GSK's asthma drug shows promise in reducing severe attacks
(Reuters) - GSK's asthma drug met its primary goal of reducing asthma attacks over a 52-week period in a late-stage trial, the British drugmaker said on Tuesday. The drug, called Depemokimab, has the potential to be the first approved ultra-long-ac...
8h ago
AstraZeneca aims to deliver $80 billion in total revenue by 2030
(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said on Tuesday it expects to deliver $80 billion in total revenue by 2030, boosted by the expected launch of 20 new medicines and through growth in its existing oncology, biopharmaceuticals and rare disease portfolio. The drugma...
8h ago
GSK faces whistleblower lawsuit over Zantac cancer risk
By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - GSK has been sued by an independent Connecticut laboratory that accused the drugmaker of defrauding the U.S. government and taxpayers by concealing cancer risks in Zantac, once a blockbuster heartburn drug. In a whis...
18h ago
UnitedHealth's unit announces new drug pricing model
(Reuters) - UnitedHealth's unit OptumRx will begin offering a new pricing model from next year to help manage insurers' costs for drugs, the company said on Monday. (Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
21h ago
US FDA approves Biocon unit's biosimilar to blockbuster eye drug Eylea
(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved Biocon unit's biosimilar to Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' blockbuster eye drug Eylea, according to information on the agency's website. (Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing...
May 20, 2024
US FDA clears Neuralink's brain chip implant in second patient, WSJ reports
(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has allowed billionaire Elon Musk's Neuralink to implant its brain chip in a second person after the company offered fixes to a problem that occurred in the first patient, the Wall Street Journal reporte...
May 20, 2024
UK's infected blood scandal could and should have been avoided, inquiry finds
By Paul Sandle LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's infected blood scandal that has killed 3,000 people and left thousands more suffering with hepatitis or HIV was no accident, a public inquiry found on Monday, blaming a catalogue of failures by government...
May 20, 2024
Shah Capital ends campaign against Novavax board after Sanofi deal
(Reuters) - Hedge fund Shah Capital said on Monday it would withdraw its campaign against the re-election of three directors on Novavax's board, after the COVID-19 vaccine maker struck a licensing deal with Sanofi. Under a deal signed on May 10, th...
May 20, 2024
Kirin's electric spoon leaps from Ig Noble infamy to the dinner table
By Tom Bateman TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese drinks giant Kirin Holdings will start selling an electrified spoon that researchers claim can promote healthier eating by enhancing salty tastes without extra sodium. Monday's product launch marks the firs...
May 20, 2024
S.Africa's top poultry producer flags bird flu risk amid vaccine delays
(Reuters) - South Africa remains at risk of bird flu due to delays in the roll-out of a broad vaccination programme, the country's largest chicken producer, Astral Foods, said on Monday. Last year, South Africa lost 9.5 million chickens, about a th...
May 20, 2024
AstraZeneca plans to build $1.5 billion manufacturing facility in Singapore
(Reuters) -AstraZeneca said on Monday it plans to build a $1.5 billion manufacturing facility in Singapore in an effort to enhance its antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) portfolio. The greenfield facility, which will be the drugmaker's first end-to-end AD...
May 20, 2024
Genetic profile may predict best response to weight-loss drug Wegovy
By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) - Certain genes may identify patients with obesity who are most likely to respond strongly to Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy, researchers reported on Monday. The study, released at the Digestive Disease Week meeting...
May 20, 2024
US race-neutral lung assessments to have profound effects, study finds
By Nancy Lapid (Reuters) - A guideline for U.S. doctors to ignore race in assessing lung health will likely have profound effects beyond the intended improvements in medical care, such as increasing disability payments and disease diagnoses for Bla...
May 19, 2024
Bird flu found in western China as US combats cattle outbreak
BEIJING (Reuters) - Cases of bird flu have been confirmed among wild fowl in western China, the agriculture ministry said on Saturday, as concerns grow over a U.S. outbreak infecting cattle herds. Two counties in Qinghai province confirmed 275 case...
May 18, 2024
Pfizer wins $107.5 million from AstraZeneca in US cancer drug patent trial
By Blake Brittain (Reuters) - AstraZeneca owes Pfizer $107.5 million in damages, a Delaware federal jury said on Friday after finding that AstraZeneca's blockbuster lung cancer drug Tagrisso violated its Wyeth unit's patent rights. The jury agreed ...
May 17, 2024
J&J-backed startup Rapport files for US IPO
(Reuters) - Biopharmaceutical company Rapport Therapeutics, backed by the venture capital arm of Johnson & Johnson, filed for an initial public offering in the United States on Friday. Rapport, which develops small molecule medicines for patients s...
May 17, 2024
Ontario reports first death from measles in over a decade
TORONTO, (Reuters) - An Ontario child under the age of five has died of measles making it the first such case in more than a decade, according to the provincial health agency. The child required hospitalization and was not vaccinated against the hi...
May 17, 2024
Moderna wins case in patent dispute with Pfizer, BioNTech over COVID shot
(Reuters) -Moderna has won a case at the European Patent Office in its dispute with Pfizer and BioNTech over its COVID-19 vaccine, the company said on Friday. "We are pleased to announce that the European Patent Office decided to maintain the validity ...
May 17, 2024
EU regulator scraps approval for pregnancy drug over cancer risk
(Reuters) - The European Medicines Agency (EMA) on Friday recommended scrapping approval for a drug used to prolong gestation, citing a "possible but unconfirmed" risk of cancer. The EU health regulator's Pharmacovigilance Risk Assessment Committee...
May 17, 2024
Investors demand clarity from Fresenius over dialysis group FMC
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Investors demanded more clarity from German healthcare group Fresenius SE on Friday regarding its plans to cede strategic control over dialysis group Fresenius Medical Care. "The volatility at Fresenius Medical Care seems to r...
May 17, 2024
GSK raises $1.5 billion from offloading Haleon stake at a discount
(Reuters) - GSK has raised 1.25 billion pounds ($1.52 billion) from selling its entire remaining stake in consumer healthcare firm Haleon, the British drugmaker said on Friday. GSK sold around 385 million shares at 324 pence apiece, amounting to a ...
May 17, 2024
Obesity and high blood sugar play ever growing role in ill-health, study shows
By Jennifer Rigby LONDON (Reuters) - Obesity, high blood sugar and high blood pressure among other metabolic issues now lead to almost 50% more years of healthy life lost to either disease or premature death than in 2000, a major international stud...
May 16, 2024
US FDA approves Amgen drug for small cell lung cancer
(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted accelerated approval to Amgen's tarlatamab, a targeted immunotherapy for treating adults with advanced small cell lung cancer that has worsened despite chemotherapy. The therapy, mark...
May 16, 2024
US unveils proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana
By Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday unveiled a historic proposal to ease restrictions on marijuana, a rule that if enacted would also enable more research on its medicinal benefits. The proposal, first a...
May 16, 2024
GSK intends to sell its remaining stake in Haleon
(Reuters) - British drugmaker GSK said on Thursday it plans to sell about 385 million shares, representing its entire shareholding, in spun-off consumer healthcare business Haleon. The latest offload will mark the fourth set of disposal GSK has had...
May 16, 2024