By Brad Brooks (Reuters) – Nebraska lawmakers on Friday passed a bill that limits abortion and puts restrictions on gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth in a single piece of legislation that strikes at two highly divisive issues. The bill, which Republican Governor Jim Pillen is expected to sign into law, bans abortions after 12…
By Daniel Trotta (Reuters) – Montana could become the fourth state to pass a law defining sex as strictly “male” or “female” and unchangeable, raising concern among LGBTQ advocates who see such legislation as the next trend in Republican bills that limit transgender rights. Governor Greg Gianforte, who has already authorized a bill to ban…
CHICAGO (Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced on Friday an atypical case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), commonly called mad cow disease, in an older beef cow at a slaughter plant in South Carolina. USDA said the animal never entered slaughter channels and the agency did not expect any trade impacts as a…
(Reuters) – CureVac NV said on Friday it had filed an expanded patent infringement claim against Pfizer Inc and BioNTech over the use of mRNA technology and that a U.S. court had granted its request to transfer the trial. The company said it filed a counterclaim alleging that Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech infringed…
By Pratik Jain (Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Krystal Biotech Inc’s first-of-its kind topical gene therapy for patients with a genetic skin disorder, sending its shares up 7% in afternoon trading. Patients with the rare dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa disorder suffer from open wounds, causing skin infections and are at an…
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Amgen Inc has agreed not to quickly close on its $27.8 billion acquisition of Horizon Therapeutics after the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed suit to block the deal. A U.S. district court judge issued a temporary restraining order late on Wednesday after the two companies and the FTC reached an agreement…
(Reuters) -The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc’s test, the first of its kind in the country, to detect women with risk of severe preeclampsia, the company said on Friday. Preeclampsia is a leading cause of mortality in pregnant women globally, where they could experience high blood pressure after…
By Bhanvi Satija and Pratik Jain (Reuters) -Contract drug manufacturer Catalent Inc on Friday slashed its full-year forecasts for profit and sales and delayed its quarterly results for the third time, bruised by a series of missteps at its major production facilities. The company promised to take steps to correct the issues and said it…
(Reuters) – A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group on Thursday recommended that this year’s COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, the advisory group said, adding that other formulations or platforms that achieve…
By Gabriella Borter and Sharon Bernstein (Reuters) – State legislatures are wrestling with how much to restrict or expand abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year. Here is a snapshot of pending and passed legislation seeking to restrict or protect access in 2023. RESTRICTIONS FLORIDA: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis…
