Reuters - Health Report

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Friday, September 8, 2017

Roche blood test could help 'personalize' cancer immunotherapy

MADRID (Reuters) - A new blood test from Roche and Foundation Medicine has shown it can accurately measure the number of mutations within a tumor, potentially helping to predict which patients may respond best to some immunotherapies.

Lilly to lay off 8 percent of employees in bid to cut costs

(Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co said on Thursday it would lay off about 8 percent of its employees as the drugmaker, which has suffered setbacks over the past year in the development of two potential blockbuster drugs, works to cut costs.

Merck's immunotherapy, chemo mix shows extended lung cancer gains

MADRID (Reuters) - Giving Merck & Co's immunotherapy drug Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy for previously untreated advanced lung cancer appears to provide durable benefits, according to an update of a closely watched clinical trial.

Bristol-Myers stops kidney cancer drug test after early success

(Reuters) - Bristol-Myers Squibb Co said on Thursday the success of its combination therapy to improve overall survival in kidney cancer patients helped it end the trial well ahead of schedule, despite earlier reporting mixed results on other main goals.

U.S. FDA warns of problems with EpiPen manufacturing plant

(Reuters) - A U.S. regulator this week told Pfizer Inc’s Meridian Medical Technologies division, maker of the EpiPen injector device, that serious component and product failures have been associated with patient deaths and severe illness.

Four-year-old Californian boy fights fatal disease with new treatment

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Ely Bowman, like most four-year olds, is a bundle of energy. He spends his days riding his toy car though the backyard of his Irvine, California, home, bowling with his pint-size ball and pins, and dancing under his bedroom disco ball.

Canada's top marijuana producer to double production

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's biggest licensed producer of medical marijuana has bought land next to its greenhouse production site that will allow it to more than double the total volume of cannabis it can grow, its chief executive said on Thursday.

New Mexico sues opioid drug manufacturers, distributors

(Reuters) - New Mexico on Thursday sued eight opioid manufacturers and wholesale distributors, becoming the latest state or local government to file a lawsuit seeking to hold corporations accountable for a national drug addiction epidemic.

More evidence links exercise to lower stroke risk

Reuters Health) - Women who consistently get the minimum recommended amount of exercise for a healthy heart may be less likely to have a stroke than their counterparts whose exercise habits shift over time, a recent U.S. study suggests.

Positive lung drug trial opens path to U.S. market for Circassia

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca said its drug Duaklir improved lung function in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in a new study, paving the way for likely approval in the U.S., where the commercial rights are held by Britain's Circassia.