Norovirus Roars Back; IBS Drug Finally Hits Shelves; Novel Drug for PBC?

As COVID-19 cases are falling, the norovirus is rebounding to pre-pandemic levels. (NBC News)

Relatedly, Indiana University announced that it was awarded $1.2 million to develop the first combination oral rotavirus-norovirus vaccine for infants.

After securing FDA approval of tenapanor (Ibsrela) for irritable bowel disease with constipation (IBS-C) all the way back in 2019, the first-in-class NHE3 inhibitor has finally hit the shelves, drugmaker Ardelyx announced.

Having limited or no insurance was moderately associated with worse survival in gastric cancer patients who underwent gastrectomy. (American Journal of the Medical Sciences)

Seladelpar — an investigational, selective agonist for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-delta — was safe, well-tolerated, and showed clinically significant improvement in primary biliary cholangitis patients at risk for disease progression, a phase II trial showed. (Journal of Hepatology)

A small study of pediatric patients found that tumor necrosis factor inhibitors may be appropriate for children with isolated complex perianal fistula who do not have luminal Crohn’s disease. (Journal of Pediatric Surgery)

A patient-education study involving 10 high-risk hepatitis B or D liver transplant recipients stable on intravenous hepatitis B immunoglobulin (HBIg) showed that a long-term switch to self-administered subcutaneous HBIg was possible with appropriate training. (Journal of Liver Transplantation)