Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Roche Q1 sales decline tempered by swift uptake of new eye drug
Switzerland’s Roche said first-quarter sales dropped 7% on falling demand for its COVID-19 therapies and tests, less steep than analysts had expected thanks to strong revenue growth from a new eye drug. Group revenue fell to 15.3 billion Swiss francs ($17.2 billion), the company reported on Wednesday, beating a market view of 14.8 billion francs on a strong launch of anti-blindness treatment Vabysmo and better-than-expected sales of COVID antibody treatment Ronapreve.
Humana lifts profit outlook as medical costs drop in govt plans
Humana Inc raised its annual adjusted profit forecast on Wednesday after lower medical costs in the firm’s government-backed health insurance business helped it beat profit estimates for the first quarter. The company’s upbeat outlook contrasts the uncertainty around 2024 earnings for health insurers staring at the end of COVID-related insurance protection measures and potential declines in government payouts for some plans.
GSK says EU pharma legislation overhaul could trigger investment shift
British drugmaker GSK on Wednesday warned that the overhaul of laws governing the EU’s pharmaceuticals industry risks forcing companies to invest and innovate elsewhere, which would hurt EU efforts to improve access to medicines. GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley told reporters on a quarterly earnings call that the European Union must “regulate for growth and competitiveness” because her company and others “have choices on where our capital and resources are focused”.
WHO fears more deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks, collapse of services
The World Health Organization (WHO) expects “many more” deaths in Sudan due to outbreaks of disease and a lack of essential services amid fighting, its director general said on Wednesday. Battles between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary since mid-April has killed at least 459 people and injured more than 4,000, according to the WHO.
EU publishes proposed drug laws overhaul, seting up tussle with industry
Brussels on Wednesday published a long-awaited draft of its proposed overhaul of laws governing the European Union’s pharmaceuticals industry, setting up a tussle with drugmakers which warn they will invest and innovate elsewhere. The biggest overhaul of existing medical laws in two decades is aimed at ensuring all Europeans have access to both innovative new treatments and generic drugs, and ending huge divergences in access and price between countries, EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides told reporters after publication.
GSK stays strong as healthy sales beat expectations
GSK began 2023 with a quarterly performance that beat analyst expectations and extended a series of positive results thanks to strong sales of its vaccines as well as HIV and respiratory medicines. The company reaffirmed its guidance for 2023, saying it expected adjusted operating profit growth to be higher in the second half but lower in the first half of the year when expected drug launches will increase costs.
Pakistan confirms its first case of mpox
The first case of mpox in Pakistan has been confirmed by the National Institute of Health in the capital Islamabad. A traveler who recently arrived in Pakistan tested positive and has been isolated at a hospital in the capital, along with other individuals who are being tested, a health ministry press release said.
Japan to end COVID border measures on Saturday, earlier than expected – Jiji
Japan will end COVID-19 border measures on Saturday, earlier than expected, Jiji news agency reported, citing government sources. Japan had previously said COVID-19 measures would end on May 8, but the date was brought forward to ease congestion at airports at the start of a holiday, the report said.
GSK’s RSV vaccine first to get EU regulator’s nod
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Wednesday recommended authorization of GSK’s Arexvy vaccine for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in adults aged 60 and older, putting Europe on track to approve the world’s first such vaccine. The recommendation puts GSK ahead of rival Pfizer Inc in the race to tap into the RSV vaccine market, which is estimated to exceed $5 billion and could surpass $10 billion by 2030, according to analysts.
Biden administration urges appeals court to overrule abortion pill curbs
President Joe Biden’s administration on Wednesday urged a U.S. appeals court to overrule a conservative Texas-based judge’s order that would essentially ban the abortion pill mifepristone by suspending the drug’s federal regulatory approval in a legal challenge by abortion opponents. The U.S. Justice Department, in a filing to the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, called the April 7 order by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk “abrupt and profoundly disruptive.” It added that mifepristone’s safety is “amply supported by a record developed over decades of safe and effective use” around the world.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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