Reuters Health News Summary

The four-hour surgery, performed on March 16, “marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients,” the hospital said in a statement. Wegovy to be covered by US Medicare for heart disease patients Heart patients insured under the U.S. Medicare program would be covered for Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy as long as it is prescribed to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes, the agency overseeing the program said on Thursday. Medicare prescription drug plans administered by private insurers, known as Part D, currently cannot cover obesity drugs.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Measles cases in US rise to 62 as of Thursday, says CDC

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday the number of measles cases in the United States has increased to 62 as of Thursday, higher than the whole of last year. The CDC issued a health advisory on Monday urging people, particularly children and international travelers, to get vaccinated against measles due to the increase in cases this year. Total cases were at 58 last week.

US surgeons perform first pig-to-human kidney transplant

A 62-year-man with end-stage renal disease has become the first human to receive a new kidney from a genetically modified pig, doctors from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston announced on Thursday. The four-hour surgery, performed on March 16, "marks a major milestone in the quest to provide more readily available organs to patients," the hospital said in a statement.

Wegovy to be covered by US Medicare for heart disease patients

Heart patients insured under the U.S. Medicare program would be covered for Novo Nordisk's weight-loss drug Wegovy as long as it is prescribed to reduce their risk of heart attacks and strokes, the agency overseeing the program said on Thursday.

Medicare prescription drug plans administered by private insurers, known as Part D, currently cannot cover obesity drugs. Under the new guidance, however, such drugs would be paid for if they receive U.S. approval for a secondary use that Medicare does cover, the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services(CMS) said.

US FDA grants full approval to AbbVie's ovarian cancer therapy

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Friday it had granted traditional approval for AbbVie's "guided missile" cancer therapy, Elahere, for patients with a type of ovarian cancer. Elahere was approved for adult patients with a type of cancer which affects the ovaries, fallopian tube, or walls of the abdomen, and have received one to three prior lines of treatment, according to the FDA.

UnitedHealth unit will start processing $14 billion medical claims backlog after hack

UnitedHealth Group said on Friday its Change Healthcare unit will start to process the medical claims backlog of more than $14 billion as it resumes some software services disrupted by a cyberattack last month. The company has been scrambling to resume services at the technology unit that was hit by a cyberattack on Feb. 21, disrupting payments to U.S. doctors and healthcare facilities and forcing the U.S. government to launch a probe.

Masimo plans to spinoff consumer business

Medical technology company Masimo Corp said on Friday it is evaluating a proposed spinoff of its consumer business, which includes its consumer health and audio products, sending shares up 13% in extended trading. The company, which makes equipment such as a pulse oximeter, also sells baby monitors and smart watches under its brand.

Germany's health insurance could cover Wegovy for strokes, heart conditions, agency says

Germany's public health insurance scheme can cover certain patients with a risk of heart disease or strokes to take the weight-loss Wegovy drug, a big boost for Novo Nordisk's efforts to convince governments of its wider medical benefits. The European Union's drug regulator has been reviewing wider use of the highly popular weight-loss drug Wegovy to include reducing the risk of strokes and heart attacks, adding to the previously-approved use to tackle obesity.

Chick-fil-A rolls back commitment to antibiotic-free chicken

Chick-fil-A announced it is allowing certain antibiotics in its chicken, overturning a commitment it made in 2014. The company said in a recent statement posted on its website that the change will take effect in spring 2024, and is intended "to maintain supply of the high-quality chicken you expect from us."

EU regulator delays decision on Eisai-Biogen Alzheimer's drug

The European Union's medicines regulator has delayed it decision on Eisai and partner Biogen's Alzheimer's disease drug that was expected this week, the Japanese company said on Friday. On Monday, the European Medicines Agency had said it would hold a oral hearing to discuss the drug, lecanemab, this week.

Exclusive-France picks German, French firms in second bird flu vaccine tender

France has picked German company Boehringer Ingelheim and France's Ceva Animal Health to supply bird flu vaccines as part of an unprecedented vaccination campaign against the disease that has decimated poultry flocks, the companies told Reuters. France has been among the countries worst affected by a global spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, in previous years, which led to the death of tens of millions of poultry in the country.

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