WHO says bird flu risk currently low, asks countries to remain vigilant
(Reuters) -The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission. The UN-agency said countries should im...
Apr 26, 2024
Bayer CEO wins first AGM shareholder vote
(Reuters) - Bayer CEO Bill Anderson on Friday won a vote of confidence at his first annual general meeting (AGM) at the helm of the embattled healthcare and agriculture group, defying a challenge from one German fund managing house. Bayer said inv...
Apr 26, 2024
PE firm Advent to invest $297 million in India's Apollo Hospitals unit
BENGALURU (Reuters) -PE firm Advent International will invest 24.75 billion rupees (nearly $297 million) in Apollo Hospitals' unit Apollo HealthCo and will merge its online pharmacy vertical 'Apollo 24/7' with pharmacy distributor Keimed, the hospital ...
Apr 26, 2024
US FDA says about 1 in 5 commercial milk samples tested positive for bird flu traces
(Reuters) -About one in five samples of commercial milk in the U.S. tested positive for traces of bird flu in a national survey, with a greater proportion coming from areas with infected herds, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. There is no ev...
Apr 26, 2024
AbbVie raises annual profit forecast on strong Skyrizi sales
By Leroy Leo and Christy Santhosh (Reuters) - AbbVie raised its annual profit forecast on Friday after strong sales of its immunology drug Skyrizi and cancer drug Imbruvica helped the company beat Wall Street estimates for the first quarter. The c...
Apr 26, 2024
HCA beats first-quarter profit estimates on higher patient admissions
(Reuters) - HCA Healthcare on Friday beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit, helped by higher patient admissions due to demand for healthcare services. The hospital operator, however, reaffirmed its annual forecast. In the first quarter, H...
Apr 26, 2024
Centene raises 2024 profit forecast on strength in commercial plans
(Reuters) - Centene Corp raised annual profit forecast and beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday, helped by higher premiums from its commercial insurance business. The health insurer banks more on commercial plans and state ...
Apr 26, 2024
US FDA approves Pfizer's gene therapy for rare bleeding disorder
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer's gene therapy for hemophilia B on Friday, the second such therapy for the rare bleeding disorder that typically requires regular infusions of a blood-clotting protein. People with h...
Apr 26, 2024
Bayer investor Deka takes a stand against CEO in annual vote
By Patricia Weiss and Ludwig Burger FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Bayer shareholder Deka Investment said on Friday it would not join other large investors in supporting the healthcare and agriculture group's management at its annual general meeting. Two ot...
Apr 26, 2024
Capsizing of Tuvalu boat carrying vaccines highlights climate change challenges, UNICEF says
By Kirsty Needham SYDNEY (Reuters) - The capsizing of a boat carrying childhood vaccines and health workers in Tuvalu underscored the challenges of healthcare in remote Pacific Islands as they battle extreme weather caused by climate change, the U....
Apr 26, 2024
Healthpeak Properties increases 2024 FFO forecast owing to higher demand
(Reuters) - Healthpeak Properties raised its annual funds from operations (FFO) forecast on Thursday, banking on resilient demand for its medical office and life science properties. The U.S. healthcare-centric real estate investment trust (REIT) ma...
Apr 26, 2024
ResMed tops quarterly profit estimates on strong demand for sleep apnea devices
(Reuters) - ResMed beat Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday due to strong demand for its sleep apnea devices, sending shares 9% higher in extended trading. The California-based company reported adjusted profit of $2.13 per share...
Apr 26, 2024
Edwards Lifesciences first-quarter profit beats estimates on heart devices strength
(Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp on Thursday reported upbeat first-quarter profit due to strong demand for its artificial heart valves and other medical devices. The California-based company now expects annual sales growth to be at the higher ...
Apr 26, 2024
US states sue over agency rule on protections for workers who get abortions
By Daniel Wiessner (Reuters) - A group of Republican-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block a federal rule that gives workers who had abortions the same legal protections as workers who are pregnant or recently gave birth. The...
Apr 26, 2024
Cigna to offer Humira rivals with $0 copay at specialty pharmacy
By Patrick Wingrove and Amina Niasse (Reuters) - Cigna plans to make close copies of AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira available with no out-of-pocket payment to eligible patients in the U.S. using its specialty pharmacy beginning in June...
Apr 25, 2024
Colombia becomes first country to restrict US beef due to bird flu in dairy cows
By P.J. Huffstutter and Tom Polansek CHICAGO (Reuters) -Colombia has restricted the import of beef and beef products coming from U.S. states where dairy cows have tested positive for avian influenza as of April 15, according the U.S. Department of Agri...
Apr 25, 2024
Gilead posts quarterly loss, revenue rises 5%
By Deena Beasley (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences reported a first-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $3.9 billion charge for its recent acquisition of liver drug developer CymaBay Therapeutics, while revenue rose 5% on higher HIV, oncology and liv...
Apr 25, 2024
West Africa's Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launch malaria vaccination
By Pulcherie Adjoha COTONOU (Reuters) - Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launched large-scale malaria vaccine programmes on Thursday under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children's lives per year across the cont...
Apr 25, 2024
US FDA sends warning to Cardinal Health for marketing unapproved devices
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday sent a warning letter to Cardinal Health after an inspection of its facility in Illinois showed that the company was marketing unapproved devices. (Reporting by Pratik Jain in Bengaluru)
Apr 25, 2024
Shareholder Capital asks Vanda Pharma's board to reconsider Future Pak's offer
(Reuters) - Investment firm Shareholder Capital sent a letter to drugmaker Vanda Pharmaceuticals' board on Thursday asking it to reconsider Future Pak's takeover offer. On April 17, Vanda rejected contract manufacturer Future Pak's offer of $7.25 t...
Apr 25, 2024
GlaxoSmithKline sues Pfizer and BioNTech over Covid-19 vaccine technology
By Blake Brittain (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline sued Pfizer and BioNTech in Delaware federal court on Thursday, accusing them of infringing GSK patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in the companies' blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. GSK sa...
Apr 25, 2024
AbbVie's skin disease drug found to be more effective than Regeneron's Dupixent in study
(Reuters) - AbbVie said on Thursday its drug, Rinvoq, for treating a type of inflammatory skin condition was found to be more effective than Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Sanofi's Dupixent in a late-stage head-to-head study. Rinvoq helped 19.9% of ...
Apr 25, 2024
Two million Britons suffer long COVID symptoms, survey shows
By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - Two million people across England and Scotland are still suffering from long COVID symptoms, of whom 381,000 have had their day-to-day activities limited a lot, according to an official study published on Thursd...
Apr 25, 2024
Scholz promises support for pharma sector in Germany as Merck invests
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was committed to supporting the pharmaceuticals sector with tax advantages for research and cutting red tape for trials at a ceremony with Merck, which is investing 1.5 billion euros ($1.61 b...
Apr 25, 2024
India's Glenmark Life Sciences posts lower Q4 profit as Red Sea crisis hurts API business
BENGALURU (Reuters) - Indian drugmaker Glenmark Life Sciences posted its first drop in profit for six quarters on Thursday as its mainstay active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) business was hurt by the Red Sea crisis. The Mumbai-based company, wh...
Apr 25, 2024