Reuters - Health Report

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Wednesday, February 14, 2018

Drug copies ready to take next bite out of Roche's cancer sales

LONDON (Reuters) - European oncologists will soon get their hands on cut-price copies of breast cancer drug Herceptin, turning the screws on maker Roche and giving another boost to a new breed of companies focused on so-called biosimilars.

U.S. can sue UnitedHealth in $1 billion Medicare case, judge rules

(Reuters) - A federal judge has ruled the U.S. Justice Department can move forward with a lawsuit claiming UnitedHealth Group Inc wrongly retained more than $1 billion from the government healthcare program Medicare.

Tetraphase's antibiotic fails late-stage study, shares plummet

(Reuters) - Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals Inc said on Tuesday its lead experimental antibiotic to treat serious infections did not meet the main goals in a late-stage study, sending its shares plunging more than 60 percent in after-market trading.

Thailand bets on 'magic pills' to boost declining birth rate

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand has tried cash bonuses and tax incentives to boost the country's birth rate, but on Valentine's Day today it adopted a new approach - handing out vitamin pills.

Merck scraps another late-stage Alzheimer's drug study

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Merck & Co Inc on Tuesday said it will end another late-stage trial of an Alzheimer's drug because it was unlikely to work, adding to the pile-up of failures to find an effective treatment for the mind-wasting disease.

Vigilant adherence to celiac diet linked with lower quality of life

(Reuters Health) - People with celiac disease who are extremely vigilant about not ingesting gluten may perceive that their quality of life is reduced, according to a new study.

Novartis gains U.S. approval for delayed MS drug

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis's Sandoz division has won U.S. approval for a larger dosage of its Glatopa drug for multiple sclerosis (MS) patients, ending a costly delay that allowed rival generics makers to beat it to market.

Lactalis failed to report salmonella on a product -government official

PARIS (Reuters) - French dairy group Lactalis, facing a growing scandal over salmonella-tainted baby milk, did not report the bacteria had been found on products in the same factory in 2011, a government official said on Tuesday.

Family history increases breast cancer risk even for older women

(Reuters Health) - Women are more likely to develop breast cancer when a mother or sister had this disease, and the risk associated with family history doesn’t appear to diminish with age, a U.S. study suggests.

Amerisource deal may not keep Walgreens competitive: analysts

(Reuters) - Walgreens' potential deal for drug distributor AmerisourceBergen will boost its cash flow and push it deeper into a lucrative specialty pharmacy market, but may fail to keep it competitive in an evolving U.S. healthcare sector, analysts said.