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WHO, Gates Foundation Seek to Reverse Falling Childhood Vaccination Rates

Reuters reported:

The World Health Organization is working with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and other not-for-profit organizations and agencies to reverse a pandemic-driven decline in routine childhood vaccinations.

The initiative was launched on Monday by the WHO, UNICEF, the GAVI vaccine alliance and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation among others, and seeks to protect countries from vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks such as measles and yellow fever.

The efforts will focus on boosting rates in 20 countries, which account for 75% of the children who missed vaccinations in 2021.

​​People all over the world lost confidence in the importance of routine childhood vaccines against killer diseases such as measles and polio during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report from UNICEF last week.

Mpox Outbreak Was Wake-Up Call for Smallpox Preparation, Vaccine Maker Bavarian Nordic Says

CNBC reported:

The maker of the mpox vaccine is looking at ways to dramatically scale up its production capacity to prepare for a potential threat from smallpox. Bavarian Nordic CEO Paul Chaplin said the rapid spread of mpox last year was a wake-up call for the company, which is based in Denmark.

“If it wasn’t mpox but it was smallpox, we are completely at the wrong scale,” Chaplin told CNBC in an interview. “We’re looking at ways we can dramatically change the way we manufacture to increase our scale,” he said.

Mpox is in the same virus family as smallpox. Bavarian Nordic’s Jynneos vaccine is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to protect against both pathogens.

Bavarian Nordic plans to simplify its production process so it can easily partner with other manufacturers and scale up production capacity to hundreds of millions of doses in the event of an emergency. The company’s current production capacity is tens of millions of doses.

Cancer Victims Urge U.S. Judge to Dismiss J&J Talc Unit Second Bankruptcy

Reuters reported:

Cancer victims on Monday urged a U.S. judge to dismiss a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary’s second bankruptcy filing, saying the company is abusing the bankruptcy system in its renewed attempt to resolve tens of thousands of lawsuits alleging that J&J’s baby powder and other talc products caused cancer.

The J&J (JNJ.N) subsidiary, LTL Management, this month filed for bankruptcy a second time, seeking to settle all current and future talc claims for a proposed $8.9 billion. LTL’s first bankruptcy was dismissed after a federal appeals court ruled the company was not in financial distress and therefore not eligible for bankruptcy.

Plaintiffs have filed more than 38,000 lawsuits that have been consolidated in federal court in New Jersey alleging that J&J talc products sometimes contained asbestos and caused ovarian cancer or mesothelioma. J&J has said its talc is safe, asbestos-free and does not cause cancer.

The plaintiffs allege that J&J’s actions amount to a manipulation of the bankruptcy system by a multinational conglomerate valued at more than $400 billion and in little danger of running out of money to pay cancer victims or their family members.

Use of Antibiotics in Farming ‘Endangering Human Immune System’

The Guardian reported:

The blanket use of antibiotics in farming has led to the emergence of bacteria that are more resistant to the human immune system, scientists have warned.

The research suggests that the antimicrobial colistin, which was used for decades as a growth promoter on pig and chicken farms in China, resulted in the emergence of E. coli strains that are more likely to evade our immune system’s first line of defense. Although colistin is now banned as a livestock food additive in China and many other countries, the findings sound an alarm over a new and significant threat posed by the overuse of antibiotic drugs.

“This is potentially much more dangerous than resistance to antibiotics,” said Prof Craig MacLean, who led the research at the University of Oxford. “It highlights the danger of indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in agriculture. We’ve accidentally ended up compromising our own immune system to get fatter chickens.”

The findings could also have significant implications for the development of new antibiotic medicines in the same class as colistin, known as antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which the scientists suggest could pose a particular risk of compromising innate immunity.

The Worst Bird-Flu Outbreak in U.S. History Is ‘Wiping Out Everything in Numbers We’ve Never Seen Before.’ Here’s What You Need to Know.

Insider reported:

The U.S. is currently experiencing its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu, also known as avian influenza — and a new study has found that the strain could become endemic in the country.

The outbreak is “wiping out everything in numbers we’ve never seen before,” Jennifer Mullinax, an assistant professor of environmental science and technology at the University of Maryland, told Sky News. The new H5N1 strain has already killed over 58 million chickens, turkeys, and other birds, Reuters reported.

The U.S. is no stranger to the impact of the disease, with the H5N8 strain having led to the culling of 50 million birds in 2015. But the new, more contagious strain is particularly affecting wild birds, Sky News reported.

Last week, the U.S. government started testing four new bird-flu vaccines to try and protect the poultry from this mass outbreak, Reuters reported. The disease can and does affect humans, but it’s rare.

Discovery Protocols for Baby Formula NEC Lawsuits Outlined for Bellwether and Trial Selections

AboutLawsuits.com reported:

With a growing number of families pursuing baby formula NEC lawsuits against the makers of Similac and Enfamil over failure to warn about the risks associated with the use of the products with premature infants, an agreement has been reached regarding discovery protocols which will help prepare a small group of representative claims for early trial dates.

Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a devastating gastrointestinal disease, which primarily impacts premature babies, occurring when harmful bacteria breach the walls of the intestines, causing portions of the tissue to become inflamed or die. The condition often results in the need for emergency surgery while the baby is still in the NICU, and many infants do not survive NEC.

Several hundred families are now pursuing Similac lawsuits and Enfamil lawsuits against the makers of cow’s milk-based infant formula products, alleging that Abbott Laboratories and Mead Johnson failed to warn families and the medical communities that premature infants faced an increased risk of developing NEC following use of the powdered formula, compared to infants fed human milk.

Lots of Older Americans Would Like to Take Fewer Meds, Poll Finds

U.S. News & World Report reported:

A new study finds that Americans over 50 are interested in cutting back on prescription medications, dovetailing with a movement toward “deprescribing.” More than one-third of older adults said they had quit taking a medication they had been using for more than a year without talking first to a doctor, pharmacist or nurse practitioner.

About 82% of people between 50 and 80 years of age take at least one prescription medicine regularly, the poll found. About 28% think they take too many medicines. More than half of respondents take three or more prescription medications.

About 11% regularly take three or more over-the-counter medicines. About 38% take three or more vitamins, minerals or supplements, according to the poll.

It was administered online and by phone in January to more than 2,500 adults aged 50 to 80, then weighted to reflect the U.S. population.

AstraZeneca Overtakes Pfizer as Crunch Week for U.K. Pharma Looms

The Guardian reported:

Nearly a decade after AstraZeneca fended off a hostile takeover approach from U.S. rival Pfizer, the British drug firm has overtaken the Viagra maker in terms of market value, marking a significant moment in its turnaround — and for U.K. plc.

In a week when AstraZeneca and Britain’s second-biggest pharma firm GSK release their latest quarterly results and the main industry body, the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry holds its annual conference, all eyes will be on what pharma executives say about the U.K. as a place to operate and invest in.

Pascal Soriot has completely rebuilt AstraZeneca’s drug portfolio in recent years, including the lung cancer drug Tagrisso, leukemia drug Calquence and Farxiga for diabetes. GSK is also in the process of revamping its pipeline and has become a more focused pharma and vaccines business after the spin-off of its consumer arm Haleon last summer.

After positive results in clinical trials across cancer, metabolic and rare disease treatments, AstraZeneca’s share price has risen 19% in the past year and 140% in the last five years, valuing the company at nearly £189bn. This compares with Pfizer’s $227bn (£182bn).

AstraZeneca is now the largest company listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Wall Street’s Obsession With Weight Loss Drugs Keeps Growing

Yahoo!Finance reported:

Wall Street’s enthusiasm for trimming fat has taken on new meaning as more companies jump into a growing market for weight-loss drugs — and receive a boost to their stock prices as a result.

Buzzy medications like Ozempic and Wegovy have grown in popularity, with high-profile names like billionaire Elon Musk counting themselves among users.

While the benefits versus the side effects for such drugs are up for debate, there is significant demand for them: In a recent note to clients, Goldman Sachs analyst Jason English said investors have told him the overall opportunity in prescription weight loss could be close to $100 billion.

Some People Taking Weight Loss Drugs Say They’re Experiencing Hair Loss

NBC News reported:

As drugs such as Wegovy and Ozempic soar in popularity for weight loss, pounds aren’t the only thing people report losing: Social media groups for people taking the medications include posts about losing hair, too.

“What is really striking for folks is that there are no scalp symptoms. It doesn’t hurt, there’s no itching, but you can run your hands through your hair and you have a handful of hair. It can be really disconcerting to see that,” said Dr. Susan Massick, a dermatologist at Ohio State University, who has seen patients who have lost hair following weight loss surgery.

Hair loss is not listed as a side effect of Ozempic, but in clinical trials for Wegovy, 3% of people reported hair loss, compared to 1% of people who got a placebo. (While Ozempic and Wegovy are the same drug, Wegovy is given at a higher dose.) In a clinical trial for tirzepatide’s effects on weight loss, nearly 6% of people taking the highest dose reported alopecia — a generic word for any type of hair loss — compared to 1% of those who got a placebo.

Be Wary of Amniotic Fluid Eye Drops, FDA Says — Agency Sends Another Salvo in Battle With Birth-Tissue Industry

MedPage Today reported:

In its ongoing battle against companies selling unapproved stem cell products, the FDA issued a safety communication earlier this month about amniotic fluid eye drops being improperly marketed for dry eye disease.

The communication links to earlier letters to two manufacturers — makers of Regener-Eyes and StimulEyes — warning that the products would need an approved Biologics License Application (BLA) to stay on the market, or healthcare providers would need an investigational new drug (IND) application to deliver them to patients.

Both products appear to be readily available for sale on the internet, with plenty of options on Google Shopping. Although StimulEyes maker M2 Biologics states on its homepage that online ordering of the product is currently unavailable, the product appears to be available for purchase through other channels. Neither Regener-Eyes CEO Randall Harrell, MD, nor M2 Biologics returned a request for comment.