Reuters Health News Summary

This is the second time the regulator has refused to approve, dealing a blow to the company's years-long effort to market its pump-based treatment. More produce, less dairy for low-income families under US nutrition program changes Nearly 7 million low-income women and children will be able to purchase more fruits and vegetables but less dairy after the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized changes to a key federal nutrition program on Tuesday.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novartis to cut 680 jobs in product development

Novartis is to cut up to 680 jobs in its development organisation, which helps bring its drugs to market, the Swiss pharmaceuticals company said on Tuesday. Around 440 jobs will go in Switzerland and up to 240 in the United States over the next two to three years, the Basel-based company said.

Illumina CFO Goswami to depart, former Summit Therapeutics exec Dhingra to succeed

Illumina said on Tuesday Chief Financial Officer Joydeep Goswami will leave the gene sequencing company and be succeeded by former Summit Therapeutics' executive Ankur Dhingra. Goswami, who has more than two decades of experience in the life sciences industry, was the CFO since early 2023 and will serve as an adviser till June 30, the company said.

Pfizer RSV shot meets goals in trial of high-risk adults under age 60

Pfizer said on Tuesday its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine Abrysvo was well tolerated and generated an immune response in higher risk adults under the age of 60 similar to that in older adults, for whom the shot is already approved. Pfizer said it plans to submit its findings from the trial to seek expanded approval of the vaccine in adults ages 18 to 59, but did not give a time frame for when it expects the data to be considered by regulators.

Arizona's top court revives 19th century abortion ban

Arizona's top court on Tuesday revived a ban on nearly all abortions under a law from 1864, a half century before statehood and women's suffrage, further restricting reproductive rights in a state where terminating a pregnancy was already barred at 15 weeks of gestation. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled 4-2 in favor of an anti-abortion obstetrician and a county prosecutor who pressed to implement the Civil War-era statute after the Democratic attorney general of the key presidential battleground state declined to do so.

Evidence around youth gender care 'remarkably weak', says major English review

Medical evidence underlying gender care for adolescents is "remarkably weak" and provides little clarity on long-term outcomes, according to an in-depth review of care commissioned by England's state-funded National Health Service. Gender care can include anything from counselling to medications related to gender issues, including drugs that can pause puberty.

Experts recommend legalising abortion in Germany, media reports say

Germany should legalise abortions within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, a government-appointed commission has recommended, several media outlets reported on Tuesday. The health ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the media reports.

Moderna jumps as vaccine shows benefit in head and neck cancer in early study

Moderna shares rose 8% to a three-month high on Tuesday after the company's individualized cancer vaccine developed with Merck showed positive response in an early-stage trial in patients with a type of head and neck cancer. The vaccine, designed to train the immune system of patients to recognize and attack specific mutations in cancer cells, earlier showed promise in treating melanoma in a mid-stage study.

US FDA declines to approve Supernus' Parkinson's combination again (April 8)

Supernus Pharmaceuticals said on Monday the U.S. FDA declined to approve its drug-device combination to treat movement-related symptoms of Parkinson's disease, sending its shares down 9% in early trade. This is the second time the regulator has refused to approve, dealing a blow to the company's years-long effort to market its pump-based treatment.

More produce, less dairy for low-income families under US nutrition program changes

Nearly 7 million low-income women and children will be able to purchase more fruits and vegetables but less dairy after the U.S. Department of Agriculture finalized changes to a key federal nutrition program on Tuesday. The updates to the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), the first since 2014, were made to better align the program's food packages with the best dietary science, USDA said.

Philips shares rise on final US deal on sleep apnea machines

Philips announced the main terms of an agreement it reached in January with the U.S. government on its new sleep apnea machines, which has already cost the company over 360 million euros in the fourth quarter of 2023, sending its shares up almost 3% on Wednesday. Philips said it had reached what is known as a consent decree that spells out the improvements it needs to make at its Respironics plants in the United States.

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