Here is a summary of health news briefs.
China excluded from UN wildlife probe for pandemic control – source
China is not taking part in a United Nations project to investigate Asian wet markets and other facilities at high risk of spreading infectious diseases from wild animals to humans, despite lengthy talks with Beijing, an official told Reuters. UN official. China’s reluctance to join the UN project involving other Asian countries may add to the frustration of global researchers who have pressed Beijing to share information on the origins of COVID-19, as they seek to prevent future pandemics due to zoonoses or animal diseases. , disease transmission.
Half of Republicans say politics drove US court ruling on abortion pill – Reuters/Ipsos
Half of U.S. Republicans believe a federal court was politically motivated when it ordered the suspension of government approval for a widely used abortion pill, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Wednesday. Fifty-one percent of self-identified Republicans in the poll said they agreed that last week’s ruling — which would essentially make the sale of the abortion pill mifepristone illegal — was politically motivated. Only 28% of Republicans disagreed, and the rest said they weren’t sure.
Biden administration to ask Supreme Court to stop restrictions on abortion pills
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday the Justice Department will ask the Supreme Court to intervene to end restrictions set by a federal judge on the abortion pill mifepristone, as the administration of President Joe Biden is taking action to defend access to medicine. The administration will seek emergency assistance from the Supreme Court to uphold “the scientific judgment of the United States Food and Drug Administration and protect Americans’ access to safe and effective reproductive care,” Garland said in a statement. a statement.
FDA imposes new safety warnings for opioid painkillers
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Thursday it would require new safety warnings to be added to prescribing information on opioid painkiller labels, including a warning about increased sensitivity to pain. The FDA said data suggests that patients who use opioids for pain relief after surgery often have leftover pills, putting them at risk for addiction and overdose.
Access to abortion pills could continue even if the FDA loses the legal battle in the United States
The US Department of Justice is racing this week to convince a federal appeals court, or possibly the US Supreme Court, to stay a judge’s order suspending government approval of mifepristone , an abortion pill, which is used in more than half of all abortions in the country. But even if those legal efforts fail and U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s order last Friday in Amarillo, Texas takes effect, essentially rendering the drug unapproved, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could still continue to allow access to the drug, according to legal experts. .
Novo Nordisk raises full-year forecast for GLP-1 drug sales
Diabetes and obesity drug developer Novo Nordisk on Thursday significantly raised its operating profit and full-year sales expectations due to strong demand for its highly popular anti-aging drug. Wegovy obesity. “The 2023 sales outlook is elevated, primarily reflecting first-quarter Wegovy prescription trends and higher full-year expectations for Wegovy sales in the United States,” Novo Nordisk said in a statement.
Some US abortion pill suppliers limit availability after appeals court ruling
U.S. telehealth abortion providers scrambled Thursday to keep their services available after a federal appeals court ruled the abortion pill mifepristone could be dispensed in an ongoing lawsuit, but with significant restrictions. The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, based in New Orleans, on Wednesday upheld a lower court order that limited the use of the pill to the first seven weeks of pregnancy and required medical visits in no one to get it.
Biden seeks to expand access to health insurance for DACA participants
The Biden administration is seeking to allow immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children to have greater access to health insurance through federal programs, the White House said Thursday. The proposal would allow Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, participants to access health insurance under the Medicaid and Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges, he said.
Ghana first to approve Oxford malaria vaccine
Ghana has become the first country in the world to approve a new malaria vaccine from the University of Oxford, a potential breakthrough in the fight against a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of children every year. The approval is unusual because it comes before the final trial data is published.
Pfizer signs a strategic cooperation pact with Chinese Sinopharm
Pfizer announced Thursday that it has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese group Sinopharm and plans to seek approval to market 12 innovative drugs in China through 2025. Sinopharm Chairman Liu Yong said at the Wednesday signing event in Shanghai that the cooperation will involve accelerating delivery of new Pfizer drugs to patients, according to a statement from Pfizer.
(This story has not been edited by the Devdiscourse team and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)