Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Novartis gene therapy would be cost effective up to $900,000: U.S. group

An experimental gene therapy for spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) developed by Novartis AG would be worth up to $900,000, according to an independent U.S. nonprofit organization that reviews the value of drugs and medical treatments. The Boston-based Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) made the determination using a commonly cited cost-effectiveness threshold that values each "quality-adjusted life year" (QALY) gained at $100,000 to $150,000. China reports two new African swine fever outbreaks

China on Sunday confirmed two new outbreaks of African swine fever, one in the northern province of Hebei and the other in the northern region of Inner Mongolia, as the highly contagious disease spreads through the world's largest hog herd. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs said the first outbreak is on a farm in the Xushui district of Baoding city which has 5,600 hogs, some of which died because of the swine fever, though it did not give a death toll. Trump administration bans abortion referrals at U.S.-funded clinics

The Trump administration said on Friday that taxpayer-funded family planning clinics which primarily serve low-income Americans will no longer be able to refer patients for abortions, a move that critics vowed to challenge in court. The new regulation was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of Title X, a government family planning program that serves about 4 million people. United States charges man accused in leak of Singapore HIV data

Authorities in the United States have charged a man accused of leaking information on thousands of HIV victims in Singapore with possession and unlawful transfer of stolen documents. Mikhy Farrera-Brochez was deported last year from the wealthy Asian city state after serving a prison sentence for numerous drug-related and fraud offences, including lying about his own HIV status. Bayer faces second trial over alleged Roundup cancer risk

Bayer AG is set to face a second U.S. jury over allegations that its popular glyphosate-based weed killer Roundup causes cancer, six months after the company's share price was rocked by a $289 million verdict in California state court. A lawsuit by California resident Edwin Hardeman against the company was scheduled to begin on Monday in federal rather than state court. The trial is also a test case for a larger litigation. More than 760 of the 9,300 Roundup cases nationwide are consolidated in the federal court in San Francisco that is hearing Hardeman's case. U.S. Senators launch bipartisan probe into rising insulin prices

Two top U.S. senators launched an investigation into rising insulin prices on Friday, sending letters to the three leading manufacturers seeking answers as to why the nearly 100-year-old drug's cost has rapidly risen, causing taxpayers to spend millions of dollars a year. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Senator Ron Wyden, the committee's top Democrat, sent letters to the heads of Eli Lilly and Co, Novo Nordisk A/S and Sanofi SA, the long-time leading manufacturers of insulin.