Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
BioNTech gets $145 million funding for African vaccine plants
Analysis-Weight-loss drug forecasts jump to $150 billion as supply grows
As millions seek access to weight-loss drugs from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, increasing supplies, possible wider usage and a growing number of would-be rivals are leading some experts to raise annual global sales forecasts for the treatments to about $150 billion by the early 2030s. A year ago, top sales estimates were in the $100 billion range.
J&J’s drug eases depression and insomnia symptoms in late-stage study
Johnson & Johnson’s experimental drug helped reduce symptoms of depression as well as insomnia in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a late-stage trial, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The trial was testing the drug, called seltorexant, in patients with both depression and insomnia. Sleep disturbances often accompany depression, despite treatment with commonly-used antidepressant drugs.
Exclusive-Nicotine-like chemicals in U.S. vapes may be more potent than nicotine, FDA says
The French government has told drugmaker Servier it is against any sale of its generics subsidiary Biogaran, which has a market share of almost a third in the country, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal said on Wednesday. French media reported last month that Servier had asked potential suitors to file their offers by mid-June.
US health insurer shares fall after UnitedHealth flags Medicaid enrollment issues
U.S. health secretary sees pandemic treaty deal as close
The top U.S. health official said on Wednesday it would be “tragic” for the world to miss out on key reforms to the global pandemic response and that a treaty deal was within reach, with no major differences between negotiators. Health officials are meeting in Geneva this week to try to wrap up more than two years of negotiations on a pandemic treaty and a series of updates to existing International Health Rules (IHR). However, countries have failed to finalise the treaty at this assembly and countries are considering an extension.
Merck on Wednesday agreed to buy privately held biotech EyeBio for as much as $3 billion, as it looks to diversify its portfolio of experimental drugs with treatments for eye diseases. The drugmaker agreed to pay $1.3 billion in cash and another $1.7 billion in future milestone-based payments for EyeBio, and will gain access to its retinal disease drug Restoret as part of the deal.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)