Health News Roundup: Second malaria vaccine highly protective, trial results show; Fractyl Health valued at $654.6 million in tepid debut and more

Shares of the company rose 6.3% after Cigna raised its 2024 profit forecast, just two days after agreeing to sell its Medicare business, which catered to adults aged 65 and above, to Health Care Service for $3.3 billion. Bristol Myers CEO sees mid-decade transition, late decade growth Bristol Myers Squibb's new chief executive said on Friday that the company was focused on driving growth toward the end of the decade but would first need to weather a difficult transition period beginning in 2026.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

BAT, Philip Morris settle patent disputes over heated tobacco, vapes

Tobacco giants Philip Morris International and British American Tobacco said on Friday they had agreed to resolve a multitude of ongoing patent infringement disputes relating to their cigarette alternatives. The cigarette makers had been fighting a multi-front patent dispute that has hurt both sides.

Ad firm Publicis, drugmaker Hikma settle US opioid cases for $500 million

A division of French advertising company Publicis Groupe SA and drug company Hikma Pharmaceuticals have reached separate settlements worth a collective $500 million to resolve claims that they helped fuel the deadly U.S. opioid epidemic. The settlements announced by U.S. state attorneys general on Thursday add to the more than $50 billion that drug manufacturers, distributors, pharmacy operators and consultants have agreed to pay to resolve lawsuits and investigations over their roles in the drug addiction crisis.

Fractyl Health valued at $654.6 million in tepid debut

Shares of Fractyl Health fell 8.3% on their market debut on Friday, giving the obesity and diabetes drug developer a market capitalization of $654.6 million. After a two-year lull, initial public offerings in the U.S. are expected to rebound in 2024 on firming bets of a soft landing for the world's largest economy. Investor reception to fresh stocks, however, has been uneven.

Growing cancer burden masks inequity among rich and poor nations- WHO

There were an estimated 20 million cancer cases and 9.7 million cancer deaths in 2022, the World Health Organization's cancer research agency said on Thursday, a growing burden that masks what it calls "striking inequity" among rich and poor countries. Around one in five people develop cancer in their lifetimes, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) said in a statement, and one in nine men and one in 12 women die from the disease.

Doctor who prescribed more than 500,000 opioid doses has conviction tossed

A Virginia doctor who prescribed more than 500,000 opioid doses in less than two years had his conviction and 40-year prison sentence thrown out by a federal appeals court on Friday, because the jury instructions misstated the law. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia also ordered a new trial for Joel Smithers, 41, who has been serving his sentence in an Atlanta prison.

Want details on Elon Musk's brain implant trial? You'll have to ask him

Elon Musk's announcement this week that his startup Neuralink had implanted the first human patient with its experimental brain device generated immediate buzz. But Musk's statements on his social media platform X raised more questions than they answered about the trial for a risky device that the tech billionaire says could one day help the paralyzed walk, four experts in the brain implant field told Reuters.

Second malaria vaccine highly protective, trial results show

A malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India prevented around three-quarters of symptomatic malaria cases in young children the first year after they got the shots, results from a large trial showed on Thursday. The vaccine, which has already been approved for use by regulators in three West African countries and the World Health Organization, is the second to become available this year.

Cigna leans on commercial business, pharmacy benefits after Medicare sale

Cigna said on Friday it expects higher pricing for some commercial health insurance plans and strength in its pharmacy benefit management (PBM) business from biosimilar and weight loss drugs, to help drive growth this year. Shares of the company rose 6.3% after Cigna raised its 2024 profit forecast, just two days after agreeing to sell its Medicare business, which catered to adults aged 65 and above, to Health Care Service for $3.3 billion.

Bristol Myers CEO sees mid-decade transition, late decade growth

Bristol Myers Squibb's new chief executive said on Friday that the company was focused on driving growth toward the end of the decade but would first need to weather a difficult transition period beginning in 2026. Bristol shares were up about half a percent in early trading.

AbbVie raises 2027 sales forecast for new immunology drugs to $27 billion

AbbVie on Friday raised its 2027 forecast for sales of its immunology drugs Skyrizi and Rinvoq to $27 billion, up $6 billion from its previous prediction. The Chicago-based drugmaker has been counting on revenues from its newer immunology medicines to help make up for declining sales of blockbuster arthritis drug Humira.