Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs. Trump, Democratic leaders to meet on drug prices soon: White House

U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with congressional Democratic leaders soon to discuss drug prices, the White House said on Tuesday following infrastructure talks with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. The White House said in a statement that the three agreed to meet "in the near future" over the health issue and that Trump "feels there is a long way to go" to lower drug costs, without elaborating. EPA says popular weed killer glyphosate is not a carcinogen

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said on Tuesday that glyphosate, a chemical in many popular weed killers, is not a carcinogen, contradicting recent decisions by U.S. juries that found that it caused cancer in people. The EPA announcement reaffirms earlier findings from the agency about the safety of glyphosate, the key ingredient in Bayer's Roundup. The company faces thousands of lawsuits from Roundup users who allege it caused their cancer. FDA permits sale of Philip Morris IQOS tobacco-heating alternative to cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said it would allow Philip Morris to sell a heated tobacco product called IQOS in the United States, a major victory for the international tobacco giant as it looks to sell more alternatives to traditional cigarettes. Following a review of about two years, the FDA determined that authorizing the device for sale in the U.S. market was "appropriate for the protection of public health" because the products produce "fewer or lower levels of some toxins than combustible cigarettes." U.S. measles outbreak hits 'completely avoidable' 25-year-high: officials

The number of measles cases in the United States has reached a 25-year peak, propelled by the spread of misinformation about the vaccine that can prevent the disease, federal health officials said on Monday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 704 cases as of April 26, a 1.3 percent increase since the most recent tally of 695 reported on Wednesday. The vast majority of cases have occurred in children who have not received the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine, which confers immunity to the disease, officials said. Novartis's Sandoz strikes deal for biosimilar of Herceptin

Novartis's Sandoz division has struck a deal with Taiwan's EirGenix Inc to market a biosimilar version of Roche's Herceptin that is now in late-stage development to treat some cancer tumors. Novartis said the accord covers the trastuzumab biosimilar in Phase III development for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 positive (HER2+) breast and gastric tumors. Dental infections in kids tied to heart disease risk in adulthood

Children who develop cavities and gum disease may be more likely to develop risk factors for heart attacks and strokes decades later than kids who have good oral health, a recent study suggests. Researchers did dental exams for 755 children in 1980, when they were eight years old on average, then followed them through 2007 to see how many of them developed risk factors for heart attacks and strokes like high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, high blood sugar, and hardening of the arteries. Mallinckrodt shares drop after U.S. joins cases over expensive drug

The U.S. Justice Department has joined a pair of whistleblower lawsuits alleging a drugmaker now owned by Mallinckrodt Plc improperly promoted an expensive multiple sclerosis treatment and paid kickbacks to doctors who prescribed the drug. News of the department's decision to intervene in the lawsuits after conducting an investigation into the whistleblowers' allegations sent the stock price of Mallinckrodt Plc down nearly 14 percent on Tuesday. Teens can have tough time searching for sexual health information online

While teens mostly navigate the internet with ease, they may have a tough time finding information on sexual health, a new study suggests. One of the biggest barriers to finding accurate information on sexual health was teens' fear that their queries would not be anonymous, researchers reported in Sexually Transmitted Infections. The obscure advisory committees at the heart of the U.S. drug pricing debate

Expectations were high last year for three new migraine drugs hitting the market from Amgen Inc, Eli Lilly and Co and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Priced around $7,000 each, the drugmakers called them "breakthrough" treatments designed to prevent migraines when taken year-round, and estimated that millions of patients could benefit. The U.S. Food & Drug Administration said Amgen's Aimovig – the first of the three drugs approved – was an "important addition" to available treatments. FDA declines to approve Nabriva's antibiotic for urinary tract infections

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday declined to approve Nabriva Therapeutics Plc's antibiotic for complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), even as the nation grapples with the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. The FDA has asked Nabriva to address issues relating to manufacturing deficiencies at one of its contract manufacturers, before the agency can approve the drug, the company said.