Hello Health Rounds readers! Ever wonder why more women seem to suffer from chronic pain than men? We may now have the answer. Today we also highlight promising early data on an experimental cancer drug targeting a genetic mutation that makes tumors grow aggressively, and an analysis that looked at broader healthcare ramifications of laws restricting abortion access. Among our breaking news stories: US FDA to offer bonuses to staff for faster drug reviews; Casey Means, an ally of HHS Secretary Kennedy, edges closer to US Surgeon General job; CDC vaccine advisors to consider COVID-19 vaccine injuries, long COVID; Americans trust vaccines, school mandates, rejecting Trump agenda; and US halts some Medicaid payments to Minnesota, alleging fraud. Plus: Kansas invalidates driver's licenses, birth certificates of over 1,000 transgender residents; UK drug regulator seizes illegal weight-loss drugs in latest crackdown; legal uncertainty clouds direct-to-consumer drug program; Africa CDC head cites major concerns over data, pathogen sharing in US health deals; Democratic Republic of Congo and US agree to $1.2 billion strategic health partnership; and EU says social fund can be used to allow access to safe abortions across bloc. Also: Scroll down to add questions for our editors to ask of health industry and policy leaders at Reuters Pharma USA! |
|
|
- US FDA approves Boehringer lung cancer treatment and Eton's therapy for rare water-balance disorder.
- Novo Nordisk partners with Vivtex on oral obesity drugs.
- Judge rejects Kenvue bid to dismiss lawsuit over Tylenol's safety.
- GSK to buy 35Pharma for $950 million.
- Novartis to build radioligand therapy site in Texas.
- Grifols doubles net profit in 2025; Charles River raises annual profit view; Universal Health Services misses quarterly profit estimates; Haleon and Viatris forecast 2026 profit below estimates; and Novavax raises revenue forecast.
- Gilead's experimental HIV treatment shows low discontinuation rates in studies.
- Bayer's proposed Roundup settlement faces pushback in court.
- Dr Reddy's gearing up for March debut of generic semaglutide; Zydus to launch generic semaglutide injections in India.
- Sunway Healthcare to launch IPO prospectus on Friday.
- Sarepta Therapeutics CEO Ingram to retire by year end.
|
|
|
In prehistoric interbreeding, it was Neanderthal men, Homo sapiens women |
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton |
When Homo sapiens trekked out of Africa, our species encountered Neanderthal populations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East. As the presence of Neanderthal DNA in most present-day people shows, interbreeding occurred - primarily driven by sex between Neanderthal men and Homo sapiens women, a new study has found. |
|
|
Sex hormones contribute to faster pain recovery in men |
The immune systems of men appear to be better equipped to shut down pain, which could explain why chronic pain is more common in women, research in mice and humans suggests. Certain monocytes - a type of immune cell - produce an anti-inflammatory protein called interleukin-10 that "turns off" pain signals from nerve cells, study leader Geoffroy Laumet of Michigan State University reported in Science Immunology. Production of these pain-relieving immune cells is driven by male sex hormones such as testosterone, the researchers found. "The difference in pain between men and women has a biological basis. It's not in your head, and you're not soft. It's in your immune system," Laumet said in a statement. In injured mice, higher numbers of IL-10-producing monocytes were seen in males than in females, and the males had faster resolution of pain after injury, the researchers reported. Separately, among 245 humans recovering from injuries, resolution of pain was faster in men than in women and was associated with higher levels of monocytes and IL-10 in the men. Giving testosterone pellets to injured female mice whose ovaries had been removed increased their IL-10 levels and sped up pain resolution. In male mice whose testes had been removed, resulting in lower testosterone levels, IL-10 levels dropped and resolution of pain after injury was delayed. Slower resolution of pain in women increases their risk of transitioning to chronic pain, the researchers noted. The new findings shift "the thinking from how pain starts to why pain persists," they wrote. The next step is to investigate how treatments could target this pathway and boost IL-10 production. "This opens new avenues for non-opioid therapies aimed at preventing chronic pain before it's established," Laumet said. |
|
|
Read more about chronic pain on Reuters.com |
|
|
Experimental drug targets mutation that makes tumors aggressive |
An experimental drug being developed by PMV Pharmaceuticals in early testing corrected a genetic mutation that contributes to aggressive, uncontrolled cancer growth in roughly one of every hundred tumors, researchers reported. The drug, rezatapopt, targets the Y220C mutation in the p53 gene and restores its tumor-suppressing functionality, according to a report of the phase 1/2 trial in The New England Journal of Medicine. "Historically, targeted therapy for TP53 mutations has not been available," the researchers wrote. Early trials like this one are mainly designed to test safety and determine the most effective dose. Still, among the 77 volunteers in the trial with advanced cancers that were not responding to other treatments, the researchers saw tumor disappearance or shrinkage in some of those whose tumors had the Y220C p53 mutation but no mutations in a different gene called KRAS associated with a better prognosis. In this subgroup, disappearance or shrinkage of tumors was seen in 20% overall and in 30% of those who received one of the higher tested doses. Confirmed responses were seen across multiple tumor types, including ovarian and breast cancers, the researchers found. The researchers are enrolling patients with ovarian, lung, breast or endometrial cancer, or other solid tumors, in a larger trial testing what turned out to be the most successful dose – 2,000 milligrams once daily. |
|
|
Fewer OB/GYNs available where abortions are prohibited |
U.S. state laws designed to limit access to abortions are resulting in reduced access to obstetricians and gynecologists, according to a new analysis. Data collected between 2010 and 2021 show that so-called Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers laws have been associated with a reduction of more than 2 obstetrician-gynecologists per 100,000 females of reproductive age, researchers found. The reduced supply of obstetricians and gynecologists has not been met by corresponding increases in midwives, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants who practice women's healthcare, researchers reported in Health Economics. A separate study published earlier this year in JAMA Health Forum found that maternal morbidity among patients using fertility care was higher in states with TRAP laws. "These findings reveal that abortion restrictions can have much broader effects on maternal healthcare access, raising important considerations for policymakers and healthcare systems nationwide," Quan Qi of the University at Albany, State University of New York, who led the Health Economics study, said in a statement. |
|
|
Read more about US abortion access on Reuters.com |
|
|
As we approach Reuters Pharma USA, March 16–17 in Philadelphia, my editor Michele Gershberg and our Reuters colleagues are preparing questions for industry and policy leaders. Among their topics: How do federal policies shape drug prices? What can government do to lower out‑of‑pocket costs? How do policy choices influence which medicines are developed, and how much does competition affect pricing? What are YOUR questions? What's on your mind? Fill out this form. |
|
|
This newsletter was edited by Bill Berkrot; additional reporting by Shawana Alleyne-Morris. |
|
|
| | | | | Reuters Health Rounds is sent twice a week. Think your friend or colleague should know about us? Forward this newsletter to them. They can also sign up here. Want to stop receiving this email? Unsubscribe here. To manage which newsletters you're signed up for, click here. This email includes limited tracking for Reuters to understand whether you’ve engaged with its contents. For more information on how we process your personal information and your rights, please see our Privacy Statement. Terms & Conditions | | | | | © 2026 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.
3 Times Square, New York, NY 10036 | | | |
|
|
|
No comments:
Post a Comment