Reuters Health News Summary

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk has launched its weekly basal insulin injection, Awiqli, in India, aiming to reduce the number of injections for type 1 and 2 diabetes patients from 365 to 52 per year.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novo Nordisk launches weekly insulin shot Awiqli in India

Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk launched its weekly basal insulin injection, Awiqli, in India on Thursday, aiming to compete with daily-dose options on the market. Awiqli, which Novo describes as the world's first once-weekly basal, or background long-acting, insulin approved for clinical use, is prescribed for the treatment of type 1 and ​type 2 diabetes in adults, the company said. It is designed to reduce the number of injections from 365 per year to 52, Novo said.

AstraZeneca, Daiichi near UK pricing deal for breast cancer drug, Bloomberg News reports

Drugmakers AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo are nearing ​an agreement with the UK's pricing regulator for their breast cancer treatment Enhertu, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing multiple people familiar with the matter. The National Institute for Health and Care ‌Excellence, or NICE, had previously ​rejected National Health Service funding for Enhertu, saying the treatment was not cost-effective.

Blackstone, TPG seek over $4 billion for Hologic's surgical unit, FT says

Private equity groups Blackstone and TPG are seeking more than $4 billion for medical technology firm Hologic's surgical unit, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter. Here are more details:

South African regulators issue recall of Ozempic copies

South African health regulators are recalling weight-loss medicines compounded by a local pharmacy group, iDexis, and have warned healthcare professionals that prescribing, dispensing or holding stock of these drugs could lead to disciplinary action, they said on Thursday. The warning follows a High Court interim order granted last month barring iDexis from manufacturing and selling medicines containing semaglutide, in a case brought by Novo Nordisk.

Serbia to cull 11,000 pigs due to African swine fever, Tanjug reports

Serbian authorities have begun culling 11,000 pigs at a farm in the west ‌of the country following an outbreak of African swine fever (ASF), the Tanjug news agency reported on Wednesday, citing Agriculture Minister Dragan Glamocic. The cull at the farm in the village of Hrtkovci is expected to take several days. Tanjug quoted Glamocic as saying the state would compensate the farm's owners.

Moderna wins EU contract for RSV vaccine supply

Moderna said on Thursday it has secured a European Commission contract to supply its respiratory syncytial virus vaccine to six countries in the region. Here are the details:

Space station bioprinting experiment advances quest for lab-grown tissues, company says

A biotechnology company says it has successfully used its 3D bioprinter aboard the International Space Station to manufacture structures containing human liver, kidney and cartilage cells, a step it believes could eventually aid production of transplantable tissues in orbit. San Diego-based Auxilium Biotechnologies said a recently completed mission marked the first time liver and kidney tissues have been bioprinted in space. The work was conducted using cells supplied by researchers at Wake Forest University, according to Auxilium co-founder Jacob Koffler of the University of California, San Diego.

Overcrowded shelters, poor water access pose health risks after Venezuela quakes, PAHO says

The biggest health risks following twin earthquakes that ripped across Venezuela's northern coast last month include interruptions to regular medical care, crowded ‌shelters and lack of access to clean water, the head of the Pan American Health Organization said on Thursday. The entity is working with Venezuela's health ministry to trace any outbreaks of respiratory or digestive illnesses, especially in shelters set up for those who lost their homes, officials from PAHO, the Americas branch of the World Health Organization, added in a call with journalists.

Sino Biopharmaceutical, GSK expand alliance with China rights to respiratory drugs

Hong Kong-listed drugmaker Sino Biopharmaceutical said on Wednesday its China unit had secured rights to market two respiratory drugs from British company GSK in ‌mainland China. Here are some details:

Alector and GSK partnership to end after dementia, Alzheimer's drug failures

Alector said on Wednesday that GSK had terminated their neuroscience collaboration agreement covering two experimental antibody drugs after both the drug candidates suffered clinical setbacks. The decision follows the failure of a late-stage study of latozinemab in a rare inherited form of frontotemporal dementia last year and the discontinuation of a mid-stage Alzheimer's disease trial of nivisnebart in April.

New Congo province has suspected Ebola case as deaths hit 600, report says

The Democratic Republic of Congo said on Wednesday that suspected Ebola cases had been reported in a new province, highlighting the expansion of the ongoing outbreak as deaths hit 600. The outbreak, declared on May 15, has so far infected 1,759 people across the eastern provinces of Ituri, North Kivu and South Kivu, according to the government's latest situation report published Wednesday night.

Analysis-Trump cut to food security survey could make measuring US hunger harder

President Donald Trump's cancellation last year of a government food security survey could make it difficult to assess whether his cuts to the food stamp program lead to a rise in U.S. hunger, especially among children. Trump's tax and spending law signed last July shifted significant Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending to states and expanded work requirements, among other changes.

Trump CDC nominee Schwartz set for July 15 US Senate confirmation hearing

Erica Schwartz, President Donald Trump's nominee to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will appear before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor ⁠and Pensions on July 15 for ​her confirmation hearing, the committee said on Wednesday. In April, Trump nominated Schwartz, who had served as deputy surgeon general during the COVID-19 pandemic, to become director of the ⁠CDC following multiple leadership shakeups at the health agency.

AstraZeneca's Wainua fails key heart disease trial, shares tumble

AstraZeneca's nerve disease drug Wainua, made in partnership with Ionis, unexpectedly failed a pivotal heart-disease trial, hitting the firm's shares on Thursday and casting doubts over the UK-based drugmaker's trial design. The setback dims prospects for a drug analysts predicted could have some $2 billion in peak sales, and is another blow for AstraZeneca after a U.S. regulatory panel in May rejected its breast cancer drug camizestrant on trial design grounds.

US FDA approves Vera's kidney disease drug

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Tuesday it had approved Vera Therapeutics' drug to treat patients with a potentially life-threatening kidney disease. The drug, Trutakna, is a self-administered injectable treatment approved for ⁠patients with immunoglobulin A nephropathy, also known as Berger's disease, which causes abnormal protein buildup in the kidneys and could eventually lead to the organ's failure.

Germany detects swine fever case in wild boar

A case of African swine fever (ASF) has been confirmed in a wild boar in eastern Germany, the country's authorities said on Wednesday. The case, which was detected in the state of Brandenburg within the ASF protection corridor bordering Poland in the Uckermark district, is the first case detected in wild boars in the area for more than a year, the state's agriculture ministry said in a statement.

Spire Healthcare takeover deadline for Toscafund extended to August 6

Britain's Spire Healthcare said on Thursday ​that the deadline for Toscafund Asset Management to make a formal takeover offer for the private hospital operator has been extended for a third time to August 6 from July 9. Here are some details:

AstraZeneca secures ex-China license for Sino Biopharmaceutical's experimental COPD drug

AstraZeneca will pay a subsidiary of Sino Biopharmaceutical $200 million upfront for the rights outside of China to an experimental chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) drug, the Chinese drugmaker said Wednesday. COPD, a progressive lung disease that obstructs airflow and makes breathing difficult, was the third-leading cause of death worldwide ⁠with 3.4 million fatalities in 2023, according to the World Health Organization.

India's Torrent Pharma recalls select semaglutide pens after Dr. Reddy's notice

Torrent Pharmaceuticals said on Thursday it was voluntarily recalling select batches of its Semalix semaglutide injection disposable pens after a product recall notification from its manufacturer Dr. Reddy's Laboratories.

Congo Ebola response workers protest over pay

Ebola response workers in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo staged protests outside three treatment centres on Thursday, saying they had not been paid all they were owed for their work. The outbreak has infected 1,759 people and resulted in 600 confirmed deaths since it was declared almost two months ago, according to the latest government data released on Wednesday.

Newer style hip implant significantly cuts dislocation risk

We also report on a potentially important discovery on how malaria ⁠parasites ​infect cells, which could lead to future preventions, and a study that adds safety reassurance for combination flu/COVID vaccines. IMPROVING HIP SURGERY OUTCOMES

China adds second GLP-1 diabetes drug to essential medicine list

China will add a second GLP-1 drug, used to treat diabetes, to a list of essential drugs all public hospitals are required to prioritise having in their formulary, a government statement said on Thursday. China, the world's second-biggest pharmaceutical market, has the highest number of adults with diabetes in the world, according to estimates from the International Diabetes Federation.

India's Dr Reddy's says semaglutide shipping disruption to last until at least late October

India's Dr Reddy's Laboratories said on Thursday that supplies of its generic semaglutide would remain unavailable in India and face disruptions in Canada until at least late October after an impurity issue in the drug's active ingredient halted production of new batches. On a call with analysts, CEO Erez Israeli said shipments already made to Canada, where Dr Reddy's launched its generic semaglutide in May, were unaffected. However, the impurity detected in a newly produced batch of active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) will disrupt supplies for the next few months until production resumes.

Exclusive-India finds Adani's Mumbai airport shops sold nicotine pouches in breach of law

An Indian ⁠investigation found that Mumbai international airport's duty-free shops run by billionaire Gautam Adani's business group breached the law by selling nicotine pouches, which the government considers a public health hazard, according to documents from the investigation. Adani denies wrongdoing and is asking judges to declare that a law covering drugs and cosmetics does not apply to duty-free shops and nicotine pouches, according to court papers reviewed by Reuters. Lawyers say the case could set a precedent on how India regulates sales at such outlets and a government win could block sales of one of the ⁠world's fastest-growing nicotine products in India's airports.

Obamacare insurers ask for second-highest premiums increase in nearly a decade

Companies offering Obamacare health insurance plans next year are requesting payment rates representing ⁠a 14% median increase to premiums over 2026 rates, according to data from health policy research group KFF. The proposed rate for 2027 represents the second-highest increase since 2018, KFF said. Insurers must submit proposals to regulators by July 15, detailing expected costs and planned price changes ahead of the new year.

Congo says number of confirmed Ebola cases rises to 1,708

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has increased to 1,708, including 580 deaths, government data showed on Wednesday.

New York sues 3M, DuPont, others over toxic 'forever chemicals' in consumer goods

New York sued 3M, DuPont and other companies on Thursday for harming the environment and people's health by selling "forever chemicals" that they knew were toxic, for use in consumer products. The state's Attorney General Letitia James accused the companies of hiding the risks of chemicals known as PFAS from the public for decades, even as ‌they began phasing out some of the chemicals.

Sanofi to stop disparaging rival flu vaccine to stave off ‌EU antitrust fine

French pharmaceutical company Sanofi has offered to state publicly that a rival flu vaccine is as effective as its own, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday of the company, which faces a fine for allegedly disparaging its competitor. Sanofi's proposal came two weeks after the Commission opened an investigation into ​whether the company disparaged a rival vaccine called "Fluad" made by CSL Seqirus, primarily in France and Germany, which competes with its "Efluelda" flu vaccine.