Health News Roundup: GSK's injectable HIV drug shows promise over daily pills; Fentanyl use spreads deeper into Mexico, on heels of US epidemic and more

Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 years when health systems were overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases. South Korea emergency units turn back patients as doctors protest South Korea's biggest hospitals cancelled procedures and turned away patients seeking emergency care on Wednesday after thousands of trainee doctors walked off the job in protest at a government plan to boost medical school admissions.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Medtronic lifts annual profit forecast, exits ventilator business

Medical device maker Medtronic raised annual profit forecast for the third time this fiscal year, after beating third-quarter expectations on Tuesday, helped by higher demand for its heart and diabetes devices. Demand for medical devices has picked up pace as non-urgent procedures, which were deferred during the pandemic, recovered in the past year with easing hospital staff shortages and people becoming regular with check-ups.

GSK's injectable HIV drug shows promise over daily pills

British drugmaker GSK said on Wednesday its long-acting injectable HIV therapy showed promise in keeping the viral load suppressed compared to daily oral treatment, especially in individuals facing challenges with pill intake. The interim analysis of a late-stage trial on the therapy known as Cabenuva demonstrated superior efficacy in maintaining viral load suppression compared to daily oral therapy in individuals with a history of adherence challenges to oral antiretroviral treatment, which is used to suppress and mitigate the progression of the disease.

Explainer-Why are South Korean trainee doctors on strike over medical school quotas?

Almost 8,000 trainee doctors have walked off the job in South Korea to protest a government plan to admit more students to medical schools, and more are expected to join them. Trainee doctors say the government needs to address pay and working conditions first before boosting the number of physicians, while authorities say more staff are needed to increase healthcare services in remote areas and meet the growing demands of one of the world's most rapidly ageing societies.

Fentanyl use spreads deeper into Mexico, on heels of US epidemic

The teenager who arrived at Jose de Jesus Lopez's drug rehab clinic in the industrial Mexican city of Monterrey in December had unusual symptoms. The 17-year-old's family had taken the boy to hospital a few days earlier when he'd had trouble breathing and then passed out after supposedly consuming cocaine, the director said. Now he was sweaty and nauseous. He'd been vomiting and couldn't sleep.

United Therapeutics starts litigation with FDA over rival Liquidia's drug application

United Therapeutics said on Wednesday it had filed a case with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, alleging that due procedure was not followed in allowing rival Liquidia's application for a blood pressure drug. United Therapeutics alleged that Liquidia skirted long standing FDA rules, precedents and procedures when it filed its application for an inhaled dry powder of treprostinil for pulmonary hypertension associated with interstitial lung disease (PH-ILD).

Teladoc slides on 'anemic' 2024 sales forecast

Shares of Teladoc Health slumped 20% after the biggest publicly listed telehealth firm forecast 2024 sales below expectations on sluggish demand for its online mental health platform. At least two analysts said while the company managed to improve its margin in the fourth quarter, the weaker sales forecast for this year highlighted continued challenges in demand for its online mental health platform, BetterHelp.

More than half the world faces high measles risk, WHO says

More than half the world's countries will be at high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent preventative measures are taken, the World Health Organization warned on Tuesday. Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 years when health systems were overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases.

South Korea emergency units turn back patients as doctors protest

South Korea's biggest hospitals cancelled procedures and turned away patients seeking emergency care on Wednesday after thousands of trainee doctors walked off the job in protest at a government plan to boost medical school admissions. One hospital, the Asan Medical Center in Seoul, put up a sign saying its emergency unit was only handling cardiac arrest cases. The emergency departments at the other four hospitals were also on "red alert", according to a government bulletin, meaning they were running out of beds.

AbbVie taps Robert Michael to replace Gonzalez as CEO in July

AbbVie on Tuesday said Chief Operating Officer Robert Michael would succeed Richard Gonzalez to become the second-ever CEO of the drugmaker on July 1. Gonzalez, 70, who has been at the company's helm since it was formed through a spin-off from Abbott in 2013, will become executive chairman of AbbVie's board once he steps down.

FDA warns consumers over use of smartwatches to measure blood glucose levels

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday warned consumers to not use smartwatches or smart rings that claim to measure blood glucose levels without piercing the skin.

The smartwatch devices are different from applications that display data from FDA-authorized blood glucose measuring devices that pierce the skin, like continuous glucose monitoring devices, the health regulator said.

(With inputs from agencies.)