Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Merck could keep its patent edge by shifting Keytruda cancer drug to a simple shot
U.S. drugmaker Merck & Co hopes to patent a new formulation of its $20 billion cancer immunotherapy Keytruda that can be injected under the skin, allowing it to protect its best-selling drug from competition expected as soon as 2028. For years Merck has relied on Keytruda to fuel its growth. The treatment, approved in 2014, harnesses the body’s own immune system to fight cancers with dramatic results. Against advanced lung cancer, it has led to a five-year survival rate in about one-quarter of people compared to 5% of people historically.
Pfizer to invest more than $2.5 billion to expand European manufacturing
Pfizer Inc is investing more than $2.5 billion at its drug making plants in Belgium and Ireland, gearing up to launch new products it hopes can replace lost revenue as patents expire and COVID-19 vaccine sales decline. The drugmaker said on Friday it plans to spend more than 1.2 billion euros ($1.26 billion) to expand its Puurs, Belgium, manufacturing site, matching the investment at its Dublin, Ireland, plant announced on Thursday.
Drop in COVID alertness could create deadly new variant – WHO
Lapses in strategies to tackle COVID-19 this year continue to create the perfect conditions for a deadly new variant to emerge, as parts of China witness a rise in infections, the head of the World Health Organization said on Friday. The comments by WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus mark a change in tone just months after he said that the world has never been in a better position to end the pandemic.
China reports 34,980 new COVID cases for Dec 1 vs 36,061 a day earlier
China reported a slight dip in new daily COVID-19 cases on Dec. 1 with 34,980 infections, of which 4,278 were symptomatic and 30,702 were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said on Friday. That is compared with 36,061 new cases a day earlier – 4,150 symptomatic and 31,911 asymptomatic infections, which China counts separately.
Inside China’s fight over the future of zero-COVID
Samuel Ren is sick of zero-COVID. “Omicron is not a threat, it is just like a normal cold,” said the IT worker in his mid-20s in Shanghai, describing China’s ongoing lockdown measures as “ridiculous”.
Indonesian families sue drug regulator, govt after children die of kidney disease
More than a dozen parents are suing Indonesia’s drug regulator and health ministry for allowing into the country medications linked to acute kidney injury that killed their children or damaged their organs, their lawyer told Reuters on Friday. Nearly 200 children have died of acute kidney injury in Indonesia this year and authorities have said two ingredients, ethylene glycol and diethyelene glycol, found in some syrup-based paracetamol medications are linked to the illness.
U.S. says China’s COVID protests die down as cities ease restrictions
Protests in China against the world’s toughest COVID-19 curbs are dying down because they have had an effect, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said on Friday, as Beijing further eased testing requirements and quarantine rules.
“I think we have seen the protests die down now in China and the reason they’ve died down is they actually had an effect,” she told an audience in Washington.
Reckitt expects U.S. infant formula shortage until spring
The near year-long infant formula shortage in the United States that prompted the intervention of the White House is likely to “persist” until spring, according to Reckitt Benckiser, the maker of what is now the biggest brand in the market, Enfamil. Panicked parents had earlier this year emptied the baby formula aisles at supermarkets after former top U.S. manufacturer Abbott Laboratories in February recalled dozens of types of its Similac, Alimentum and EleCare formulas. The products, made at a plant in Michigan, were pulled after complaints of bacterial infections. Supermarkets like Target and Walgreens Boots Alliance were forced to limit sales, putting pressure on the Biden administration to address the crisis.
Relief and worry as major Chinese cities ease COVID curbs
Further easing of COVID-19 testing requirements and quarantine rules in some Chinese cities was met with a mix of relief and worry on Friday, as hundreds of millions await an expected shift in national virus policies after widespread social unrest. The looser measures were welcomed by workers frustrated by three years of economically damaging curbs but have jolted others who suddenly feel more exposed to a disease authorities had consistently described as deadly until this week.
Uganda discharges last known Ebola patient, raising hopes – ministry
Uganda has discharged its last known Ebola patient from hospital, a senior health official said on Friday, raising hopes that an outbreak which has killed at least 56 people could be coming to an end. Officials first confirmed the outbreak in September and said it was the Sudan strain of the disease, which kills 40%-60% of those it infects, and for which there is no proven vaccine.
(With inputs from agencies.)
