Reuters Health News Summary

The regulator said it has selected Merck KGaA's fertility drug Pergoveris, Sanofi's Type 1 diabetes drug teplizumab, Regeneron's DB-OTO for deafness and ketamine for domestic manufacturing of a general anesthetic. Novo Nordisk hires US pharma veteran as Trump pricing pressure mounts Novo Nordisk has appointed U.S. pharmaceutical executive Greg Miley as its new head of corporate affairs, as the obesity drugmaker faces growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on drug pricing.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Trump, Merck KGaA announce deal to cut some IVF drug prices

U.S. President Donald Trump and Germany's Merck KGaA on Thursday said they had struck a deal that would cut the cost of some drugs needed for in-vitro fertilization in exchange for protection from future tariffs. Trump also said Merck would offer all new drugs launched in the U.S. at the prices it charges in other developed countries.

Novo, Lilly's shares drop as Trump vows weight-loss drug price cuts

Shares of weight-loss drug makers Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly fell on Friday after U.S. President Donald Trump said that the price of Novo's popular Ozempic treatment would be lowered.

Although Ozempic is approved to treat diabetes, it has been frequently used in the United States as a so-called off-label treatment for obesity and often served as a generic reference to weight-loss drugs. The drug shares the same active ingredient - semaglutide - as the Danish drugmaker's blockbuster obesity treatment Wegovy.

US FDA announces recipients of national priority vouchers

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced the names of nine products, under a new fast-track review process, which could potentially get approval within one to two months of filing a complete application. The regulator said it has selected Merck KGaA's fertility drug Pergoveris, Sanofi's Type 1 diabetes drug teplizumab, Regeneron's DB-OTO for deafness and ketamine for domestic manufacturing of a general anesthetic.

Novo Nordisk hires US pharma veteran as Trump pricing pressure mounts

Novo Nordisk has appointed U.S. pharmaceutical executive Greg Miley as its new head of corporate affairs, as the obesity drugmaker faces growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on drug pricing. Miley recently served as senior vice president of government affairs at U.S. pharmaceutical giant AbbVie. He posted a statement on LinkedIn on Friday and Novo Nordisk shared the statement with Reuters.

Rani Therapeutics signs up to $1.09 billion licensing deal with Japan's Chugai Pharma

Rani Therapeutics on Friday announced a licensing deal to develop and sell an oral version of Chugai Pharmaceutical's experimental antibody, with options to expand to five additional drugs, potentially valuing the deal at $1.09 billion. Shares of San Jose-based Rani more than doubled in premarket trading.

Trump says price of Ozempic will be lowered

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the price of Novo Nordisk's best-selling weight-loss drug would be lowered and that negotiations over price changes would be swift.

Trump made the comments during a White House event on fertility treatments and drug pricing. He was asked by reporters to identify the name of a drug that he earlier in the event said would be made less expensive.

Novo Nordisk hires US pharma veteran as Trump pricing pressure mounts

Novo Nordisk has appointed U.S. pharmaceutical executive Greg Miley as its new head of corporate affairs, as the obesity drugmaker faces growing pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on drug pricing. Miley recently served as senior vice president of government affairs at U.S. pharmaceutical giant AbbVie. He posted a statement on LinkedIn on Friday and Novo Nordisk shared the statement with Reuters.

Indonesia's free meals scheme falls 15% behind for lack of kitchens

Indonesia sees its ambitious programme of free school meals reaching just 72 million recipients by year-end, against an initial target of 83 million, the head of the national nutrition agency said on Thursday, as it scrambles to add kitchens. Since the programme's launch in January, it has been marred by cases of massive food poisoning, affecting more than 11,000 children nationwide, data from non-governmental organisation Network for Education Watch (JPPI) showed.

Dutch agriculture ministry orders farmers to keep chickens inside due to bird flu risk

The Dutch Agriculture Ministry on Thursday issued a nationwide order to poultry farms to keep their birds inside and banned bird shows following the discovery of a case of bird flu on a chicken farm in the north of the country. The outbreak in the northern Drenthe province, the first in the Netherlands since March, led to an order to cull around 71,000 chickens last week.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)