Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Roche wins Japan approval for personalized cancer drug Rozlytrek
Swiss drugmaker Roche's push into personalized cancer medicines hit a milestone on Tuesday with Japanese approval of a new drug, Rozlytrek, that targets patients who must be identified via genetic profiling. Japan is the first country to give its blessing to Rozlytrek, also known as entrectinib, targeting people with NTRK fusion-positive solid tumors, across 10 different tumor types including breast, colorectal, neuroendocrine, lung and pancreatic cancers.
French drugmaker Sanofi, Google to use data tech for innovations
French healthcare company Sanofi has teamed up with Google to work on innovations, aimed at using emerging data technologies to change how medicines and health services will be delivered in future. Sanofi and Google will use data sets to improve their understanding of key diseases and extract patients' insights and feedback, the companies said in a joint statement.
Physical un-fitness linked with depression, anxiety in middle-aged women
Mid-life women with weak upper and lower body fitness may be more prone to depression and anxiety, a study from Singapore suggests. In particular, poor handgrip strength and needing a long time to stand from a chair were associated with higher depression or anxiety symptoms, the study authors reported in the journal Menopause.
Bringing photos to dermatology appointments can help
More patients are bringing pictures of their skin problems to their dermatologists, which helps the doctors better observe the progression and potentially diagnose the condition, according to a new study. The authors, a group of skin experts in France, found that almost two-thirds of patients brought pictures with them to appointments for urticaria, or hives.
Obesity-related pain contributes to opioid use
Long-term use of prescription opioids for chronic pain is more common among people who are overweight or obese, a new study finds. As a group, these individuals are more likely to use prescription opioids for pain in the back, joints, muscles and nerves, researchers write in the journal Pain.
China suspending pork imports from third Canadian firm as dispute with Ottawa deepens
China will block pork imports from a third Canadian firm after a shipment was found to contain the banned feed additive ractopamine, the customs agency said on Tuesday, deepening a trade and diplomatic dispute with Canada. The firm in question is Frigo Royal Inc, the agency said on its Wechat account. Ractopamine is used in some countries to make leaner pigs but China does not allow its use or tolerate residues in imported meat.
No provisions in USMCA to change U.S. pharmaceutical patent laws: Lighthizer
The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has no provisions that would force changes to U.S. laws with respect to pharmaceutical companies, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said on Tuesday. "To the extent that a member (of Congress) thinks anything in here will stop you from changing laws, then we have to correct that," Lighthizer said at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee.
France leads the world in mistrust of vaccines
For Marie-Claire Grime, who works in a pharmacy northeast of Paris, questions about vaccines are a daily challenge. They come mainly from parents who say they're worried about "a lot of chemicals" being put into their children, she says. She does her best to allay such fears. "We spend time deconstructing the myths. We try hard to convince them of the huge advantages vaccination brings," Grime told Reuters at her shop in the town of Bobigny. "It is sometimes discouraging to find ourselves repeating the same things all over again."
Varying vaccine trust leaves populations vulnerable, global study finds
Trust in vaccines - one of the world's most effective and widely-used medical products - is highest in poorer countries but weaker in wealthier ones where scepticism has allowed outbreaks of diseases such as measles to persist, a global study found on Wednesday. France has the least confidence of any country in the world in the safety and effectiveness of vaccines, with a third believing that vaccines are unsafe, according to the study.
Bayer asks trial judge to reverse $2 billion Roundup jury verdict
Bayer AG has asked a California judge to overrule a $2 billion verdict by jurors who found the company's glyphosate-based Roundup weed killer responsible for a couple's cancer, arguing the jury decision was not supported by evidence. The German drugmaker and chemicals company in court filings on Monday in Alameda County Superior Court in Oakland blamed the massive verdict on "inflammatory, fabricated and irrelevant evidence" from the couples' lawyers.
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