Health News Roundup: Pfizer offers up to $250 million to settle Zantac cancer lawsuits, FT reports; Novo Nordisk owner buys majority stake in Austrian life science tools company and more

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Exclusive-Musk's Neuralink has faced issues with its tiny wires for years, sources say Neuralink's disclosure last week that tiny wires inside the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position is an issue the Elon Musk company has known about for years, according to five people familiar with the matter.


Devdiscourse News Desk | Updated: 16-05-2024 11:18 IST | Created: 16-05-2024 10:27 IST
Health News Roundup: Pfizer offers up to $250 million to settle Zantac cancer lawsuits, FT reports; Novo Nordisk owner buys majority stake in Austrian life science tools company and more
Representative Image Image Credit: Wikipedia

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Exclusive-Musk's Neuralink has faced issues with its tiny wires for years, sources say

Neuralink's disclosure last week that tiny wires inside the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position is an issue the Elon Musk company has known about for years, according to five people familiar with the matter. The company knew from animal testing it had conducted ahead of its U.S. approval last year that the wires might retract, removing with them the sensitive electrodes that decode brain signals, three of the sources said. Neuralink deemed the risk low enough for a redesign not to be merited, the sources added.

Britons warned to boil water on concern over parasite contamination in Devon areas

Residents in part of Devon in southwestern England were warned on Wednesday to boil water before consuming it after the region's water utility found traces of an intestinal parasite that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. South West Water issued the notice to its customers in Alston and the Hillhead area of Brixham, and said it was urgently investigating the source of the contamination.

First drop in overdose deaths in 6 years, US preliminary data shows

The number of deaths from drug overdose fell 3% to 107,543 in 2023 from the previous year, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Wednesday. States including Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana and Maine saw declines of 15% or more in such deaths, mostly from opioids, while Alaska, Washington and Oregon reported notable increases of at least 27% compared to 2022, the data showed.

Pfizer offers up to $250 million to settle Zantac cancer lawsuits, FT reports

Pfizer will pay up to $250 million to settle more than 10,000 U.S. lawsuits over cancer risks associated with its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The drugmaker was set to pay between $200 million and $250 million in the settlement, the newspaper reported, citing two people briefed on the deal.

Novo Nordisk owner buys majority stake in Austrian life science tools company

Novo Holdings, the controlling shareholder of Danish obesity drugmaker Novo Nordisk, said on Wednesday it would buy a controlling stake of about 60% in Single Use Support, an Austria-based life science tools company. It declined to give a precise value for the deal but a spokesperson said it would be a "high triple-digit million euros" amount.

Walgreens launches own brand of opioid overdose reversal drug

U.S. pharmacy chain operator Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Wednesday it has launched its own brand of popular overdose reversal drug, naloxone, which would be available over-the-counter (OTC). The launch comes weeks after Walgreens' brand was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April.

US FDA approves expanded use of Bristol Myers' cancer cell therapy

The U.S. health regulator on Wednesday approved the expanded use of Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer cell therapy Breyanzi for the treatment of adults with a type of blood cancer called follicular lymphoma, that has returned or has not responded to prior treatments. The Food and Drug Administration's decision marks the fourth approval for Breyanzi, which can now be used to treat patients who have received two or more prior lines of therapy.

Canada says its commercial milk tests negative for bird flu

Canadian government officials said samples of commercially sold milk as of May 14 have shown "no evidence" of H5N1 bird flu after enhanced testing aimed at alleviating Canadians concerns following the virus' detection in some U.S. dairy cattle. Dairy cattle in nine U.S. states have been found to have the virus, prompting warnings to dairy workers even as the threat to the general population is considered low.

UK weight-loss drug price rivalry intensifies with Pharmacy2U mark-down

Britain's Pharmacy2U said on Wednesday it had cut the prices of weight-loss medication Wegovy and Mounjaro, becoming the latest in a slew of online pharmacies and slimming clinics to do so as initial supply shortages of the drugs ease in the country. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

WHO clears Takeda's dengue vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it had cleared Takeda Pharmaceuticals' dengue vaccine, giving international procurement agencies another option against the disease that affects millions of people each year. The approval, called a prequalification, comes amidst a surge in mosquito-borne viral infections across Asia, Africa, and the Americas, including new spread into previously unaffected areas.

(With inputs from agencies.)

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