Reuters Health News Summary

Italy's ever-falling birth rate is considered a national emergency, but despite successive governments pledging to make it a priority, none have so far been able to halt the drop. Weight-loss drug deals to drive around 4% of Gerresheimer yearly growth, CEO says Gerresheimer CEO Dietmar Siemssen said he expects about 4% of the company's revenue growth per year from deals to supply makers of drugs for weight loss and diabetes with vials, cartridges, syringes and autoinjectors.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Births fall in Italy for 15th year running to record low

Births in Italy dropped to a record low in 2023, the 15th consecutive annual decline, national statistics bureau ISTAT said on Friday, as the population continued to shrink. Italy's ever-falling birth rate is considered a national emergency, but despite successive governments pledging to make it a priority, none have so far been able to halt the drop.

Weight-loss drug deals to drive around 4% of Gerresheimer yearly growth, CEO says

Gerresheimer CEO Dietmar Siemssen said he expects about 4% of the company's revenue growth per year from deals to supply makers of drugs for weight loss and diabetes with vials, cartridges, syringes and autoinjectors. The German company reported in February that it expects to grow an average of 10% per year. Nearly half of that will come from its association with drugs in the GLP-1 class, the CEO told Reuters. Novo Nordisk's popular obesity drug Wegovy and Eli Lilly's in demand Zepbound are GLP-1 drugs.

Polish president halts law easing access to 'morning after' pill

Poland's conservative President Andrzej Duda on Friday vetoed a bill to ease women's access to the "morning after" contraceptive pill, sparking outrage among left-wing and liberal politicians. Women's rights are high on the political agenda, with some Poles frustrated that liberal parties in the coalition government in power since December are slow at implementing their pledge to soften a near-total ban on abortion.

Dogs can associate words with objects, study finds

Dogs are able to understand that some words refer to objects in a way that is similar to humans, a small study of canine brain waves has found, offering insight into the way the minds of man's best friends work. That our four-legged companions are able to recognise words that prompt actions will come as no surprise to dog owners who tell their pets to "sit" or "fetch".

Kobayashi factory searched over deaths possibly linked to supplements

Japanese health officials searched a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory on Saturday after the drugmaker reported five deaths possibly linked to dietary supplements using red yeast rice, an official said. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the City of Osaka jointly inspected the factory in Osaka that had made the supplements containing "Beni-Koji" red yeast, suspected of having caused health damage, the ministry official said.