Reuters - Health Report

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Thursday, December 14, 2017

Ohio passes law barring abortion over Down syndrome diagnosis

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Women in Ohio would be prohibited from receiving abortions because of a fetal Down syndrome diagnosis under a bill that passed the state senate on Wednesday and is heading to Republican Governor John Kasich’s desk.

Treating bumps and humps: Dubai opens $10 million camel hospital

DUBAI (Reuters) - Pristine operating theaters and state-of-the-art medical equipment are featured in a new Dubai hospital that opened last week - exclusively for camels.

Bumper crop of new drugs fails to lift big pharma R&D returns

LONDON (Reuters) - It is shaping up to be a bumper year for drug approvals, with U.S. officials clearing twice as many novel medicines as in 2016, yet returns on research investment at leading pharmaceutical companies are down.

Obamacare sign-ups rise but overall enrollment set to fall

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The number of consumers who signed up for 2018 Obamacare health insurance surpassed the 1 million mark in the second-to-last week of enrollment, the government said on Wednesday, but it did not appear to be enough to grow the program.

Pfizer's second biosimilar of J&J's Remicade wins U.S. FDA approval

(Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Pfizer Inc's second biosimilar to Johnson & Johnson's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug, Remicade, the company said on Wednesday.

U.S. appeals court vacates conviction of drug distributor over Botox

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Wednesday vacated the conviction of the owner of a wholesale drug distributor accused of selling authentic Botox and other drugs with foreign labels, dealing another setback to the government, which has struggled at times to successfully prosecute similar such cases.

Seasonal flu kills more globally than previously thought: U.S. study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - As many as 646,000 people are dying globally from seasonal influenza each year, U.S. health officials said on Wednesday, a rise from earlier assessments of the disease's death toll.

U.S. study sheds light on how Zika causes nerve disorder

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A new study sheds light on how the mosquito-borne Zika virus causes a rare neurological condition, and the findings could have implications for companies working on Zika vaccines, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Novartis generics arm says may sell or end some products

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis's Sandoz generics business is in the process of selling or closing some products in the United States, it said on Wednesday.

Revance will wait to seek backing for Botox-rival

(Reuters) - Revance Therapeutics Inc will wait to seek partnerships with bigger drugmakers until it is closer to regulatory approval for its Botox rival treatment, Chief Executive Dan Browne told Reuters in an interview.