Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

German ​and US scientists win Nobel medicine ​prize for work on light and ‌brain

American Karl ​Deisseroth and Germans Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for developing ‌optogenetics, a technique that uses light to control individual nerve cells in the brain. The Nobel Assembly of Sweden's Karolinska Institute said Deisseroth, 54, Hegemann, 71, and Nagel, 73, were selected for their "discoveries ‌concerning light-gated ion channels and optogenetics." They will share a prize sum of 12 million ‌Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).

Gate Bioscience expands Lilly drug discovery deal worth more than $870 million

Gate Bioscience said on Monday it expanded a research and licensing agreement with Eli Lilly to develop treatments targeting disease-causing proteins, in a deal potentially ⁠worth more than $870 ​million. The companies' original ⁠agreement, announced in July 2025, was worth up to $856 million.

CSL strikes rare disease drug deal worth up to $1.6 ⁠billion with Swiss firm Alentis

Australia's CSL said on Monday it had entered into an agreement with Swiss drugmaker ​Alentis Therapeutics to co-develop and co-promote a treatment for rare kidney and liver diseases, in ⁠a deal worth up to $1.6 billion, excluding development funding. Under the partnership, CSL will make an upfront payment of $355 million, ⁠while ​Alentis is eligible for up to $1.2 billion in commercial milestone payments.

Mexico says FDA lettuce probe did not conclusively identify contamination source

Mexico's Health Ministry said on Saturday that a US ⁠Food and Drug Administration investigation into the cyclospora parasite outbreak linked to shredded iceberg lettuce from ⁠Taylor Farms in Mexico ⁠did not conclusively identify the source of contamination. Mexico's food-safety regulator Cofepris said tests conducted by its national reference laboratory on raw materials, finished products ‌and water ‌from the facility investigated in the outbreak were ​negative for the cyclospora parasite.