Health News Roundup: Belgium plans temporary ban on use of Ozempic for weight loss; US FDA accepts AstraZeneca's self-administered flu vaccine for review and more

At issue is billing by Planned Parenthood after Texas announced its decision to terminate the organization as a provider under its Medicaid insurance programs for low-income people. Suspected fake Ozempic puts several in hospital in Austria Several people were hospitalised in Austria after using suspected fake versions of the diabetes drug Ozempic, the country's health safety body said, the first report of harm to users in a widening European hunt for counterfeiters.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Belgium plans temporary ban on use of Ozempic for weight loss

Belgium wants to temporarily ban the use of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Ozempic as a weight loss treatment amid a shortage of the medicine, the Belgian health minister said on Monday. "We have told doctors that they must reserve this drug for their patients who have type 2 diabetes but we see that this strategy does not work," Belgian federal health minister Franck Vandenbroucke told Belgian broadcaster RTBF.

Planned Parenthood must face trial over Texas Medicaid fraud claims

Planned Parenthood must face a trial in a $1.8 billion lawsuit by Texas accusing the organization of defrauding the Republican-led state's Medicaid health insurance program, a federal judge ruled on Monday. At issue is billing by Planned Parenthood after Texas announced its decision to terminate the organization as a provider under its Medicaid insurance programs for low-income people.

Suspected fake Ozempic puts several in hospital in Austria

Several people were hospitalised in Austria after using suspected fake versions of the diabetes drug Ozempic, the country's health safety body said, the first report of harm to users in a widening European hunt for counterfeiters. The patients were reported to have suffered hypoglycaemia and seizures, serious side effects that indicate the product contained insulin instead of Ozempic's active ingredient semaglutide, the health safety regulator BASG said in a warning issued on Monday.

HCA misses quarterly profit estimates on higher staffing cost

HCA Healthcare tightened its full-year forecast and missed Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Tuesday, hurt by an increase in staffing costs and weakness at its physician staffing joint venture Valesco. The shares of the hospital operator fell nearly 7% in premarket trading.

EU sets up new mechanisms to stave off medicine shortages

The European Commission on Tuesday launched some short-term measures to prevent medicine shortages this winter and the next as a stop-gap while a proposed pharmaceutical rules overhaul is hashed out by the EU's key legislative arms. After the COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing medicine shortages due to supply chain bottlenecks, the Commission proposed the first major reform of its pharmaceutical regulations in April and hopes to forge a closer health union.

US FDA accepts AstraZeneca's self-administered flu vaccine for review

AstraZeneca said on Tuesday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for review the company's application seeking approval for patients or caregivers to administer its nasal flu vaccine. If approved, the vaccine – branded as FluMist Quadrivalent – could become the first self-administered flu vaccine which does not necessitate a healthcare practitioner for administration.

Roche settles US patent lawsuit against Biogen over blockbuster arthritis drug

Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche has settled a patent lawsuit against U.S. biotech firm Biogen over its biosimilar version of Roche's blockbuster rheumatoid arthritis drug Actemra, according to a filing on Monday in Massachusetts federal court. Roche and its subsidiaries Genentech and Chugai Pharmaceutical jointly told the court without providing further details that they, Biogen and its manufacturer Bio-Thera had agreed to settle the case.

Centene beats quarterly profit estimates on lower-than-expected medical costs

Health insurer Centene Corp beat Wall Street estimates for third-quarter profit and raised full-year earnings forecast on Tuesday, helped by lower-than-feared medical costs. Easing fears over medical costs, which were expected to see a jump tracking a recovery in elective surgeries such as hip and knee replacements that were delayed by the pandemic, also helped rivals UnitedHealth Group and Elevance Health beat quarterly profit estimates earlier this month.

Quest raises annual forecast as routine testing recovery powers quarterly beat

Laboratory operator Quest Diagnostics on Tuesday raised its full-year sales forecast after beating third-quarter expectations for revenue and profit, buoyed by a recovery in routine testing. The company raised its full-year net sales forecast to $9.19 billion to $9.24 billion, from its previous expectations of $9.12 billion to $9.22 billion.

Novartis lifts 2023 earnings forecast for third time

Switzerland's Novartis on Tuesday raised its full-year earnings forecast for the third time, citing cost cuts and higher-than-forecast prices for a multiple sclerosis (MS) drug. The Basel-based drugmaker, which spun off and listed generic drugs business Sandoz on Oct. 4, said in a statement that it expects group core operating income to grow by a percentage of "mid to high teens" in 2023, up from "low double-digit to mid teens" predicted previously.

(With inputs from agencies.)