Health News Roundup: Exclusive-FDA finds problems at animal lab run by Musk’s brain implant company; Most South Korea trainee doctors defying pressure to end walkout and more

But new CEO Bill Anderson may struggle to win over investors, who have seen the company's value sink by two thirds since its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, which saddled it with costly litigation and debt. Healthcare providers hit by frozen payments in ransomware outage Healthcare providers across the United States are struggling to get paid following the week-long ransomware outage at a key tech unit of UnitedHealth Group, with some smaller providers saying they are already running low on cash.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

UK almost doubled health and care worker visas in 2023

Britain almost doubled the number of visas awarded to foreign migrants coming to work in the health and care sector last year, government data showed, adding to pressure on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak over immigration ahead of the next general election. Immigration is one of the top three concerns for voters as the country gears up for an election expected later this year. Trailing the opposition Labour party in the polls, Sunak has vowed to bring it down.

Dentsply Sirona beats quarterly estimates on strong demand for dental products

Dentsply Sirona posted fourth-quarter profit and revenue that beat Wall Street estimates on Thursday, boosted by strong demand for teeth aligners and dental procedures products. Sales of clear teeth aligners have been boosted after competitor SmileDirectClub filed for bankruptcy in September, the company said in January, echoing similar comments from Align Technology last month.

Thailand to ban recreational cannabis use by year-end, says health minister

Thailand will ban the recreational use of marijuana by the end of this year, but continue allowing its use for medical purposes, the health minister told Reuters in an interview. Thailand became the first country in Southeast Asia to decriminalise cannabis, initially for medicinal use and research in 2018, then for general growing and consumption in 2022.

GSK settles another lawsuit on heartburn drug Zantac in California

GSK agreed to confidentially settle another lawsuit in California that had alleged its discontinued heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, the latest in a series of settlements made by the British drugmaker to end costly litigation. The case, which was set to begin trial on April 2, will be dismissed. GSK does not admit to any liability in this settlement with Boyd/Steenvoord, it said on Thursday.

In delicate China play, Reckitt turns to livestreaming to sell condoms

Durex-owner Reckitt is hoping that Chinese consumers' penchant for livestream shopping will also extend to purchases of condoms, but the company will have to toe a "delicate line" as it looks to grow its slice of the $5-billion-plus condom market. The hype around livestreaming, which has become a major driving force of an e-commerce boom that has been sweeping China since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, could help the British consumer goods group in its quest to drive growth in the world's second-biggest economy.

Sandoz enters $265 million settlement agreement in U.S. price-fixing case

Swiss generic and biosimilar manufacturer Sandoz on Thursday said it had entered into a $265 million settlement agreement in a price-fixing case in the United States. The company said its U.S. subsidiaries had agreed to pay $265 million in a lawsuit with a class of direct drug purchasers, an agreement that does not contain any admission of wrongdoing by the Swiss company.

Analysis-Bayer investors weigh need for cash call amid stifling debt

Bayer may have to ask shareholders for fresh capital to shore up its finances even after the debt-laden German drugmaker slashed dividends last week in its latest effort to get wiggle room, analysts said. But new CEO Bill Anderson may struggle to win over investors, who have seen the company's value sink by two thirds since its $63 billion acquisition of Monsanto in 2018, which saddled it with costly litigation and debt.

Healthcare providers hit by frozen payments in ransomware outage

Healthcare providers across the United States are struggling to get paid following the week-long ransomware outage at a key tech unit of UnitedHealth Group, with some smaller providers saying they are already running low on cash. Large hospital chains are also locked out of processing payments with some absorbing the upfront costs of being unable to collect, according to the American Hospital Association (AHA), which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals, healthcare systems, networks and other providers.

Exclusive-FDA finds problems at animal lab run by Musk's brain implant company

U.S. Food and Drug Administration inspectors found problems with record keeping and quality controls for animal experiments at Elon Musk's Neuralink, less than a month after the startup said it was cleared to test its brain implants in humans, according to an agency report reviewed by Reuters. The inspectors identified quality control lapses at the company's California animal research facility. A similar inspection at Neuralink's Texas facility did not find problems, according to agency records.

Most South Korea trainee doctors defying pressure to end walkout

Thousands of South Korean trainee doctors are refusing to return to work on Thursday, the day the government set as a deadline to end a mass walkout, warning that the young physicians' medical licences could be suspended if they do not return to hospitals. Two-thirds of the country's residents and intern doctors have walked off the job to protest a plan to raise the number of students admitted to medical school each year by 2,000 in a bid to address what the government says is a shortage of doctors.