Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Too weak, too strict: India's food warning labels draw fire from all sides

The Indian government is facing fierce opposition on proposed food warning labels from both health experts and food giants - activists say many items will escape scrutiny while companies warn that the strict thresholds will put red flags on a wide range of products. In ​a setback to India's over $100 billion packaged food industry, which has long opposed any form of front-of-pack warnings https://www.reuters.com/world/india-proposes-front-of-pack-warning-labels-packaged-food-response-consumer-2026-08-28/, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) last week proposed a red-coloured hexagonal label for products that exceed limits in at least two ​of three nutrients - added sugar, salt or saturated fat.

Robert Hunter to be new UnitedHealthcare president

UnitedHealth executive Robert Hunter said in a LinkedIn post on Monday he would ‌take on the role ​of president of UnitedHealthcare, the company's insurance division. Here are some details:

Roche outlines plans to move towards autonomous AI labs

Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche outlined plans to move towards autonomous AI labs to speed up research and development discovery at its pharma investor day on Monday. Roche is committed to "AI independence" in R&D and has recently started building autonomous AI-driven labs, Aviv Regev, executive vice president of Genentech Research and Early Development, said.

Indonesia to inject $1.1 billion into health insurer BPJS Kesehatan

Indonesia's government will inject 20 trillion rupiah ($1.11 billion) into health insurer BPJS Kesehatan to help the state agency cover its deficit in 2026, according to a government statement. BPJS Kesehatan has 285 million policyholders, making it one of the biggest single-payer health insurance providers in the world, but the agency often runs into financial problems.

Lilly touts Foundayo advantage over Novo's Ozempic pill in diabetes ‌analysis

Eli Lilly said its oral obesity drug, Foundayo, offers greater weight loss and better blood sugar control than a higher dose of Novo Nordisk's Ozempic pill in adults with type 2 diabetes, citing data from existing studies. The findings were based on an indirect comparison of Lilly's 17.2-milligram dose of Foundayo and Novo's 25-mg Ozempic pill, previously known as Rybelsus, using data from two previous late-stage studies, the US drugmaker said on Tuesday.

Merck licenses SciBrunch cancer drug in deal worth up to $2.13 billion

Merck said on Monday it would pay up to $2.13 billion under a global licensing deal with China's SciBrunch Therapeutics for rights to develop, manufacture and sell an experimental cancer treatment. The deal underscores Merck's efforts to broaden its cancer drug pipeline as it prepares for patent expirations on Keytruda, its top-selling immunotherapy, later this decade.

India's Sun Pharma plans $1 billion local debt sale for loan takeout, sources say

India's Sun Pharmaceutical Industries is planning to raise around 100 billion rupees ($1.04 billion) via a rupee-denominated debt sale to partly fund a bridge loan it took to acquire US healthcare firm Organon & Co., three sources said on Tuesday. Bridge loans are typically short-term loans taken before acquisitions to provide financing for ‌the deal, which can later be replaced with more permanent funding via bonds or loans.

Congo's Ebola infections cross 8,000, government says

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo has risen above 8,000 for the first time in the Central African country's ongoing outbreak, government data showed on Monday. The latest situation report from the public health institute put the number of cases at 8,067 and deaths at 3,901.

UniQure's Huntington's therapy fails to significantly slow disease progression, shares plunge

UniQure said its gene therapy for Huntington's disease fell short of ‌statistical significance on the main goal of slowing disease progression in a four-year analysis, sending its U.S.-listed shares plummeting 55% in premarket trading on Tuesday. In the study with 12 high-dose patients, AMT-130 showed 44% slowing of disease progression at 48 months when compared with an external control, but the data was not statistically significant.

Mirum's liver infection drug lowers virus levels in late-stage study

Mirum Pharmaceuticals on Monday said its experimental hepatitis drug reduced levels of the virus in patients, meeting the main goal of a late-stage study. Here are some key details:

Summit soars after $2 billion investment from AstraZeneca for cancer therapies

Summit Therapeutics' shares rose 23% in premarket trading on Tuesday after the drugmaker said AstraZeneca would invest $2 billion in the company to test cancer treatments together. UK-listed shares of AstraZeneca were up 1.6% to a two-month high after the Anglo-Swedish company announced the deal late on Monday.

Australia's CSL taps Amazon's cloud unit to boost research pipeline

Australian biotechnology firm CSL said on Tuesday it is collaborating with Amazon's cloud arm to harness AI and cloud technology across its research and clinical development pipeline. Here are some more details:

Pennsylvania measles cases cross 900 as outbreak grows

Pennsylvania's measles outbreak continued to worsen, with 68 new infections reported since Wednesday last week, bringing the total to 903 on Monday, health department data showed, as the state grapples with the worst measles resurgence in decades. Here are more details:

BAT predicts fast growth in smoking alternatives ⁠for the next decade

British American Tobacco expects ​revenue growth from smoking alternatives like vapes and nicotine pouches in the mid-teens in percentage terms each year until 2030, it said on Tuesday. The world's second-largest ⁠tobacco maker by market value will host an investor day later on Tuesday, where it will outline its strategy for growth until the end of the decade

BioNTech to shutter three sites in Germany as no buyers emerge

German COVID-19 vaccine maker BioNTech said on Monday that it would close German sites that it has failed to sell as it pivots away from pandemic-era manufacturing. "Despite the best efforts of all those involved and a wide-ranging sales process, it has unfortunately not been possible to finalise a sale," said a spokesperson.

Pope Leo defends entering political fray on France end-of-life law

Pope Leo on Monday defended his decision to vocally oppose assisted dying initiatives while in France, acknowledging he ⁠may have entered the political fray two months after the country approved such a measure, but wanted to share the Catholic Church's viewpoint. "If that's politics, I did that, but it was not to get involved in French politics, it was to teach what the Church really believes," the first US pope told journalists on his flight back to Rome from his four-day visit to France.

Novo says Ozempic shows lower risk of cardiovascular events compared to Lilly's Mounjaro

Novo Nordisk said on Tuesday a real-world study found that adults with type 2 diabetes who took an escalated dose of its diabetes drug, Ozempic, had a lower risk of major ​cardiovascular events compared to those who switched to Eli Lilly's Mounjaro. The company said patients who escalated their dose of Ozempic to 2 milligrams (mg) from 1 mg saw a statistically significant 6% lower risk of major adverse cardiovascular events compared to those who switched to Mounjaro doses of up to 15 mg.

AstraZeneca to invest $2 billion in Summit Therapeutics for cancer drug tie-up

Summit Therapeutics said on Monday that British drugmaker AstraZeneca would invest $2 billion in the company and collaborate on a series of studies testing ⁠their cancer treatments together. Summit's shares rose over 15% in extended trading following the announcement.

Novo to pay up to $2.6 billion to China's Hengrui for rights to weight-loss pill

Novo Nordisk will pay up to $2.6 billion to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals for the rights to an experimental weight-loss pill, expanding its pipeline through a second GLP-1 treatment deal with a Chinese partner. The deal helps Novo shore up its competitive position against rivals such as Eli Lilly, with several patents set to expire in the next decade.

India's top court allows forensic audit in Fortis-IHH Healthcare unit case

Malaysia's IHH Healthcare said on Monday that India's top court has disposed of Fortis Healthcare's petition challenging a court-ordered forensic audit concerning a decade-long dispute, allowing the audit to proceed. Fortis ⁠Healthcare had ​filed a petition challenging a late August court order, which directed the appointment of a forensic auditor into alleged asset dissipation by former promoters, or controlling shareholders, of Fortis.

Australia's Cochlear hit with shareholder lawsuit over 2026 earnings forecast

Australian hearing implant maker Cochlear said on Tuesday it had been served with a shareholder class action in Victoria's Supreme Court over its fiscal 2026 underlying net profit forecast, allegations the company denies and intends to defend. Here are some details:

Amazon, GoodRx target US prescription subscribers as health insurance coverage slips

Amazon.com, GoodRx and other companies offering online subscriptions that charge a flat fee for prescription drugs and other health services are reaping the benefits of Americans looking to combat rising costs and dwindling health insurance options. The prescription plans cost from $5 per month at Amazon to $14.99 at GoodRx and include free access to select generic drugs. GoodRx's program, called Companion, also offers discounts on telehealth and common vision, dental and lab services.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow restrictions on transgender inmates

President Donald Trump's administration asked the US Supreme Court on Monday to let it enforce a policy restricting gender-affirming care for transgender inmates in federal prisons, part ⁠of his crackdown on the rights of transgender people. The Justice Department filed an emergency request asking the court to lift Washington, D.C.-based US District Judge Royce Lamberth's order blocking the Federal Bureau of Prisons from enforcing the policy, while a legal challenge to the measure plays out.

Soaring cancer rates in Iowa emerge as a key US midterms issue

Pacing a stage at the Iowa State Fair, flanked by his wife and four of their six children, Republican US Congressman Zach Nunn spoke passionately about an issue that has emerged ⁠as a key concern in his competitive midterms race: cancer. "Look, my mom is a survivor. I know that it has touched all of us, our family, our ⁠friends," he said at the August event, touting his efforts to bring more money for cancer screening to Iowa's third congressional district.

US House Democratic Women's Caucus press health secretary on estrogen patch shortages

The Democratic Women's Caucus in the US House of Representatives has asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to address a shortage of estrogen patches to ensure a stable supply of the widely used hormone therapy, according to a copy of the letter seen by Reuters. The 96-member caucus' letter sent to Kennedy and FDA Acting Commissioner Kyle Diamantas on Monday evening seeks details on the prolonged supply disruption, a timeline for stabilization, and for the agency to consider adding the patches to its list of drugs and treatments in shortage.

AstraZeneca files for US FDA approval of HUTCHMED lung cancer drug combination

HUTCHMED (China) said on Tuesday that Anglo-Swedish drugmaker AstraZeneca had ‌applied to the US Food and Drug Administration for approval of the ORPATHYS-TAGRISSO combination to treat patients ‌with advanced lung cancer. ORPATHYS is being jointly developed by AstraZeneca and HUTCHMED and is commercialised by AstraZeneca.

US CDC confirms two measles-related deaths in 2026

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed two measles-related deaths in the country this year, up from one earlier, according to the agency's ​website on Tuesday. The confirmation comes as measles cases continue to rise across the country, with 3,659 confirmed cases as of September 24.