Reuters Health News Summary

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Novo Nordisk uses AI to fast-track drug launches, expand India role

Novo Nordisk is aiming to slash the time it takes to bring new drugs to market by up to two-thirds using ​AI, a top executive said, as the Danish drugmaker looks to regain momentum in the booming obesity drugs market. "Historically, from 'last patient, last visit' to first filing might ​have been a year and a half. What we're able to do now by implementing AI is bring that ‌time down ​by months," John Dawber, managing director for global business services, told a Reuters summit on Friday.

WHO Africa head warns against underestimating risk of Ebola spread

It would be a mistake to underestimate the risk posed by the Ebola outbreak, the WHO regional director for Africa said on Friday, warning that just one case could spread the virus beyond the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda. The outbreak has resulted in 160 suspected deaths out of 670 suspected cases, and 61 of the cases have been confirmed, according to DRC health ministry ‌data published on Thursday. Two cases have also been confirmed in neighbouring Uganda.

Congo province bans funeral wakes to contain Ebola's spread

The eastern Democratic Republic of Congo province most affected by the country's Ebola outbreak banned funeral wakes on Friday, a day after residents clashed with police while trying to recover the body of a victim. The incident in Ituri province's Rwampara town recalled the hundreds of attacks on health facilities during eastern DRC's 2018-2020 outbreak and underscored the difficulty of imposing strict disease-control practices that conflict with local customs.

Gilead's drug wins first-ever US approval for deadly liver infection

Gilead Sciences said on Friday that its experimental drug for a rare and deadly liver infection that had no approved treatment has won U.S. approval. Shares of the company were up over 2% ‌in afternoon trading.

World Bank says responding to Ebola outbreak, plans to increase funding

The World Bank has dispatched staff and resources to the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo to respond to the Ebola outbreak, and is putting together a financing package to ensure more funding can be made available rapidly, a top bank official said. Monique Vledder, who heads ‌the World Bank's global health department, told Reuters that the bank was also very concerned about neighboring states South Sudan and Burundi, which have weak healthcare response systems. Uganda, which has reported two Ebola cases, has a strong public health system but also faced some financing gaps, she added.

US extends Ebola travel ban to Green Card holders

The United States on Friday temporarily banned the entry of lawful permanent residents who have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda or South Sudan in the previous 21 days, citing concerns over Ebola. U.S. citizens, nationals and green card holders had been exempt from a 30-day Ebola ban, but the U.S. CDC said on Friday that extending the ban to green card holders was necessary to stop the virus from entering the country.

CVC, GBL launch €10.7 billion bid for Italian drugmaker Recordati

Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Belgian investment group Groupe Bruxelles Lambert launched a €10.7 billion ($12.4 ⁠billion) cash bid for ​Recordati on Friday, aiming to take the Italian drugmaker private. Italy's fragmented pharmaceutical sector has seen a flurry ⁠of dealmaking in recent months as companies seek to scale up, with Angelini announcing a $4.1 billion acquisition of U.S.-listed Catalyst Pharmaceuticals and Chiesi buying U.S.-based KalVista Pharmaceuticals for about $2 billion.

Lantheus weighs potential $7 billion sale after Curium's offer, Bloomberg News reports

Radiopharmaceutical-focused company Lantheus Holdings is weighing a potential sale after getting a takeover offer from private-equity backed Curium Pharma that values it at about $7 billion, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The two companies have been in ⁠discussions about a potential deal that could be weeks away, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. No final decision has been made and there is no guarantee the talks will result in a transaction, the report said.

US adds Atlanta area airport for Ebola screening, CDC says

Americans coming back from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda or South Sudan now have a second entry point ​for returning to the United States, with the CDC on Saturday expanding its enhanced Ebola screening to include Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Hartsfield-Jackson has previously been used to screen passengers and has established operational procedures in place, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

WHO raises risk of Ebola outbreak in Congo to 'very high' ⁠at national level

The World Health Organization has raised the risk of the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola turning into a national outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo to "very high". The strain, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, was declared an emergency of international concern by the WHO on Sunday.

Uganda confirms three new Ebola cases, bringing total to five

Uganda has confirmed three new cases of Ebola, bringing the total number of infections in the current outbreak there to five, ⁠the ​health ministry said on Saturday, as authorities stepped up contact tracing to contain the spread. The World Health Organization has declared the outbreak of the rare Bundibugyo strain a public health emergency of international concern, and said the risk of a national epidemic in the Democratic Republic of Congo is "very high".

Experimental treatments could help US Ebola patient

The U.S. missionary who tested positive for Ebola and is undergoing treatment in a German hospital has been given drugs aimed at reducing disease symptoms after exposure to the virus and other therapies, U.S. health officials said on Friday. There are no vaccines or known drugs specifically approved to treat the rare Bundibugyo strain of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has infected almost 750 ⁠people and killed 177.

Suspected and confirmed measles deaths top 500 in Bangladesh

At least 86 children have died from confirmed measles infections in Bangladesh this year, and another 426 with symptoms consistent with the disease, health officials said on Saturday, as the country battles one of its worst outbreaks in decades. Cases have spread rapidly in recent months, overwhelming hospitals and ⁠placing severe strain on already fragile healthcare services, particularly in rural districts and densely populated low-income urban ⁠areas.

Philippines to allow Spanish pork imports from regions free of swine fever

The Philippines will allow pork imports from parts of Spain unaffected by African swine fever (ASF), lifting a blanket ban imposed after Spain reported its first cases of the disease in more than three decades last year, the Spanish government said on Friday. Agriculture Minister Luis Planas said in a post on X that the Philippines was a strategic market for Spain.

Red Cross mourns death of three volunteers from Ebola in Congo

The Red Cross on Saturday paid tribute to three ‌volunteers who are believed to have died after contracting Ebola while handling ‌bodies and are among the first known victims of the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is no approved vaccine or treatment, ​was declared an emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization on Sunday.

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