Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Thai poultry industry poised for growth on Brazil bird flu, lower feed costs

Thailand's poultry sector is poised to grow this year, as an avian flu outbreak in top exporter Brazil creates market opportunities, and lower feed costs improve margins for the world's third-largest shipper of chicken meat, industry leaders said. Prasit Boondoungprasert, CEO of Charoen Pokphand Foods, Thailand's largest agribusiness, said the current market situation is favourable for the Thai poultry industry.

Regeneron says its weight-loss drug helped preserve muscle mass in study

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals said on Monday its experimental weight-loss drug combination helped preserve muscle mass in a mid-stage study. The drug candidate, trevogrumab, in combination with Novo Nordisk's popular obesity drug Wegovy, chemically known as semaglutide, helped patients preserve muscle and increase fat loss in patients, Regeneron said.

Sanofi to buy US biopharma group Blueprint for up to $9.5 billion

France's Sanofi has agreed to buy U.S.-based Blueprint Medicines Corporation for up to $9.5 billion to boost its position in rare immunology diseases, in the biggest deal struck by a European healthcare company so far this year, according to LSEG data. Blueprint is a specialist in treatments for systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder.

Blood test-guided treatment with AstraZeneca pill cuts breast cancer progression risk

Treating breast cancer patients with AstraZeneca's experimental pill camizestrant at the first sign of resistance to standard therapies cut the risk of disease progression or death by half, a finding that could be practice changing, experts said on Sunday. The results, presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting in Chicago, mark the first use of a blood test called a liquid biopsy to indicate the need for a change in treatment in women with a common form of breast cancer, even before tumor growth can be detected on imaging.

Gerresheimer cuts 2025 outlook on weak demand, shares fall

German packaging and medical equipment maker Gerresheimer on Monday cut its revenue and profit margin guidance for this year, citing weakness in cosmetics and liquid medications markets and sending its shares plunging. Shares in the company, which said in February it was in early stage talks with private equity investors about a possible sale, dropped as much as 20.8%. It did not mention the sale talks in its statement.

Bristol Myers to pay $1.5 billion upfront for BioNTech cancer drug partnership

Bristol Myers Squibb will pay $1.5 billion upfront to partner with Germany's BioNTech on an experimental cancer drug, the U.S. company said on Monday, in a deal that could eventually exceed $11 billion in value for BioNTech. The deal provides a boost for the German company's ambition to continue its costly long-term focus on experimental cancer treatments, and show that its success as Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine partner was not a one-off achievement.

Pfizer-Arvinas breast cancer drug tops AstraZeneca's in delaying progression

An experimental treatment by Pfizer and Arvinas delayed progression of breast cancer by more than three months compared to AstraZeneca's Faslodex in patients with a specific gene mutation, according to trial results announced on Saturday. The findings were presented in Chicago at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and published in The New England Journal of Medicine.

Drugmaker Indivior drops London listing to cut costs

Pharma firm Indivior said on Monday it would cancel its secondary listing on the London Stock Exchange, effective July 25, maintaining its primary listing on the Nasdaq to reduce costs and better align with its U.S.-centric business. The company, known for its opioid addiction treatment, joins a growing number of firms delisting from London, as lower valuations and weak investor appetite continue to drive firms toward U.S. markets.

Gilead's Trodelvy, with Keytruda, cuts breast cancer risk by 35% in trial

Gilead Sciences' Trodelvy in combination with Merck's blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda lowered the risk of an aggressive type of breast cancer worsening by 35% when used as an initial treatment, according to results of a large trial presented on Saturday. The data is likely to change how patients are treated following a diagnosis for advanced triple-negative breast cancer, one expert said.

Explainer-How flesh-eating screwworms in cattle could raise US beef prices

New World Screwworm, a devastating parasite that eats cattle and other wild animals alive, is traveling north from Central America to Mexico and has crept past biological barriers that kept the pest contained for decades, experts said. Washington halted cattle imports from Mexico in May, citing the insect's spread further into Mexico, about 700 miles from the Texas border. With the U.S. cattle herd already at a multi-decade low, the closure could further elevate record-high beef prices by keeping more calves out of the U.S. cattle supply.

Hims to cut 4% of workforce amid ban on weight-loss drug copies

Telehealth platform Hims & Hers will cut 68 employees, or about 4% of its workforce, as it adjusts to a U.S. ban on manufacturing mass copies of the weight-loss drug Wegovy. A U.S. Food and Drug Administration ban on compounded copies of Wegovy, made by Novo Nordisk, took effect on May 22. Hims shares have since dropped 14%.The company confirmed the job cuts in a statement on Friday. On Saturday, it said that the reductions were not related to the compounding ban. Hims did not provide details about the roles that were cut, but said they were implemented across teams. "These changes are focused on sharpening how we execute, without affecting our priorities or the specialties we're committed to," a company spokesperson said regarding the layoffs. Hims still plans to hire for roles related to its long-term growth strategy. The company recently announced an agreement with Novo to help patients access brand-name Wegovy. It plans to enter the market for low testosterone and menopause treatments and is looking at offerings to improve longevity and sleep. Bloomberg News reported the job cuts earlier on Friday. In 2022, the FDA declared a shortage of Wegovy, which has been shown to help patients lose around 15% of their body weight. That declaration allowed compounding pharmacies to produce the drug to meet demand. Hims began offering copies of Wegovy in 2024, often at far lower prices than the brand-name version. That boosted subscriptions to the Hims telehealth platform, with revenue up 111% on a yearly basis during the first quarter of 2025. Wegovy copies and similar GLP-1 weight-loss drugs accounted for $200 million of the company's $1.5 billion revenue in 2024. The FDA in February said Wegovy was no longer in shortage and ended the exception that allowed sale of mass compounded copies of the patented medication. Hims and its rivals have pivoted to what they say are customized copies of Wegovy that should not be subject to the FDA decision, featuring smaller doses or allowing for a more individualized plan for increasing dosage than offered by Novo. But analysts said that personalization strategy may not be enough to stave off new legal challenges from Novo. "It remains to be seen whether HIMS method of personalization (titration and dosage) is enough to meet the compounding clinical exemption need," said Jailendra Singh, a healthcare analyst at Truist.

Latvia reports bird flu in backyard poultry

Latvia has reported a first outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza among poultry, the World Organisation for Animal Health said on Monday. The outbreak occurred in a flock of 190 backyard poultry birds in the district of Birzgales, Paris-based WOAH said in a notice, citing Latvian authorities.

23andMe founder aims to restart auction with major corporate backing

The founder of 23andMe, Anne Wojcicki, has asked a U.S. judge to reopen an auction for the genetic testing company, saying she has the support of a Fortune 500 company with a current market capitalization of more than $400 billion. Wojcicki did not name the Fortune 500 company in court filings.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)