end of its first-ever outbreak of Marburg, a deadly Ebola-like virus with a fatality rate of up to 88%, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Friday. Nine cases, including six deaths, were recorded in the outbreak, which was declared in March in the northwest Kagera region, WHO said.

AstraZeneca's Tagrisso slashes death risk in certain post-surgery lung cancer patients

AstraZeneca's lung cancer therapy, Tagrisso, cut the risk of death by more than half in patients with a certain form of lung cancer who were diagnosed early enough to have their tumour surgically removed, trial data showed. Tagrisso is already the crown jewel in the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker's portfolio, raking in $5.4 billion last year.

Drugmaker Mallinckrodt may file for bankruptcy again -WSJ

Pharmaceutical company Mallinckrodt Plc is considering options including filing for bankruptcy again as a $200 million opioid settlement payment is due within weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday citing people familiar with the matter. The drugmaker is required to make the payment to an opioid-victims compensation trust by mid-June as part of its chapter 11 exit plan, the newspaper said.

US drugmaker Indivior to pay $102.5 million to settle Suboxone monopoly claims

Indivior Plc said on Friday it agreed to pay $102.5 million to settle a lawsuit by dozens of U.S. states accusing it of illegally suppressing generic competition for its opioid addiction treatment Suboxone. The North Chesterfield, Virginia-based drugmaker denied wrongdoing in resolving claims by 41 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., which would end a lawsuit that began in 2016.

(With inputs from agencies.)