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WHO Sees ‘High Risk’ of Polio Virus Spreading Across Gaza, Assessment Underway
The World Health Organization said on Tuesday there was a high risk of the polio virus spreading across the Gaza Strip and beyond its borders due to the dire health and sanitation situation in the war-ravaged Palestinian enclave.
Ayadil Saparbekov, team lead for health emergencies at WHO in Gaza and the West Bank, said circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 had been isolated from environmental samples from sewage in Gaza. “There is a high risk of spreading of the circulating vaccine-derived polio virus in Gaza, not only because of the detection but because of the very dire situation with the water sanitation,” he told reporters in Geneva via video link from Jerusalem.
“It may also spill over internationally, at a very high point.”
He said the assessment, which he hoped would be completed by the end of the week, would allow health officials to issue recommendations, “including the need for a mass vaccination campaign as well as what kind of vaccine should be used and what the age group of the population that will need to be vaccinated.”
Israeli Soldiers to Receive Polio Shots After Virus Detected in Gaza: Reports
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched a polio vaccination campaign for its soldiers in Gaza after the virus was detected in the enclave’s sewage system, Israeli media reported.
The vaccination campaign, on a voluntary basis, will concern all forces in regular service in the Gaza Strip and reserves, the Times of Israel reported.
On Friday, World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said that poliovirus type 2 had been located at six sewage systems locations on the Gaza Strip, adding that no one had so far been treated for polio-related symptoms. Lindmeier nonetheless called the finding “extremely worrying.”
Haaretz reported that the IDF is concerned about the prospect of a polio outbreak given the sanitary situation in Gaza. Polio is a fecal-oral disease and infections can be linked to contaminated and poor sewage systems.
After nine months of war, fewer than half of Gaza’s hospitals are functioning, according to the WHO.
Robitussin Maker Settles Lawsuit in U.S. Over ‘Non-Drowsy’ Claim
The maker of Robitussin settled a consumer lawsuit that claimed its “non-drowsy” cough and flu medicine causes drowsiness, agreeing to pay $4.5 million and remove the “non-drowsy” claim from its packaging and marketing.
A preliminary settlement with Haleon (HLN.L), which was spun off by GSK (GSK.L) in July 2022, was filed on Monday in the White Plains, New York, federal court and requires a judge’s approval. Haleon denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
Consumers in the proposed class action claimed that GSK and later Haleon misled them by labeling at least 16 Robitussin products that contain the active ingredient dextromethorphan hydrobromide as non-drowsy.
They cited medical research and a 2017 GSK presentation for their claim and said the Federal Aviation Administration forbids pilots from flying after taking a medicine containing the ingredient.
Judge Refuses to Disqualify Leading Opponents of J&J’s Talc Bankruptcy Plan
A New Jersey judge on Friday rebuffed Johnson & Johnson‘s (JNJ.N) bid to disqualify the law firm Beasley Allen from representing plaintiffs claiming they got cancer from the company’s talc, a setback for the company as it tries to resolve more than 60,000 such claims for $6.48 billion through a pre-packaged bankruptcy plan.
Judge John Porto of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled that J&J had not presented “any credible basis” for its claims that Beasley Allen partner Andy Birchfield formed an unethical alliance with one of the company’s former lawyers.
Also on Friday, U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah Singh, who is overseeing talc cases pending in New Jersey federal court, ordered J&J to show cause why she should not adopt Porto’s findings as well as she considers a parallel motion to disqualify the firm from federal cases.
Ozempic Knockoffs Flood U.S. Market Thanks to ‘Blind Spot’ in FDA Rules
An obscure federal statute is allowing U.S. pharmacies to flood the market with unvetted knockoffs of Ozempic, the pricey weight-loss drug that is reducing and transforming the weight and silhouettes of millions of Americans.
According to a Bloomberg investigation published Monday, a “blind spot” in Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations that allows pharmacies and compounders to reproduce drugs that are in short supply has helped to create a market of unbranded weight-loss drugs worth $1bn annually.
Injectable weight-loss medications including Zepbound, Mounjaro, Wegovy and Ozempic all have been in short supply as of late, according to the FDA’s drug shortage list.
Merck’s RSV Shot Helps Protect Infants in Mid-to-Late Stage Study
Merck‘s (MRK.N) antibody-based shot met the main goal of a mid-to-late stage trial when tested to protect infants against a disease caused by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the company said on Tuesday.
The injectable product, called MK-1654, helped reduce the incidence of lower respiratory infection in infants compared to placebo, and met the safety goals of the study, Merck said.
Barclays analyst Carter Gould said the data should be viewed positively but the lack of further details from the trial makes it difficult to assess the program further.
The company plans to file the data with global regulators and would present detailed findings from the study at an upcoming scientific congress.
HIV ‘Vaccine’ Could Be Made for Just $40 a Year for Every Patient
A new drug described as “the closest we have ever been to an HIV vaccine” could cost $40 (£31) a year for every patient, a thousand times less than its current price, new research suggests.
Lenacapavir, sold as Sunlenca by U.S. pharmaceutical giant Gilead, currently costs $42,250 for the first year. The company is being urged to make it available at a thousand times less than that price worldwide.
Given by injection every six months, lenacapavir can prevent infection and suppress HIV in people who are already infected. Lenacapavir is currently licensed for treatment, not prevention.
