Reuters - Health Report

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Monday, October 23, 2017

GSK wins U.S. shingles vaccine approval, UK nod for gene therapy

LONDON (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline has won U.S. approval for a new and improved shingles vaccine, the second of three key products for which the British drugmaker expects approval this year.

Listeria risk prompts Meijer to recall produce in six U.S. states

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailer Meijer Inc said it was recalling packaged vegetables in six U.S. states because of possible contamination from Listeria monocytogenes bacteria, which can cause fatal food poisoning in young children, pregnant women and elderly or frail people.

Novartis gets FDA breakthrough status for Tafinlar, Mekinist combination

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis on Monday said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted breakthrough therapy status to the combination of Tafinlar and Mekinist to treat patients with BRAF V600-positive stage III melanoma following surgery.

McConnell on healthcare bills: What does Trump want?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said on Sunday he was willing to bring healthcare legislation up for a vote but was waiting for the go-ahead from President Donald Trump, who sent mixed signals last week about a bipartisan bill that would shore up insurance markets.

Britain backs GSK's gene therapy for 'bubble boy' syndrome

(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline's gene therapy for the so-called "bubble boy" disease was approved by Britain's healthcare cost watchdog NICE, despite a price tag of almost 600,000 euros ($700,000).

Mugabe removed as WHO goodwill envoy after outrage

GENEVA/LONDON (Reuters) - Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has been removed as a goodwill ambassador, the World Health Organization said on Sunday, following outrage among Western donors and rights groups at his appointment.

Short on staff: Nursing crisis strains U.S. hospitals

MORGANTOWN, West Virginia (Reuters) - A shortage of nurses at U.S. hospitals hit West Virginia's Charleston Area Medical Center at the worst possible time.

Pharmacist's 'deadly' choices sparked U.S. meningitis outbreak: prosecutors

BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal prosecutor told jurors on Friday that a Massachusetts pharmacist gambled with patients' lives by making drugs in unsafe ways that led to a deadly 2012 fungal meningitis outbreak, but a defense lawyer said he was no murderer.

California judge tosses $417 million talc cancer verdict against Johnson & Johnson

(Reuters) - A California judge on Friday threw out a $417 million verdict against Johnson & Johnson in a lawsuit by a woman who claimed she developed ovarian cancer after using its talc-based products like Johnson's Baby Powder for feminine hygiene.

DBV Technologies peanut allergy drug fails key study

(Reuters) - DBV Technologies SA said on Friday its peanut allergy treatment did not meet the main goal in a highly anticipated late-stage study, sending its U.S.-listed shares sharply down.