Reuters Health News Summary

On Thursday, Justice Michael Lee of Australia's Federal Court will only rule on whether Roundup can cause non-Hodgkins lymphoma and not on whether subsidiaries of Bayer were negligent regarding the risks its products posed and should pay damages. Molina Healthcare beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher premiums Molina Healthcare beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, driven by higher premiums from its government-backed Medicaid insurance plans for low-income individuals.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Australian court to rule on whether Bayer weedkiller can cause blood cancer

An Australian judge will rule on Thursday on whether Bayer's Roundup weedkiller can cause a type of blood cancer, a closely watched decision that follows some jury verdicts in similar U.S. cases that have found for the plaintiffs. On Thursday, Justice Michael Lee of Australia's Federal Court will only rule on whether Roundup can cause non-Hodgkins lymphoma and not on whether subsidiaries of Bayer were negligent regarding the risks its products posed and should pay damages.

Molina Healthcare beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher premiums

Molina Healthcare beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter earnings on Wednesday, driven by higher premiums from its government-backed Medicaid insurance plans for low-income individuals. Shares of the health insurance provider rose 12.2% at $322 in after-market trading.

Pharma aims to deliver personalized cancer therapies more quickly

Big pharmaceutical companies that make personalized blood cancer treatments are working to cut the manufacturing turnaround time by as much as half in coming years, as they try to deliver them sooner in a patient's disease course. These treatments known as CAR-T therapies are used for the sickest patients for whom standard treatments have failed. They involve removing a patient's T cells - a key component of the immune system - after which they are re-engineered to recognize and attack malignant cells once they are re-infused.

As Canadian drug deaths rise, programs to keep users safe face backlash

Years into a drug overdose crisis, Canada is facing backlash against government-sanctioned programs such as legal injection sites designed to keep users alive without curtailing drug use. The British Columbia government has walked back a pilot project to decriminalize small quantities of illicit drugs in public places in the province. Police there also are prosecuting activists seeking to make safe drugs available.

Healthcare firm Concentra prices US IPO at nearly $3 billion valuation

Concentra Group set the pricing of its U.S. initial public offering (IPO) at a valuation of $2.97 billion, the U.S. healthcare firm said on Wednesday. The company, which is a unit of Select Medical , priced its IPO at $23.5 apiece, close to the lower end of its targeted range of $23 to $26. It aims to raise around $528.8 million.

Children at risk as mpox variant hits Congo displacement camps

Scars from the mpox pustules are still visible on 7-year old Grace Kabuo's face, as well as on a handful of her playmates at a camp for displaced people near Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Grace has otherwise recovered from the virus. Her mother Denise Kahindo says she is still unsure how her daughter was infected earlier this month.

Universal Health Services beats second-quarter profit estimates on higher hospital admissions

Hospital operator Universal Health Services beat Wall Street estimates for second-quarter profit on Wednesday, helped by higher patient admissions. Shares of the company were up 6.2% at $197.50 after the bell.

Biogen and Sage to scrap neurological disorder drug development after trial failure

Biogen and Sage Therapeutics do not plan to conduct further studies for their neurological disorder drug after it failed in a mid-stage trial, the drugmakers said on Wednesday. Shares of Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Sage Therapeutics slumped 27% in premarket trading.

UK regulator authorises updated Pfizer-BioNTech COVID shot targeting JN.1 strain

Britain's health regulator said on Wednesday it has authorised Pfizer and BioNTech's updated COVID-19 vaccine that targets the JN.1 subvariant for use in infants, children and adults. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said it has approved four forms of the adapted Comirnaty JN.1 vaccine after reviewing its safety, quality and effectiveness.

Pfizer's gene therapy cuts hemophilia A bleeding rate in late-stage trial

Pfizer's gene therapy for hemophilia A significantly cut the number of annual bleeding episodes in patients with the rare disorder in a late-stage study and performed better than the current standard treatment, the company said on Wednesday. The data takes Pfizer one step closer to securing U.S. regulatory approval for a second gene therapy to treat hemophilia.

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