Reuters - Health Report

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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Details on surprise Novartis heart drug success due Aug 27

LONDON (Reuters) - Full details on the surprise success of a Novartis anti-inflammatory drug in cutting cardiovascular risk for heart attack survivors will be presented at a medical meeting on Aug. 27, conference organizers said on Thursday.

South African culls 260,000 birds so far to contain bird flu outbreak-minister

PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa has culled 260,000 birds so far to contain an H5N8 bird flu outbreak, Agriculture Minister Senzeni Zokwana told a news briefing on Thursday.

AstraZeneca, Chi-Med take kidney cancer drug into final testing

LONDON (Reuters) - AstraZeneca and Hutchison China MediTech said on Thursday they had initiated a global late-stage clinical trial of the experimental drug savolitinib in a relatively rare type of kidney cancer.

Senate Republicans struggle to salvage healthcare effort

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. Senate Republican struggled on Wednesday to salvage major healthcare legislation sought by President Donald Trump, meeting privately with a parade of skeptical senators as critics within the party urged substantial changes.

Ohio lawmakers vote to freeze Medicaid expansion

CLEVELAND (Reuters) - Ohio's Republican-controlled legislature voted on Wednesday to freeze enrollment in the state's Medicaid healthcare insurance for the poor, setting the stage for a showdown with Republican Governor John Kasich, who favors expanding the program.

Vectura signs deal with Novartis for generic U.S. lung therapy

(Reuters) - Vectura Group Plc said on Wednesday it has signed an exclusive deal with Sandoz AG, a unit of Swiss drugmaker Novartis, to develop a generic copy of an existing combined lung therapy for the U.S. market.

World Bank launches 'pandemic bond' to tackle major outbreaks

LONDON (Reuters) - The World Bank has launched a "pandemic bond" to support an emergency financing facility intended to release money quickly to fight a major health crisis like the 2014 Ebola outbreak.

Air pollution limits in U.S. inadequate to prevent deaths

(Reuters Health) - With the Trump Administration threatening to loosen air pollution controls, a new study is showing that even existing rules are causing tens of thousands of extra deaths in the United States each year.

China eyes healthcare payment shake-up to trim costs

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China will push to diversify how it pays the healthcare costs for its nearly 1.4 billion people in a bid to stem "irrational growth" of medical costs, the finance ministry said in a statement on Thursday.

Bullied teens report more gun access

(Reuters Health) - U.S. teens who report being bullied are three times more likely to say they have access to loaded guns than kids who weren't bullied, a new study found.