Reuters - Health Report

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Friday, October 13, 2017

Trump nails Obamacare with decision to cut off billions in subsidies

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump moved to undermine Obamacare dramatically late on Thursday by cutting off subsidies to health insurance companies for low-income patients, sparking threats of legal action and concern of chaos in insurance markets.

Sanofi boosts vaccines business with 170 million euro investment

VAL-DE-REUIL, France (Reuters) - Sanofi on Thursday expressed confidence in the growth of its influenza vaccines after committing to invest 170 million euros to expand its manufacturing facility at Val-de-Reuil in north-western France.

Allergan settles with one of four companies contesting Restasis patent

(Reuters) - Allergan Plc said on Thursday it reached a settlement with InnoPharma Inc, one of the four generic drugmakers challenging the patents for its dry eye medication Restasis in federal court.

Trump's not-so-quick fix to undo Obamacare

NEW YORK (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Thursday prescribed a quick fix to undo Obamacare through executive order after Republicans in the U.S. Congress failed to repeal and replace the healthcare law as promised, but industry experts said there are many steps involved that will slow it down.

FDA panel backs gene therapy for rare form of blindness

(Reuters) - Spark Therapeutics Inc's experimental gene therapy for a rare form of blindness improves vision and should be approved, advisers to the Food and Drug Administration concluded on Thursday, paving the way for the first U.S. gene therapy for an inherited disease.

Cardiac arrest survival odds may rise with public CPR training

(Reuters Health) - Training more community members, patients and families to recognize and respond to a cardiac arrest before medical help arrives may help more victims survive, a U.S. study suggests.

After concussion, teen girls may take longer to heal than boys

(Reuters Health) - Female adolescent athletes may take more than twice as long to recover from concussions as their male counterparts, a small study suggests.

Trump healthcare order could run afoul of retirement plan law

(Reuters) - President Donald Trump's plan to make it easier for small businesses to band together and buy stripped-down health insurance plans could violate a federal law governing employee benefit plans and will almost certainly be challenged in court, legal experts said.

U.S. NIH, 11 drugmakers partner to accelerate cancer therapy research

(Reuters) - The Trump Administration threw its support behind a public-private partnership with 11 drug companies to advance a new class of drugs that uses the body's immune system to fight cancer.

AcelRx Pharma shares sink as FDA rejects opioid painkiller

(Reuters) - Shares of AcelRx Pharmaceuticals Inc plunged more than 60 percent on Thursday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration declined to approve its opioid painkiller Dsuvia.