Reuters Health News Summary

08/18/2016 0:55

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Guatemala confirms first case of newborn with microcephaly linked to Zika

Guatemalan authorities on Wednesday confirmed the Central American country's first case of a baby born with microcephaly linked to Zika. Carlos Mejia, director of the infectious diseases department at Guatemala City's Hospital Roosevelt, said two other suspected cases were also being analyzed.

ResMed seeks patent injunction on Fisher & Paykel Healthcare

ResMed Inc said on Thursday it has filed legal action to stop the alleged infringement of its patented technology by New Zealand-based medical device manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Healthcare. ResMed said in a statement it filed legal action with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California in San Diego, as well as courts in New Zealand and Germany.

Most antipsychotic drugs not tied to birth defects

Pregnant women on antipsychotic drugs can continue taking most of those medications without worrying the pills will increase the risk of their newborns having birth defects, a new study suggests. "We did not see a meaningful increase in risk for any of the drugs with the exception of risperidone," said lead author Krista Huybrechts, of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston.

J&J says court finds Remicade patent invalid

Johnson & Johnson said a U.S. court had held its patent for autoimmune drug Remicade invalid, ruling in favor of two companies seeking to bring a cheaper version of the blockbuster drug to market. Remicade, J&J's biggest product, had $6.6 billion in sales last year. The drug's patent will lapse in September 2018.

Aetna warned it would cut Obamacare if Humana deal was blocked

Aetna Inc warned in July that it would exit much of the individual Obamacare health insurance market if the government challenged its deal to buy rival Humana Inc, according to a letter it sent to the U.S. Department of Justice. The public release of the letter came after Aetna said on Monday that it would pull out of selling individual insurance on the government-run websites in 11 states, citing financial losses on the business.

Tobacco companies get partial win in FDA labeling fight

Tobacco companies notched a partial victory in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's authority to require pre-clearance for tobacco products with changed labels or quantities. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday vacated part of an FDA directive stating tobacco companies may need the agency's clearance to market products with significant labeling modifications, such as a change in color or logo.

More evidence ties insurance coverage to cancer survival

In two new studies, U.S. cancer patients who are uninsured or have government-sponsored Medicaid insurance for the poor tend to be diagnosed later, receive less optimal treatment and survive for a shorter time than people with private health insurance. In one study of testicular germ cell cancer, which usually afflicts young men, 10 percent of patients were uninsured and 13 percent had Medicaid. They were 26 percent and 62 percent, respectively, more likely than men with other insurance to have metastatic disease - cancer that had spread by the time it was diagnosed. They were also less likely to undergo lymph node dissection.

Britain seeks to fight the fat with soft drinks sugar levy

Britain on Thursday launched a strategy aimed at curbing childhood obesity by taxing companies which sell sugar-laced soft drinks and investing that money in programs to encourage physical activity and balanced diets for school children. Urging food and drinks firms to act swiftly to cut sugar in their products, the government said nearly a third of children aged 2 to 15 in Britain are already overweight or obese.

Exclusive: Merck enters race for cancer drugmaker Medivation - sources

Merck & Co Inc is one of at least five pharmaceutical companies that submitted indications of interest in buying U.S. cancer drug company Medivation Inc earlier this month, according to people familiar with the matter. The strong interest in Medivation illustrates how demand for new cancer treatments, which can possibly add years to patients' lives, could mean billions of dollars in revenue to the companies that own them.

Calcium supplements tied to higher dementia risk for some women

Some older women who take calcium supplements commonly recommended to ward off age-related bone damage may face an increased risk of developing dementia, a small study suggests. The heightened dementia risk appears limited to women who have had a stroke or suffer from other disorders that affect blood flow to the brain, researchers report in the journal Neurology.

08/18/2016 0:55