Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Israel steps up Gaza strikes; polio vaccination halted by blockade
The Israeli military launched one of the biggest waves of strikes in Gaza for weeks on Tuesday, residents said, and health officials issued a new warning that healthcare faced total collapse from Israel's blockade of all supplies. Gaza's health ministry said a U.N.-backed polio vaccination campaign meant to target over 600,000 children had been suspended, putting the enclave at risk of the revival of a crippling disease that once had been all-but eradicated.
Bausch Health says Carl Icahn has exposure to about 34% of company's shares
Billionaire Carl Icahn has a total economic exposure of about 34% to Bausch Health's common shares, the healthcare firm said in a filing on Tuesday. While Icahn owns a 9.4% stake in the company, he has exposure to an additional 24.6% through cash-settled equity swap agreements, financial contracts that allow an investor to benefit from stock movements without actually owning the shares.
US Supreme Court grapples with Obamacare preventive care case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday considered the legality of a provision of the Obamacare law, formally called the Affordable Care Act, that helps ensure that health insurers cover preventive care such as cancer screenings at no cost to patients. The court heard arguments in the federal government's appeal of a lower court's determination that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, which under Obamacare has a major hand in choosing what services will be covered, is composed of members who were not validly appointed. Its 16 members are appointed by the U.S. secretary of health and human services without Senate confirmation.
Elevance reports lower-than-expected medical costs, confirms profit beat
Health insurer Elevance Health spent less-than-expected on medical care in the first quarter and beat profit estimates, days after rival UnitedHealth raised concerns over elevated medical costs. Elevance also reiterated its full-year profit forecast of $34.15 to $34.85 per share, and confirmed first-quarter adjusted shareholders' net income of $11.97 per share on Tuesday. Analysts had expected a quarterly profit of $11.38 per share.
KKR makes $1.2 billion offer for Sweden's Biotage
Sweden's Biotage said on Tuesday that KKR had made a cash offer for the Swedish biotechnology firm, valuing it at around 11.6 billion Swedish crowns ($1.22 billion). The offer price of 145 crowns per share represents a premium of 60.1% compared with its closing share price on April 17.
As Trump eyes coal revival, his job cuts hobble black lung protections for miners
Josh Cochran worked deep in the coal mines of West Virginia since he was 22 years old, pulling a six-figure salary that allowed him to buy a home with his wife Stephanie and hunt and fish in his spare time. That ended two years ago when, at the age of 43, he was diagnosed with advanced black lung disease. He´s now waiting for a lung transplant, breathes with the help of an oxygen tank, and needs help from his wife to do basic tasks around the house.
UnitedHealth spent $1.7 million on executive security in 2024, filing shows
UnitedHealth Group spent nearly $1.7 million on security for its top executives in 2024, the healthcare conglomerate disclosed on Monday, months after the fatal shooting of senior executive Brian Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel in December. The company also paid $207,931 on behalf of certain family members of the executives to provide them with personal and home security services, it said.
Quest beats quarterly profit estimates on strong demand for diagnostic tests
Laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics beat Wall Street estimates for first-quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by robust demand for its diagnostic tests. Demand for diagnostic checkups has grown in recent quarters as more people, especially older Americans, have sought non-urgent surgeries they had delayed.
Roche to invest $50 billion in US to avoid Trump tariffs, create 12,000 jobs
Roche said on Tuesday it would invest $50 billion in the United States over the next five years, creating more than 12,000 new jobs, in the latest massive investment by companies reacting to President Donald Trump's tariff policy. The announcement comes as drugmakers unveil investments to deal with tariffs from the Trump administration, which is seeking to boost domestic manufacturing.
UK's DCC to sell its healthcare division for $1.41 billion
British sales and marketing services provider DCC on Tuesday said it will sell its healthcare division to private equity firm Investindustrial Advisors' investment unit for a total enterprise value of 1.05 billion pounds ($1.41 billion). In November 2024, DCC had said it would exit its healthcare division and also look at options for its technology business in order to focus on energy, its biggest and fastest-growing business unit.
Getinge says tariffs will not change established supply chains
Swedish medical equipment maker Getinge said U.S. tariffs would not undo decades of global supply chains, after it reported quarterly core earnings just below market expectations on Tuesday. Shares of the company, whose products include ventilators and equipment for operating rooms, were down nearly 7% by 1135 GMT.
Indians battle respiratory issues, skin rashes in world's most polluted town
Two-year-old Sumaiya Ansari, a resident of India's Byrnihat town which is ranked the world's most polluted metropolitan area by Swiss Group IQAir, was battling breathing problems for several days before she was hospitalised in March and given oxygen support. She is among many residents of the industrial town on the border of the northeastern Assam and Meghalaya states - otherwise known for their lush, natural beauty - inflicted by illnesses that doctors say are likely linked to high exposure to pollution.
Walgreens to pay $300 million in US opioid settlement
Walgreens has agreed to pay $300 million to settle U.S. prosecutors' allegations that it illegally filled millions of invalid prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday. The money, plus 4% interest annually, will be paid out over six years under the terms of the agreement. Walgreens will also owe the U.S. an additional $50 million if the company is sold, merged, or transferred prior to fiscal year 2032, the Justice Department said.
Gilead says Trodelvy-Keytruda combo effective for aggressive breast cancer type
Gilead Sciences said on Monday a late-stage study showed that its drug Trodelvy used in combination with Merck's immunotherapy Keytruda significantly slowed disease progression in patients with an aggressive type of breast cancer. The Phase 3 trial compared the Trodelvy-Keytruda combo to a standard initial treatment of chemotherapy and Keytruda in 443 previously untreated patients with advanced triple-negative breast cancer whose tumors express PD-L1 - the protein targeted by immune system checkpoint inhibitors such as Keytruda.
US FDA suspends milk quality tests amid workforce cuts
The Food and Drug Administration is suspending a quality control program for testing of fluid milk and other dairy products due to reduced capacity in its food safety and nutrition division, according to an internal email seen by Reuters. The suspension is another disruption to the nation's food safety programs after the termination and departure of 20,000 employees of the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes the FDA, as part of President Donald Trump's effort to shrink the federal workforce.
Malnutrition treatments halted in Ethiopia due to underfunding, WFP says
The World Food Programme suspended malnutrition treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children in Ethiopia this week due to severe funding shortages, the U.N. agency said, with millions more at risk of losing access to aid.
WFP gets financing from 15-20 donors including the United States but many of them have cut funding this year, said Zlatan Milisic, WFP Country Director in Ethiopia. The agency has received exemptions from U.S. President Donald Trump's aid freeze that has disrupted humanitarian work around the world, he added, but little for 2025 so far.
Regeneron to invest over $3 billion to boost US manufacturing
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday it has signed a deal worth more than $3 billion with contract drug developer Fujifilm Diosynth, potentially doubling its U.S. manufacturing capacity and bringing its total investments in the country to over $7 billion. Major U.S. drugmakers, including Eli Lilly and Johnson & Johnson, have recently announced additional investments in their U.S. production as they prepare to deal with potential drug import duties from President Donald Trump's administration.
