AstraZeneca's investigational COVID drug meets primary goals in late-stage study
(Reuters) - AstraZeneca said on Thursday its investigational drug, sipavibart, met primary goals in preventing COVID-19 in immunocompromised patients in a late-stage trial. (Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
May 16, 2024
Pfizer offers up to $250 million to settle thousands of Zantac cancer lawsuits, FT reports
(Reuters) - Pfizer has agreed offer payment of up to $250 million to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits in the United States over cancer risks associated with its now-discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. (Rep...
May 16, 2024
US FDA approves expanded use of Bristol's cancer cell therapy
(Reuters) -The U.S. health regulator said on Wednesday it has approved the expanded use of Bristol Myers Squibb's cancer cell therapy Breyanzi for the treatment of adults with a type of blood cancer that has returned or has not responded to prior treat...
May 15, 2024
Canada says its commercial milk tests negative for bird flu
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Canadian government officials said samples of commercially sold milk as of May 14 have shown "no evidence" of H5N1 bird flu after enhanced testing aimed at alleviating Canadians concerns following the virus' detection in some...
May 15, 2024
UK weight-loss drug price rivalry intensifies with Pharmacy2U mark-down
(Reuters) - Britain's Pharmacy2U said on Wednesday it had cut the prices of weight-loss medication Wegovy and Mounjaro, becoming the latest in a slew of online pharmacies and slimming clinics to do so as initial supply shortages of the drugs ease ...
May 15, 2024
Britons warned to boil water on concern over parasite contamination in Devon areas
LONDON (Reuters) - Residents in part of Devon in southwestern England were warned on Wednesday to boil water before consuming it after the region's water utility found traces of an intestinal parasite that can cause diarrhoea and vomiting. South We...
May 15, 2024
Walgreens launches own brand of opioid overdose reversal drug
(Reuters) - U.S. pharmacy chain operator Walgreens Boots Alliance said on Wednesday it has launched its own brand of popular overdose reversal drug, naloxone, which would be available over-the-counter (OTC). The launch comes weeks after Walgreens'...
May 15, 2024
WHO prequalifies new dengue vaccine
(Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday that it had prequalified Takeda Pharmaceuticals' dengue vaccine. (Reporting by Christy Santhosh; Editing by Tasim Zahid)
May 15, 2024
Imperial Brands CEO: U.S. menthol cigarette ban likely years away
LONDON (Reuters) - The outcome of moves to ban menthol cigarettes in the United States remains uncertain but implementation will likely take years, Imperial Brands Chief Executive Stefan Bomhard said on Wednesday. The Biden administration delayed a...
May 15, 2024
Getinge limits sale of heart devices in the US after FDA warning
(Reuters) - Sweden's Getinge will limit sales of some of its heart products in the U.S., the medical equipment maker said late on Tuesday, after recent advice from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to move away from its devices. "We have ...
May 15, 2024
Roche says FDA approves HPV self-test in US
BERLIN (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Roche on Wednesday said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved its human papillomavirus (HPV) self-testing kit. Screening for HPV can help identify women who are at risk of developing cervical canc...
May 15, 2024
Taiwan says WHO should let it attend all its meetings
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu called on the World Health Organization on Wednesday to allow the island to attend all its meetings if it is serious about its goal of "Health for All", ahead of a key summit Taipei wants to take...
May 15, 2024
Eisai starts rolling submission for injectable version of Alzheimer's drug with US FDA
(Reuters) - Eisai and partner Biogen said on Tuesday that the Japanese drugmaker has begun submitting data on a rolling basis to the US health regulator for a marketing application of a subcutaneous form of their Alzheimer's disease drug Leqembi. T...
May 14, 2024
Eli Lilly reaches settlement with spa selling Mounjaro, Zepbound knockoffs
(Reuters) - Eli Lilly has entered into a settlement deal with a medi spa that had sold counterfeit versions of its popular diabetes drug Mounjaro and weight loss treatment Zepbound, the drugmaker said on Tuesday. As part of the deal, Totality Medis...
May 14, 2024
Activist Jana Partners built position in QuidelOrtho in first quarter, sources say
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss (Reuters) - Activist investor Jana Partners built a new stake in U.S. diagnostics company QuidelOrtho during the first quarter, sources familiar with the hedge fund's position told Reuters. It is unclear whether the hedge fun...
May 14, 2024
Grifols swings to profit, says debt reduction on track
By Joan Faus BARCELONA (Reuters) - Spanish drugmaker Grifols swung to a first-quarter net profit of 21 million euros ($23 million) from a year-ago loss, and said on Tuesday it was on track to meet its 2024 outlook, including cutting debt. Grifols, ...
May 14, 2024
CDC makes public influenza A wastewater data to assist bird flu probe
(Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Tuesday released data on influenza A found in wastewater in a public dashboard that could assist in tracking the outbreak of H5N1 bird flu that has infected cattle herds. Las...
May 14, 2024
US FDA declines to approve expanded use of Dynavax's hepatitis B vaccine
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has declined to approve the expanded use of Dynavax Technologies' hepatitis B vaccine in patients undergoing hemodialysis, the company said on Tuesday. (Reporting by Christy Santhosh and Pratik Jai...
May 14, 2024
Bayer's Q1 adjusted profit beats analyst consensus
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer on Tuesday reported a 1.3% decline in adjusted earnings in the first quarter, beating analysts' forecasts on better-than-expected performance at its prescription drugs and agriculture divisions. Quarterly earnings before...
May 14, 2024
Wegovy weight loss sustained for four years in trial, Novo Nordisk says
By Maggie Fick LONDON (Reuters) - Patients taking Novo Nordisk's popular Wegovy obesity treatment maintained an average of 10% weight loss after four years on the treatment, the company said on Tuesday. Novo presented the new long-term data at the ...
May 14, 2024
US reclassification could drive fresh research funding into pot sector
By Mrinalika Roy (Reuters) - The U.S. pot sector could see an influx of medical research funding from healthcare investors amid renewed interest from pharmaceutical firms, should a proposal to reclassify cannabis as a lower-risk substance be approv...
May 13, 2024
Denmark faces Wegovy shortage due to rising demand, medicines agency says
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -The Danish medicines agency on Monday warned of a supply shortage for two separate doses of Novo Nordisk's hugely popular weight loss drug Wegovy due to increasing demand. Wegovy is given by weekly injection and belong to a class ...
May 13, 2024
Edwards Lifesciences hit with Meril's EU antitrust complaint
By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. heart valve maker Edwards Lifesciences has been hit with an EU antitrust complaint by Indian rival Meril including for allegedly anti-competitive practices related to patents, a move that could bolster EU r...
May 13, 2024
Turkey arrests spider smuggler said to be American Museum of Natural History curator
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish police arrested a man suspected of trying to smuggle valuable poisonous spiders and scorpions out of the country, with state media identifying the suspect on Monday as a curator at New York's American Museum of Natural...
May 13, 2024
Merck stops skin cancer combination therapy testing in late-stage study
(Reuters) -Merck has discontinued testing a combination of an experimental antibody-based drug and its blockbuster immunotherapy, Keytruda, for some patients with the most severe form of skin cancer in a late-stage study, it said on Monday. The decisio...
May 13, 2024