Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

From hunger to obesity: Developing world faces growing threat to child health

Intan Permatasari's mother simply couldn't refuse her daughter's pleas for food. By the time she was 4, Intan had outgrown all the kindergarten uniforms and had to wear home-sewn clothes to school. Bullied relentlessly by classmates as her struggles with obesity intensified, Intan quit school aged 12 and stayed at home south of Indonesia's capital Jakarta, rarely venturing outside.

India busts ​firm faking expiry dates, nutrition labels on PepsiCo, Nestle food exports

Indian authorities have raided an illegal operation in Mumbai that faked expiry dates and nutritional information on original food products manufactured by PepsiCo, Nestle , Coca-Cola and Unilever so they could be exported to other countries. Reuters got exclusive access to the warehouse ​last week as food officers conducted a six-day investigation and seized goods worth nearly $80,000. A photographer saw chemicals used to remove manufacturers' original expiry dates and ingredient labels, machines to print and apply replacements and ‌scores of label packs ​for products including Lay's potato chips and Maggi noodles.

US Pentagon issues clinical guidelines on troop testosterone screening to start immediately

The U.S. Pentagon issued detailed guidance on Wednesday for a new, mandatory testosterone deficiency screening policy for active-duty and reserve service members age 30 and older, a follow-up to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's July announcement.

The guidance, which is effective immediately, establishes standardized screening and treatment pathways for men and women that the Pentagon says are aimed at improving military readiness by identifying and managing hormonal and energy-availability issues.

US FDA is working with manufacturers to boost estradiol patch supply amid access concerns

The U.S. health regulator said on Thursday it is working with all six manufacturers to increase the supply of estradiol transdermal patches after reports of patients having difficulty in readily accessing them. A surge in demand for estrogen patches to ease menopause symptoms such as mood swings, hot flashes and sleep disturbances has strained supplies and led to shortages.

Health Rounds: Scientists find genes linked to OCD, raising the prospect of new treatments

We also report on ‌a study that may have found a way to prevent liver damage caused by fatty liver diseases, which affect millions of people. GENETIC DISCOVERY MAY LEAD TO TREATMENTS FOR OCD AND TICS

Transgene jumps 20% on positive cancer vaccine data in early trial

Transgene shares surged 20% in early Paris trading on Thursday, after the French biotechnology company reported positive Phase 1 trial data on its vaccine candidate for head and neck cancer. Investors have rewarded encouraging data from other personalised cancer-vaccine programmes as well: Moderna shares more than doubled after its melanoma vaccine data showed a reduction in the risk of recurrence or death.

Regis Healthcare says Australia's aged-care funding rise lags inflation, shares slump

Australia's Regis Healthcare said on Thursday that an increase in the government's funding rate for residential aged care would not keep pace with inflation across the sector and economy, sending its shares to a more than two-year low. The Department of Health, Disability and Ageing increased the Australian National Aged Care Classification (AN-ACC) starting price from A$295.64 ($211.83) to A$303.19, effective October 1, on Wednesday, taking the average funding from an estimated A$317 per resident per day (prpd) to about A$325.

Altria sues FDA over tobacco product review system

Marlboro-maker Altria on Wednesday sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, seeking to force the agency to overhaul a product review process that tobacco companies say has stifled their growth in the key U.S. market, a legal filing showed. Under U.S. law, the FDA must review new tobacco products ‌before they can be sold, assessing whether they provide a net public health benefit, such as helping smokers quit, without creating significant risk of new addiction among young people.

Health officials turn to mobile-phone data to track Ebola spread in Congo

Health officials battling the Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo are using anonymised mobile-phone data to map population movements and identify areas where the virus could spread next, according to the World Health Organisation and researchers working with it. The approach, which has not been used before in an Ebola response, comes as authorities struggle to contain what the WHO has described as the fastest-growing Ebola outbreak on record. Cases ‌have been confirmed in six provinces, with more than 6,250 people infected and 3,039 killed since the outbreak was declared on May 15, according to the latest government data.

Irish health service operator fined for storing data in disused bathroom, turf shed

Ireland's health service operator was fined a record amount for an Irish public body by the country's data regulator for storing medical records in "profound disarray" in areas including a turf shed and a disused bathroom that in some cases were contaminated by animal droppings. The Data Protection Commission imposed the €645,000 fine on Wednesday after inspecting 12 storage sites to determine if personal data breaches at two former disused and "mould contaminated" psychiatric hospitals where medical records were being stored were systemic issues.

As schools re-open, Congo drops remote learning plan in Ebola red zone

Schools reopened this week in areas of Democratic Republic of Congo hardest hit by Ebola, after authorities decided the risk of transmission was outweighed by the risk of pupils struggling with remote learning, an official told Reuters on Wednesday. The death toll from the outbreak - the worst in Congo's long history with the disease - has exceeded 3,000, according to government data published on Wednesday, with cases spread across six provinces and a mortality rate of 48.6%.

Congo's Ebola outbreak kills more than 3,000, government figures show

The number of deaths in Democratic Republic of Congo's Ebola outbreak has surpassed 3,000, government data showed on Wednesday, as the country's worst-ever epidemic continues to spread across its northeast. The outbreak, caused by the Bundibugyo species of Ebola, became the largest and deadliest in Congo's history after surpassing the 2018-2020 epidemic.

Nestle to build infant formula plant in Brazil as part of $393 million investment

Nestle will invest 2 billion reais ($392.73 million) in its nutrition and health division in Brazil through ⁠2028, including 600 million reais for a ​new infant formula factory in Minas Gerais state, the company said on Thursday. The nutrition and health allocation represents about 30% of the 7 billion reais Nestle has earmarked for Brazil between ⁠2025 and 2028.

Aspen sees Mounjaro Africa sales above $124 million in 2027

Aspen Pharmacare expects African sales of Eli Lilly's blockbuster weight-loss and diabetes drug Mounjaro to exceed 2 billion rand ($124 million) in its current financial year, buoyed by surging demand in South Africa and planned launches in Nigeria and Kenya. The South African company is Lilly's official distributor of Mounjaro in sub-Saharan Africa.

Indonesian officials suspect food poisoning from free school meal after more than 500 fall ill

More than 500 students in Indonesia's East Java were hospitalised with food poisoning suspected to have been caused by free meals provided by the government, and an investigation is underway, national and regional officials said on Wednesday. President Prabowo Subianto launched his multibillion-dollar programme last year to eradicate under-nutrition by giving free meals to tens of millions of children, but the scheme has suffered from controversies ⁠such as food poisoning, corruption allegations, leadership changes and a burdensome price tag.

Teva's immune disorder drug meets main goal in mid-stage trial

Israeli drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, said on Wednesday its experimental drug helped prevent gluten-related intestinal damage in adults with celiac disease, meeting the main goal of a mid-stage trial. U.S.-listed shares of the company were up nearly 3% in early trading.

WHO's Tedros says Ebola response must be scaled up to tackle Congo outbreak

The head of the World Health Organization on Wednesday said the Ebola response needs to be scaled up to tackle the outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with tracking the chains of transmission still posing a challenge. "Until every chain is found and broken, the epidemic will continue and will continue to pose a threat to DRC, its neighbours and the region ​as a whole," the WHO's director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, told reporters in Geneva.

US states' lawsuit seeking to curb abortion drug access paused for now

A federal judge paused a lawsuit by Florida and Texas seeking to severely limit access to the abortion pill mifepristone nationwide while President Donald Trump's administration completes a review of the drug's safety. U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor in Fort Worth, Texas, said on Monday that because the states' Republican attorneys general and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is conducting the review, had agreed to put the case on hold, it was reasonable to do so.

Ultragenyx's rare disease drug ⁠fails in late-stage trial; shares plunge

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical said on Wednesday its experimental drug for a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder did not meet the main goal in a late-stage trial, sending its shares down 45% in aftermarket trading. The drug, apazunersen, was tested as a treatment for Angelman syndrome, a condition that affects the nervous system and impairs typical brain development in childhood.

Novartis could cut about 130 jobs in Basel site relocation

Novartis could cut about 130 jobs in Switzerland as it relocates laboratory activities and shuts down some production in Basel, the Swiss drugmaker said on Wednesday. The company said it plans to transfer laboratories for biological cell banks, analytical testing procedures and technical development activities from Kleinbasel, an area of Basel, to its main campus in the city by the end of 2028.

Owkin signs AI drug discovery deal with Boehringer for cancer, immunology

AI company Owkin said on Wednesday it has signed ⁠a licensing deal ​with Germany's Boehringer Ingelheim, giving the drugmaker access to its AI research platform and patient data to speed up discovery of drugs for cancer and immunity-related diseases. The deal adds Boehringer to a growing list of drugmakers using Owkin's AI technology, "K Pro". AstraZeneca licensed it in May, while Sanofi expanded its partnership with a five-year agreement in June.

HUTCHMED (China) signs licensing deal with GSK for experimental solid tumour drug

GSK subsidiary GlaxoSmithKline Intellectual Property (No. 4) Ltd will pay a unit of HUTCHMED (China) $110 million upfront for rights to an experimental drug for solid tumours, the Chinese drugmaker said on Thursday. Shares in Hong-Kong-listed HUTCHMED were up about 15% after the announcement.

Canada assesses risks to imports after India raid finds fake labels on food products

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is looking into whether an illegal operation in India that labelled chips and other food products with fake nutrition information and expiry dates represents a risk to the country's imports. Indian authorities raided a Mumbai warehouse last week, seizing products worth nearly $80,000 as well as chemicals and printing machines used to replace old dates and nutritional information on PepsiCo, Nestle, Coca-Cola and Unilever products to make them suitable for export. The companies have not been accused of any wrongdoing, and the investigation is focusing on rogue exporters.

Aspen bets on manufacturing rebound, obesity drug push for growth

Aspen Pharmacare forecast strong double-digit earnings growth for fiscal 2027 on Wednesday, as the South African drugmaker bet ⁠on a sharp recovery in its manufacturing business and the global rollout of its generic weight-loss medicines. The company said manufacturing would be the primary driver of growth in the year ahead, and guided for group normalised earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of at least 9 billion rand ($561 million) on a constant currency basis.

More than 1,700 Indonesian students and teachers sickened this week due to free meals programme

Another 777 students and teachers contracted food poisoning in Indonesia's Central Java after consuming government-issued free meals, a school principal said on Thursday, bringing the total number of people made ill by the scheme to more than 1,700 in just ⁠a week. In separate incidents in three other locations this week, 950 Indonesians had fallen ill as a result of food poisoning linked to the programme, a member of a parliamentary commission overseeing health ⁠said.

Ultragenyx shares crater after Angelman syndrome drug fails late-stage trial

Shares of Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical plunged more than 40% in premarket on Thursday after its neurodevelopmental disorder treatment failed a closely watched late-stage trial, dealing a major blow to one of its biggest growth bets. The drug, apazunersen, failed to meet both its main goal of improving cognitive skills and its secondary goals of overall patient response in participants with Angelman syndrome, a rare condition that affects the nervous system and impairs typical brain development in childhood.

Exclusive-Kennedy asked to remove Pennsylvania measles death from CDC tally, sources say

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked his new CDC director to remove a reference to two Pennsylvania deaths from the agency’s online measles tally after he questioned whether the disease contributed to the fatalities, three sources familiar with the situation said. Kennedy’s request came after CDC staffers had already accepted the state’s characterization of the deaths as linked to measles, a Pennsylvania official said.

Novartis signs deal worth up to $3.2 billion for Alteogen's drug delivery technology

South Korea's Alteogen ‌said on Wednesday it has signed a deal with Novartis worth up to $3.22 billion, giving the Swiss drugmaker access to its ‌technology to make injectable versions of intravenous drugs. Here are the details:

uniQure seeks US approval for Huntington's gene therapy after FDA reversal

Dutch gene therapy developer uniQure said on Wednesday it had applied for U.S. approval of its experimental treatment for Huntington's disease after the FDA reversed its earlier position on the drug, sending the company's shares up 5% in ​premarket trading. Huntington's disease is a rare inherited brain disorder that causes movement difficulties and triggers behavioural changes and cognitive decline. No approved drugs currently exist that help slow progression.