Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
AstraZeneca drug fails one main goal in study of chronic immune disease
Drugmaker AstraZeneca said on Tuesday that its asthma drug Fasenra failed to meet one of two main goals of a late-stage study assessing the treatment’s benefits in a chronic allergic condition that causes difficulty in swallowing. The condition, eosinophilic esophagitis, is characterised by inflammation and damage to the esophagus and typically requires repeated treatments, such as corticosteroids and diet change, to ease the symptoms.
Global COVID cases will increase in coming months, but at a slower pace -report
Daily global COVID-19 infections are projected to rise slowly to about 18.7 million by February from the current 16.7 million average daily cases, driven by the northern hemisphere’s winter months, the University of Washington said in an analysis.
Far fewer infections are expected than last winter’s estimated peak daily average of about 80 million cases in January of 2022 which was driven by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, according to the report.
Clorox recalls some Pine-Sol cleaners due to bacteria risk
Clorox Co is recalling several of its Pine-Sol cleaning products after the U.S. consumer safety regulator discovered bacteria in them, including a strain that could cause serious infection in people with weak immune systems. The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said on Tuesday testing has identified bacteria in recalled products including those produced between January 2021 and September 2022. Clorox produced about 37 million recalled products in that period, it added.
Universal Resort shuts in Beijing due to COVID measures
Amusement park Universal Resort said on Wednesday it had temporarily closed due to COVID-19 prevention measures in Beijing, as cases rise in the Chinese capital despite some of the toughest anti-virus measures in the world. The Comcast Corp-owned park did not indicate when it would reopen but said it would refund or reschedule tickets.
PacBio to launch new gene-sequencing systems
Gene-sequencing company Pacific Biosciences of California Inc on Tuesday announced the launch of a new, more affordable, higher-throughput “long-read” sequencer as well as customer testing of its first “short-read” sequencer aimed at emerging markets such as multi-cancer early detection. The Menlo, California-based company said its new Revio long-read sequencing system, with a list price of $779,000, offers a 15-fold increase in throughput, enabling customers to sequence up to 1,300 human whole genomes per year for less than $1,000 per genome.
Merck to donate Ebola vaccine candidate for a research program in Uganda
Merck & Co said on Tuesday it was planning to produce and donate an investigational Sudan ebolavirus vaccine to a global non-profit organization’s research program in Uganda, which is facing an outbreak of the disease. The investigational vaccine that will be donated to IAVI is similar to Merck’s Ervebo vaccine, which is approved against the Zaire ebolavirus strain.
Biden gets latest COVID vaccine, urges Americans to do same
U.S. President Joe Biden rolled up his sleeve and received an updated COVID-19 vaccine on Tuesday, using the occasion to urge more Americans to get the booster before the upcoming holiday season, especially seniors. “I’m calling on all Americans to get their shot just as soon as they can,” Biden said shortly before a doctor gave him the new shot.
Fungal infection list launched by WHO flags global health threat
The World Health Organization has drawn up the first-ever list of fungal pathogens posing the greatest threat to human health, warning that some strains are increasingly drug-resistant and becoming more widespread. The U.N. body, which has similar lists for viruses and bacteria, said fungal infections and their increasing resistance to treatment were a growing risk. However, a historic lack of focus on the danger meant there were huge gaps in knowledge, as well as a lack of surveillance, treatments and diagnostics.
Johnson & Johnson’s blood cancer therapy gets U.S. FDA approval
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Johnson & Johnson’s therapy for treating a type of multiple myeloma, the company said on Tuesday, giving another treatment option to patients with the incurable blood cancer. J&J’s teclistamab, branded as Tecvayli, is approved for treating adults with multiple myeloma that is hard to treat or has come back after receiving four or more prior lines of certain classes of therapies, the company said.
Lower prostate cancer screening rates linked with more advanced cancers
A decline in prostate cancer screening has been linked to subsequent increases in advanced cancers, according to data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), findings that may spur revisiting current U.S. testing guidelines. A new study, involving more than 5 million men over age 40 at 128 VA facilities across the country between 2005 and 2019, found that when screening was encouraged, later diagnoses of incurable advanced malignancies were less likely.
(With inputs from agencies.)
