Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
US FDA widens probe of MDMA-based drug studies, WSJ reports
The U.S. FDA is ramping up its investigation of the clinical trials that tested an MDMA-based therapy, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The Food and Drug Administration investigators this week interviewed four people about the clinical trials sponsored by Lykos Therapeutics, the report said.
WHO boss calls for $135 million to stop mpox outbreak
The head of the World Health Organization called for global concerted action to control a new mpox outbreak, announcing a response plan that will require at least $135 million over the next six months. "Let me be clear: this new mpox outbreak can be controlled and can be stopped," Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to WHO member states on Friday, later posted on social media platform X.
Gabon records first mpox case
Gabon has registered its first case of mpox, the health ministry said in a statement that did not specify which variant of the viral infection was recorded. The World Health Organization has declared mpox a global public health emergency, after an outbreak in Democratic Republic of the Congo spread to neighbouring countries and a new form of the virus, clade Ib, triggered concerns about speed of transmission.
NY crisis pregnancy centers can speak about 'abortion pill reversal,' judge rules
Two New York crisis pregnancy centers and a national anti-abortion group can tell women about an unproven treatment to reverse the effect of the abortion pill mifepristone, a federal judge has ruled, a setback for efforts by the state's Democratic attorney general to crack down on such claims. U.S. District Judge John Sinatra in Buffalo, New York, wrote in a preliminary order late on Thursday that the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment guarantee of free speech protects the right of Gianna's House, Options Care Center and the National Institute for Family and Life Advocates (NIFLA) to "speak freely" about abortion pill reversal and "to say that it is safe and effective for a pregnant woman to use in consultation with her doctor."
US to offer free COVID tests in September as part of fall campaign
The U.S. government will provide free COVID-19 tests by mail starting in late September, as it kicks off a fall campaign urging eligible Americans to get vaccinated against COVID, flu and RSV, health officials said on Friday. Households can order up to four free tests through COVIDTests.gov, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services said at a press briefing.
J&J in talks with holdouts to $6.5 billion talc settlement
Johnson & Johnson said on Friday it is negotiating with plaintiffs' lawyers who have opposed the company's proposed settlement of lawsuits alleging its baby powder and other talc products caused cancer, seeking to eliminate holdouts to the deal. J&J has announced plans to finalize a $6.48 billion global settlement through the bankruptcy of a subsidiary company, after earlier efforts were rebuffed twice by federal courts.
Eli Lilly Alzheimer's drug to be blocked for use by NHS, The Telegraph reports
Eli Lilly's treatment for early Alzheimer's is expected to be blocked for use by Britain's National Health Service (NHS), the Telegraph reported on Friday. The drug donanemab would be rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which decides what drugs are available on the NHS, the newspaper reported citing insiders.
Exclusive-WHO says partners can start talks to buy mpox vaccines before its approval
The World Health Organization said on Friday its partners such as Gavi and UNICEF can start buying mpox vaccines before they are approved by the U.N. health agency, to get inoculations to Africa faster as the continent battles an escalating outbreak of the virus. Traditionally, organisations like Gavi, which helps lower-income countries buy vaccines, can only start purchasing shots once they have approval from the WHO. But the rules have been relaxed in this instance to get talks moving, as the WHO's approval is due in a few weeks.
US FDA classifies recall of Inari's catheter devices as 'most serious'
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday classified a recall of Inari Medical's ClotTriever catheter that helps capture and remove large clot from big vessels as "most serious". The affected products include all devices and lot numbers with labeled dates prior to Aug. 1, 2024, whose use might cause serious adverse health consequences, including device entrapment, vessel damage, and/or blockage of lung arteries and death, the FDA said.
Analysis-Ozempic on Wall Street's list for 2027 Medicare drug negotiations
Now that the U.S. government has negotiated prices for some Medicare program drugs effective in 2026, Wall Street analysts are betting on a 2027 list that will include Novo Nordisk's blockbuster Ozempic for diabetes and have a limited impact on Big Pharma. Other possible 2027 candidates include Pfizer's cancer drugs Ibrance and Xtandi, GSK's asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) treatment Trelegy Ellipta, Teva's Huntington's disease treatment Austedo and Abbvie's irritable bowel syndrome drug Linzess, according to five analysts as well as researchers and company executives.
