Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Dozens of clinics market risky cell therapies to treat eye disorders

Scores of clinics across the United States directly advertise expensive - but unproven - cell therapy procedures to patients with serious eye diseases, often with devastating results, a new study warns. Although there are no approved stem cell therapies to treat eye conditions in the U.S., when the authors of the study conducted a systematic internet search they found 40 companies with 76 clinics that advertised the procedures. U.S. House condemns Trump's courtroom efforts to end Obamacare

Calling it an effort to take away Americans' healthcare, the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday to condemn the Trump administration's courtroom bid to eliminate Obamacare. The 240-186 vote was a largely symbolic move aimed at keeping the spotlight on the issue. Just eight Republicans joined majority Democrats in voting to urge the administration to reverse its assault against Obamacare, as the 2010 Affordable Care Act that overhauled the U.S. healthcare system is popularly known. Drugmakers Jazz, Alexion, Lundbeck to pay $123 million to resolve U.S. charity kickback probe

Three drugmakers will pay $122.6 million to resolve claims they used charities that help cover Medicare patients' out-of-pocket drug costs as a way to pay kickbacks aimed at encouraging use of their medications, including some expensive ones. The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday said Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc, Lundbeck A/S and Alexion Pharmaceuticals Inc were the latest companies to settle claims stemming from an industry-wide probe of drugmakers' financial support of patient assistance charities. Health Canada plans to suspend Allergan's breast implant license

Health Canada plans to suspend the license for Allergan Plc's Biocell breast implant due to the risk of a rare cancer linked to such implants, the regulator said in a notice to the Botox-maker on Thursday. Breast augmentation using implants is a popular form of cosmetic surgery but regulators are studying textured implants, which have a rough surface, and their possible link to anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). Biogen SMA drug price, Novartis estimates for its treatment far too high - U.S. group

Biogen Inc should slash the price of its spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) drug, and the $4 million to $5 million Novartis has said its experimental gene therapy for the disease is worth is excessive, an independent U.S. organization that reviews the value of medical treatments said on Wednesday. Assessments by the nonprofit Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) have become increasingly influential in U.S. drug pricing and are taken into consideration by health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers making decisions about payments and patient access to treatments. How cannabis is firing up the U.S. supply chain

U.S. companies cannot stop talking about marijuana, hoping in part they can catch investor interest as the booming economy around the drug lifts revenues throughout the supply chain. With the recreational use of cannabis now legal in 10 states and the District of Columbia and medical marijuana legal in 23 states, marijuana is on its way to becoming an $80 billion industry in the United States by 2030, according to estimates by Cowen Inc. Novartis sues Amgen over collaboration on migraine treatment Aimovig

Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG sued Amgen Inc on Thursday, accusing the U.S. biotechnology company of trying to wrongfully back out of agreements to jointly develop and market migraine prevention drug Aimovig, and keep the profits for itself. The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan comes as drugmakers move to build share in the large market for new treatments to prevent migraine headaches. U.S. states sue to undo Trump rollback of healthy school lunch rules

Several U.S. states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday to undo its recent decision that allowed fewer whole grains and more sodium in school breakfasts and lunches. The states accused the U.S. Department of Agriculture of ignoring federal dietary guidelines and scientific research on children's nutrition when it eased rules championed by former first lady Michelle Obama to make school meals healthier. Starting workouts in middle age tied to longer life

While regularly exercising over the course of decades is a great way to live longer, a U.S. study suggests that even people who don't start working out until middle-age may see similar longevity benefits. To help people live longer, national guidelines for physical fitness recommend that adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise each week. But much of the evidence behind these recommendations has looked at exercise at only one point in time, leaving a murky picture of how lifelong exercise habits might impact longevity, researchers note in JAMA Network Open. Drug company founder, execs exploited patients to sell opioid: U.S. prosecutor

The founder of Insys Therapeutics Inc put profits over patient safety by bribing doctors to prescribe an addictive fentanyl spray, fueling the U.S. opioid epidemic, a federal prosecutor said on Thursday at the end of a landmark trial. John Kapoor, the drugmaker's former chairman, and four colleagues are the first executives of a painkiller manufacturer to face trial for conduct that authorities say was tied to a drug abuse epidemic that kills tens of thousands of Americans each year.