Here is a summary of health news briefs.
Teva and Viatris win US appeal in Parkinson’s disease drug patent fight
Belgian biopharmaceutical company UCB on Wednesday lost its appeal in a US court seeking to revive a patent covering its Parkinson’s disease drug Neupro, removing a hurdle for Teva’s Actavis UT Inc and Viatris’ Mylan Technologies Inc to sell drugs. generic versions of the drug. The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit agreed with a federal court in Delaware that UCB’s patent on the Neupro patches was invalid. A ruling for UCB could have delayed the US Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a generic Neupro until it expires in December 2030, the court heard.
Novavax cut costs by $50 million and plans to cut more, CEO says
Novavax Inc cut costs by about $50 million in the first quarter of 2023 and plans to cut more, Chief Executive John Jacobs said in an interview Wednesday. “We look at everything from buildings, leases, land, workforce and contractors, every aspect of our business and the way we work,” he told Reuters.
New Biden rule aims to protect women who cross state lines to have abortions
The Biden administration on Wednesday proposed new privacy protections to prevent women’s health information from being used to investigate or prosecute people who obtain or facilitate abortions. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposal aims to protect women living in states where abortion is illegal who travel out of state to have the procedure — something thousands of women are already doing, according to research. The rule would also protect health care providers, insurers or other entities that perform or pay for abortions.
Juul to pay $462 million to six US states, DC over youth addiction allegations
E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc on Wednesday agreed to pay $462 million over eight years to settle claims from six US states, including New York and California, as well as the District of Columbia, that it was illegally marketing its products addiction to minors. The deal, which also included Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts and New Mexico, means San Francisco-based Juul has now settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion, ending the most long-standing disputes over its business practices. The company did not admit any wrongdoing in the settlement.
US appeals court upholds limited approval of abortion pill
The abortion pill mifepristone will remain available in the United States as anti-abortion groups pursue legal action to ban it, but with significant restrictions, including requiring in-person medical visits to obtain the drug, a federal appeals court belatedly ruled. Wednesday. The 5th United States Circuit Court of Appeals, based in New Orleans, has stayed part of an order issued last Friday by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Amarillo, Texas, that suspended the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the drug while the groups’ trial is ongoing.
South Koreans struggling with drug addiction find few rehab options
Every Saturday, a group of young South Koreans gather in Incheon, just west of Seoul, to talk about their battles with drug addiction, seeking sympathy and support in often emotional exchanges. The free midday therapy sessions are hosted by Choi Jin-mook, who battled drug addiction for more than 20 years before becoming a counselor and advocating for a shift in South Korean drug policy toward treatment and away of punishment.
July target set for final U.S. Medicare drug negotiation guidelines
The U.S. government aims to release final directions for its Medicare drug price negotiation program in early July and is in discussions with companies about its content, a top health official said Wednesday. The guidelines will finalize implementation details of the drug pricing reform signed by President Joe Biden. The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released a draft in March and granted a 30-day window for public comment. It’s unclear how much this will change in the final orientations.
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. .
Ghana first to approve Oxford malaria vaccine
A much-watched malaria vaccine from the University of Oxford has won its first approval, in Ghana, as the African country steps up efforts to tackle the mosquito-borne disease that kills a child every minute. The effort is one of many focused on fighting the disease that kills more than 600,000 people every year, most of them children in Africa. The complex structure and life cycle of the malaria parasite has long hampered vaccine development efforts.
Abortion pill opponents ask US appeals court to allow ban
Abortion opponents on Tuesday urged a federal appeals court to allow the Food and Drug Administration’s suspension of approval of the abortion pill mifepristone in a case with potentially far-reaching impact on how the US government regulates medicine. In a filing with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, lawyers for groups and doctors who oppose abortion and have challenged the drug’s more than two decades, said a government request to lift the suspension was “extraordinary and unprecedented” and must be denied.
(With agency contributions.)