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Thousands to Sue Johnson & Johnson in UK Over Alleged Talc Link to Cancer
Lawyers representing 3,500 British claimants are preparing to sue the pharmaceutical firm Johnson & Johnson (J&J) over alleged links between talcum powder and cancer, in what is expected to be one of the largest pharmaceutical product group actions in English and Welsh legal history.
They claim that thousands of women and some men contracted cancers after using J&J talcum powder products that had been contaminated with asbestos. The specialist legal firm KP Law alleges that the U.S.-based multinational knew as early as the 1970s that its talc products contained dangerous asbestos but failed to warn consumers and carried on selling the products in the U.K. until 2022.
It is making preparations to file papers this month at the high court in London, after it says J&J failed to respond to a letter of claim filed in Aug. 2024.
Pfizer Harnesses COVID Fluctuations to Clinch Q4 Gains as RSV Vaccine Sales Plummet
After a period of unsteady sales for its key COVID-19 products, Pfizer now sees COVID-related revenue volatility as “largely in the past.” In an investor presentation Tuesday, the company made that declaration and added that its COVID-related uncertainties have “diminished” as of late.
In the fourth quarter, a larger-than-expected sales haul of $4.1 billion from its COVID-19 vaccine Comirnaty and antiviral Paxlovid helped drive the company’s total revenue of $17.8 billion, which was ahead of consensus estimates, Leerink analysts wrote in a note to clients. Other products such as Eliquis, Nurtec, Vyndaqel and Ibrance helped drive the sales beat as well. On the flip side, vaccines Prevnar and Abrysvo underperformed expectations.
RSV vaccine Abrysvo specifically floundered in the fourth quarter. The product’s sales fell 62% year over year to $198 million, a performance Pfizer attributed to the narrowing market opportunity afforded by new vaccination recommendations from the CDC.
US Greenlights Pig Kidney Transplant Trials
Two U.S. biotech companies say the Food and Drug Administration has cleared them to conduct clinical trials of their gene-edited pig kidneys for human transplants. United Therapeutics along with another company, eGenesis, have been working since 2021 on experiments implanting pig kidneys into humans: initially brain-dead patients and more recently living recipients.
Advocates hope the approach will help address the severe organ shortage. More than 100,000 people in the U.S. are awaiting transplants, including over 90,000 in need of kidneys. United Therapeutics’s approval, announced Monday, allows the company to advance its technology toward a licensed product if the trial succeeds.
The study authorization was hailed as a “significant step forward in our relentless mission to expand the availability of transplantable organs,” by Leigh Peterson, the company’s executive vice president. The trial will initially enroll six patients with end-stage renal disease before expanding to as many as 50, United Therapeutics said in a statement. The first transplant is expected in mid-2025.
Researchers Take Step Toward Creating Salmonella Vaccine
Salmonella might seem like a mild inconvenience to some, but for sensitive groups, it can prove dangerous or deadly. In fact, 26,500 people are hospitalized with the bacterial infection each year in the U.S., and 420 people die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In a step toward combating Salmonella infections, UF/IFAS microbiology researchers have published a study in the journal Infection and Immunity that they hope will lead to a vaccine against the disease.
In the U.S., about 1.35 million Salmonella infections are reported each year, according to the CDC. Salmonella infections are often caused by consuming contaminated food or water or touching infected animals or livestock or their feces, and result in severe diarrhea and even arthritis post-infection.
RFK Clears Major Confirmation Hurdle, Advances Out of Committee in Partisan Vote
The Senate Finance Committee voted on Tuesday morning to advance the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the full U.S. Senate to be President Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services in a strictly partisan vote. All 14 GOP senators voted for Kennedy; all 13 Democrat senators voted no.
Moments before the vote, Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) announced that Kennedy had won his support in the hearings, crediting Vice President JD Vance. Cassidy, a doctor, was considered one of the biggest obstacles to his confirmation.
“I’ve had very intense conversations with Bobby and the White House over the weekend and even this morning,” Cassidy said. “I want to thank [Vice President JD Vance] specifically for his honest counsel. With the serious commitments I’ve received from the administration and the opportunity to make progress on the issues we agree on like healthy foods and a pro-American agenda, I will vote yes.”
Vaccine injury Campaigner Urges Murray Bridge Council to Support Investigation
Murray Bridge’s councillors have been urged to join a campaign seeking justice for people who have suffered adverse effects after being vaccinated. The town of Port Hedland, Western Australia made national headlines late last year after its councillors voted in favour of suspending the use of vaccines based on mRNA technology, including those made by Pfizer and Moderna to protect against COVID-19.
Last Tuesday, Robert Roach urged the Murray Bridge council to do the same.
He alleged that mRNA vaccines were commonly contaminated by nanoparticles of DNA, which he said could be harmful — a claim debunked by the Therapeutic Goods Administration — and that the rates of vaccine-related injuries were many times higher than health authorities acknowledged. Mr Roach said he was not an anti-vaxxer – “get that, media”.
He, and the other members of a group called Forest of the Fallen, just wanted people who had suffered adverse reactions to be heard. “What I’m asking council here tonight is to show the same concern we have for the health of our families and the community, and support Port Hedland council and … their motion,” he said. “(There should be) an open, transparent, fully independent investigation.”
