Reuters Health News Summary

09/19/2016 16:55

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Bowing to pressure, FDA approves Sarepta's Duchenne drug

Bowing to pressure from patient advocates, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy even though an outside panel of experts and the agency's own reviewers questioned the drug's efficacy. The FDA's lead reviewer, Dr. Ronald Farkas, recently quit the agency after issuing a scathing report criticizing the quality of the data presented by Sarepta Therapeutics Inc, developer of the drug Exondys 51, known also as eteplirsen.

Florida declares neighborhood Zika-free, but CDC remains cautious

U.S. health officials on Monday urged pregnant women to consider putting off nonessential travel to Miami due to the Zika virus even as they lifted a travel warning for one neighborhood. Earlier in the day, Florida's governor declared the neighborhood of Wynwood Zika-free and invited visitors to return. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention left in place a travel warning issued on Aug. 19 for nearby Miami Beach even as it discontinued one issued on Aug. 1 for Wynwood due to local transmission of the mosquito-borne virus that can cause serious birth defects.

Wearable device helps reduce low blood sugar episodes

A new "flash" blood sugar monitoring system cuts down on episodes of low blood sugar in people with type 1 diabetes, researchers say. Low-blood sugar, or hypoglycemia, can be dangerous in diabetics. Sometimes called an insulin reaction, or insulin shock, severe cases of hypoglycemia can lead to unconsciousness and seizures.

Novartis intensifies Entresto push with new analysis

Novartis on Monday intensified its bid to convince doctors to prescribe its heart failure drug Entresto, releasing an analysis that concluded the medicine contributed to higher quality of life scores compared with an older drug. The decline in health-related quality of life scores among patients hospitalized with reduced ejection fraction heart failure was less steep among Entresto patients compared to those taking the drug enalapril, Switzerland's Novartis said in a statement.

U.S. trade authorities to probe some imported sleep disorder systems

The U.S. International Trade Commission said it will investigate certain sleep-disordered breathing treatment mask systems and components following a complaint by ResMed Inc and ResMed Corp that imported products violated its patents. In a statement on Monday, the ITC said the probe would investigate products by New Zealand-based Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd and two of its U.S. units in California.

GSK cuts vaccine price for refugees, bowing to pressure

GlaxoSmithKline is cutting the price charged for its pneumococcal vaccine when given to refugees, following complaints about the product's "exorbitant" cost by medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. The British drugmaker said on Monday it would provide Synflorix, which protects children against pneumonia and other diseases, at a discounted price of $3.05 per dose to recognized civil society organizations.

U.S. FDA approves Bayer contraceptive device Kyleena

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Bayer AG's hormonal contraceptive device, Kyleena, to prevent pregnancy for up to five years, the German company said on Monday. The small, flexible plastic T-shaped intrauterine device (IUD) releases the hormone levonorgestrel that stops the womb lining from thickening, which in turn prevents pregnancy.

Astellas, Vical herpes vaccine fails mid-stage study

Japan's Astellas Pharma Inc and San Diego-based Vical Inc said their experimental herpes vaccine failed a mid-stage study involving certain kidney transplant patients. Vical's shares was down about 18 percent in light premarket trading on Monday.

No change in hospital antibiotic use overall in recent years

(Reuters Health) - Between 2006 and 2012, antibiotic use in hospitals in general did not change, and the use of a class of drugs tied most closely to antibiotic resistance actually increased, according to a new study. "We believe the increases in the use of more powerful and 'last resort' antibiotics should prompt further exploration and, where indicated, actions to improve the use of these antibiotics," said lead author James Baggs, of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

Codeine not safe for kids, doctors warn

(Reuters Health) - Codeine isn't safe for children and shouldn't be used to ease pain or relieve coughs, a leading U.S. pediatricians group warns. Codeine has been prescribed for decades for both purposes, despite mounting evidence that it doesn't always work and sometimes causes serious or potentially fatal side effects, doctors argue in a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

09/19/2016 16:55