Reuters - Health Report

Click to View in Browser

Wednesday, June 21, 2017

After weeks of secrecy, U.S. Senate to unveil healthcare bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans plan to unveil the text of their draft healthcare bill on Thursday as senators struggle over issues such as the future of the Medicaid program for the poor and bringing down insurance costs.

Drugmaker Mylan gets boost from unlikely source: coal

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Mylan N.V. is best known for producing EpiPen emergency allergy treatments and generic drugs.

U.S. Supreme Court ruling threatens massive talc litigation against J&J

(Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson is seizing upon a U.S. Supreme Court ruling from Monday limiting where injury lawsuits can be filed to fight off claims it failed to warn women that talcum powder could cause ovarian cancer.

Novartis eye drug works with fewer injections than rival

ZURICH (Reuters) - A Novartis drug to treat a leading cause of vision loss in people over 65 does not need to be injected as frequently as a rival medicine from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to be effective, clinical trials showed on Tuesday.

Shire wins U.S. approval for long-acting ADHD drug

(Reuters) - Shire has won U.S. approval for a long-acting attention deficit drug aimed at adolescents and adults, boosting its stock of medicines for the cognitive condition that affects millions of children and is being diagnosed more in older people.

Worldwide drug sale forecasts fall as pricing pressures mount

LONDON (Reuters) - Forecasts for global sales of pharmaceuticals have declined for the first time in a decade as continuing pressure on prices in the key U.S. market has caused analysts to moderate revenue expectations, according to a report on Tuesday.

Screen kids and teens for obesity, U.S. experts say

(Reuters Health) - Children and teens should be screened for obesity at doctors' offices starting at age 6 and advised to attend intensive weight management programs if needed, according to a U.S.-government backed panel.

WHO says child from Raqqa among 15 new polio cases in Syria

GENEVA (Reuters) - Fifteen new cases of polio have been confirmed in Syria, including a child who may have caught the disease in Raqqa, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Many Americans taking too much vitamin D

(Reuters Health) - Nearly one in five U.S. adults are taking supplemental vitamin D, and a growing number are taking excessively high doses linked to an increased risk of fractures, falls, kidney stones and certain cancers, a new study suggests.

Suburban docs and parents are OK talking about food insecurity

(Reuters Health) - Medical guidelines say pediatricians should always ask families whether they have enough food to eat, but would that line of questioning go over well in suburbia? Yes, it would, two new studies show.