Reuters - Health Report

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Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Exclusive: U.S. needs to improve oversight of labs handling dangerous pathogens - report

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A year-long audit of the program overseeing U.S. labs that handle lethal pathogens such as Ebola and anthrax found overworked safety inspectors, an absence of independent review and weak biosafety protections that could expose lab workers and the public to harm, a government report will say on Tuesday.

Novartis asks FDA to expand Kymriah's use against blood cancer

ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss drugmaker Novartis is seeking U.S. regulators' blessing for its Kymriah cell therapy to be used against a second form of blood cancer after winning initial approval for the treatment earlier this year.

AstraZeneca plans new pivotal lung cancer trial with Incyte

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca is stepping up its bet on immunotherapy combination treatments to fight lung cancer by signing a deal with Incyte under which the two companies will start a final-stage Phase III clinical trial next year.

Aid groups struggle to improve dire conditions for Rohingya refugees

(Reuters Health) - More than a half-million Rohingya people have fled the latest wave of violence in Myanmar for refugee camps in Bangladesh, and most lack clean water, latrine facilities or even shelter from the elements, according to a Medicins Sans Frontiers physician based there.

Investor group presses U.S. drug companies on opioid controls

BOSTON (Reuters) - U.S. shareholder activists are addressing a soaring death toll from opioid drug abuse, asking companies that make and distribute the painkillers to review the risks their businesses could face from their role in the sector.

Novartis to buy French cancer specialist AAA for $3.9 billion

ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis has agreed to buy French-based Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAA) for $3.9 billion, giving it a platform in radiopharmaceuticals and access to a new therapy for the kind of cancer that killed Steve Jobs.

Obamacare benchmark premiums up 37 percent in 2018 after subsidy cut-off

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The average monthly premium for benchmark Obamacare insurance plans will surge around 37 percent in 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said on Monday, fueled by the Trump administration's suspension of billions of dollars in subsidy payments to health insurers.

Cancer-drug setback sends Merck shares down again

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A setback for Merck & Co's key cancer drug sent the drugmaker's stock swooning on Monday for a second straight session, putting the shares on track for their biggest two-day decline in more than eight years.

Chemed to pay $75 million over false claims lawsuit: Justice Dept

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chemed Corp and subsidiaries including Vitas Hospice Services LLC and Vitas Healthcare Corp have agreed to pay $75 million to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging false claims for hospice services to Medicare, the U.S. Justice Department said on Monday.

China detects case of foot-and-mouth on Guangdong pig farm

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Ministry of Agriculture reported on Monday a case of foot and mouth disease in a pig breeding farm in southern Guangdong province.