Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

New Zealand court strikes down puberty blocker ban

New Zealand's High Court has struck down regulations banning new prescriptions of puberty blockers for adolescents with gender dysphoria, ruling that the measures were made unlawfully and amounted to unjustified discrimination. Justice Dale La Hood set aside the regulations, introduced in late 2025, which ​barred new patients under 18 from receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues for gender dysphoria or gender incongruence

Nigeria reports Ebola case as outbreak reaches West Africa

Nigeria reported its first Ebola case in more than a decade on Tuesday, becoming the fourth ​African country and the most populous yet to be affected by an outbreak that health officials have described as the fastest-spreading on record. The Ebola species behind the outbreak ‌kills about half ​of those infected and has no approved treatment or vaccine. Since the first cases were confirmed in Democratic Republic of Congo in May, the disease has killed 4,646 people. Health officials fear misinformation and funding shortfalls could fuel further spread within the region and across borders.

AstraZeneca says FDA approves drug for rare kidney disease in adults

AstraZeneca said on Wednesday the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval for its treatment for adults with immunoglobulin A nephropathy, a rare kidney disease that can lead to renal failure. Here are more details:

Abbott cuts 2026 sales growth view, plans to spin off nutrition business

Abbott Laboratories cut its 2026 sales growth forecast on Wednesday and said it plans to separate its nutrition business into a publicly traded company, amid costly litigation over its baby formula products. The separation will shed ‌a beleaguered unit behind brands such as Similac infant formula and Ensure nutritional drinks, which generated more than $8 billion in sales last year.

Danaher says it has 'building blocks' for AI drug discovery growth

Life sciences firm Danaher is well positioned to benefit as drugmakers increasingly adopt artificial intelligence to develop new medicines, its chief executive said on Wednesday, calling it a major long-term opportunity. Interest in AI-driven drug discovery has surged as companies turn to machine learning models to identify drug targets, design molecules and streamline research. The technology is widely expected to shorten development timelines and improve research productivity.

How cheap Chinese antibiotics threaten Europe's last major penicillin plant

Tucked away in the green foothills of the Austrian Alps, the last fully integrated European penicillin plant faces an uncertain future in the shadow of rising Chinese industrial power. The reason: China is churning out the same antibiotics and ingredients as the Sandoz factory in Kundl, Austria, at much lower cost for the European market.

Factbox-Pharma sector doubles down on AI to slash costs, timelines

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly turning to artificial intelligence to accelerate research and development, betting on new modeling tools and automated labs to improve efficiency across ‌their pipelines. Industry forecasts suggest that the use of machine learning to optimize target discovery, design molecules and streamline clinical trial planning could halve early-stage development timelines and costs within the next three to five years.

New Zealand's Fisher & Paykel Healthcare hit by cyber breach

Medical device maker Fisher & Paykel Healthcare on Thursday said it was made aware of unauthorized and unlawful access to a subset of company files and two employee email accounts. Here are the details:

Laboratory operator Quest reports cyber breach affecting patient records

Quest Diagnostics on ‌Thursday said it learned of unauthorized access to its Quanum LSM system, which some clients use to place test orders, receive and look up results. The breach adds to a growing number of cyberattacks on the healthcare sector, including those on medical device makers Abbott, Stryker, Medtronic and Boston Scientific. Drugmaker Novo Nordisk and drug-delivery equipment supplier West Pharmaceutical Services have also faced threats.

Beauty giants target 'Ozempic face' as boom in obesity drugs opens new market

Swiss skincare firm Galderma, Brazilian cosmetics group Natura and beauty giant L'Oreal are testing treatments for consumers worried about facial sagging and volume loss, looking to capitalise on a growing market tied to the boom in obesity drugs. The companies are targeting concerns known as "Ozempic face," a term that emerged as the diabetes drug became widely associated with weight loss. Experts say the loss of facial volume is linked to rapid weight loss rather than GLP-1 drugs themselves.

Pennsylvania measles cases rise to 1,317, state health department says

The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 1,317 measles cases in the state, up 31 cases since its previous update on Monday, as the outbreak of the highly contagious disease continued. Pennsylvania has confirmed measles cases in 43 counties, with Washington County added to the list of affected counties.

Roche beats revenue estimates, shares slip as copycats eat into Xolair sales

Swiss drugmaker Roche beat third-quarter sales expectations on Thursday, supported ⁠by steady demand for key ​medicines such as Ocrevus to buy time as it looks abroad to restock a pipeline facing looming patent expiries. Group revenue rose 7% at constant exchange ⁠rates to 16.13 billion Swiss francs ($19.61 billion), exceeding a company-compiled consensus forecast of 15.75 billion francs ($19.15 billion).

Health Rounds: Researchers find a possible trigger of some preterm births

Today we report on the discovery of one of the likely causes of preterm labor and a potential pathway to prevent it. We also cover a study on how cannabis use and the type of product consumed affect anesthesia and sedation needed for medical procedures. IMMUNE-SYSTEM CATALYST FOR PRETERM LABOR IDENTIFIED

Ozempic wave boosts US cobblers and tailors as Americans tighten their belts

Lorraine Scott has spent at least $300 to tailor her pants and jeans since losing 60 pounds on weight-loss drugs over the past year. "Most of the ⁠things in my closet didn't fit anymore," she said. The 42-year-old Atlanta resident, who is known as Lorraine Kamesha to her YouTube followers, has opted to alter her favorite pairs of pants instead of investing in new ones as her weight fluctuates, while turning to fast fashion for the rest of her wardrobe.

Nestle, Zydus, Abbott face India scrutiny over claims on children's products

India's food safety regulator issued notices to Nestle India, Zydus Wellness, Abbott Healthcare and others on Wednesday over promotional claims involving products for infants and children that it said breached rules. The action comes days after the regulator proposed banning the addition ​of sucrose and fructose to foods for infants up to six months old, as India steps up scrutiny of food safety and pushes for front-of-pack warning labels, rattling the country's more than $100 billion packaged food industry.

EQT to buy molecular testing firm Qiagen for $10.8 billion

Sweden's EQT will buy molecular testing company Qiagen for about €9.6 billion ($10.78 billion), the companies said on Wednesday, ending years of takeover speculation surrounding the Dutch firm. The deal reflects increasing private-equity appetite in the sector, where demand for ⁠molecular testing technologies has driven dealmaking.

WHO was not told that Nigeria's Ebola patient travelled to Congo, official says

The World Health Organization was not told that Nigeria's Ebola patient had travelled to Congo, the WHO's representative in Nigeria said on Thursday, after Uganda said she had visited the country. Nigeria's government has said the country's first Ebola case in more than a decade involved a Ugandan woman who had recently arrived from a trip there.

Late detection in Nigeria raises alarm as Ebola spreads across Africa

Nigeria's first Ebola patient in over a decade was not tested for the disease until 13 days after falling ill, officials said, a delay that raises questions about authorities' ability to contain an outbreak ⁠already spanning ​four African nations. The epidemic, first detected 3,000 km away in Democratic Republic of Congo in May, is the second-largest on record and had already hit Uganda and Kenya before the Nigerian case was confirmed on Tuesday — the widest known spread on the continent.

Argenx says Vyvgart sales rose 54% in third quarter

Belgian-Dutch pharmaceutical firm argenx said on Thursday that global sales of its leading autoimmune drug Vyvgart rose 54% in the third quarter, as it reached more patients. Sales of Vyvgart, a prescription drug used to treat adults with generalized myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disease that causes muscle weakness, were $1.7 billion in the third quarter, up from $1.13 billion a year ago.

France reports first human case of livestock virus Shamonda after patient dies

France on Thursday reported the first human case of the Shamonda virus usually found in livestock in a patient who later died, with authorities adding there was no risk to the general population at this stage. It is suspected that the victim was bitten by a midge carrying the virus in eastern France where it had circulated among animals this spring and ⁠summer, the government said in a statement.

Elevance lifts 2026 profit forecast on disciplined cost management

Elevance Health on Wednesday raised its annual profit forecast after posting better-than-expected quarterly results, helped by lower medical costs. Health insurers have been navigating declining membership, as well as rising costs in government-backed plans. Elevance, like other health insurers, has adjusted its pricing to reflect higher medical costs.

New World screwworm cases confirmed in wildlife in Texas, beef cow in New Mexico

The US Department of Agriculture said on Wednesday it confirmed the first ⁠detection of flesh-eating parasite New World screwworm in US wildlife in an elk in Pecos County, Texas, while New Mexico authorities separately said they confirmed ⁠a case in a beef cow. The elk was located on a game ranch and was reported after being harvested by a hunter, the USDA said in a statement.

BioNTech, Gilead to test drug combination in advanced breast cancer trial

Germany's BioNTech said on Thursday it had teamed up with Gilead Sciences to test its experimental cancer therapy in combination with the US drugmaker's approved treatment in patients with a form of advanced breast cancer. Here are some details:

EU Commission to propose restoring Brazil poultry, honey import access

The European Commission said on Wednesday it intends to propose the re-listing of Brazil for imports of poultry meat and honey, with member states expected to vote on the measure at the committee's next meeting. An EU ban on animal products from Brazil took effect in September, affecting mainly beef ‌and poultry, as the bloc sought guarantees that prohibited antimicrobial substances were not used in production.

Cencora ‌to buy American Oncology Network in $2.4 billion deal

Drug distributor Cencora said on Wednesday it would acquire American Oncology Network in a deal valuing the cancer care provider at up to $2.4 billion, deepening its reach in community oncology across the United States. Cencora, which currently owns about 4% of ​AON, will acquire all of the equity interests that it does not currently own. Its shares were down more than 1%.