As US debates abortion pill ban, Argentina expands its use

By Anna-Catherine Brigida BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – When Argentine trainee nursery teacher Lourdes, 24, went to the doctor in March seeking to end her pregnancy she was one of the first in the country to be prescribed abortion pill mifepristone after local regulators had approved it fully just weeks earlier. Argentina is the latest country…

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Colombia’s Grupo SURA nearly doubles profits in first quarter

(Reuters) – Net profit at Grupo SURA, Colombia’s largest investment company, almost doubled in the first quarter compared to the year-ago period, the company said in a filing on Monday, pointing in part to favorable exchange rate fluctuations. Net profit for the quarter totaled 834.3 billion pesos. Quarterly revenue rose almost 40% to reach 9.6…

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Abbott Labs is sued over PediaSure height claims

By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) -A New York City woman sued Abbott Laboratories on Monday, accusing the healthcare company of misleading consumers into believing its PediaSure nutrition drinks were “clinically proven” to increase children’s height. In a proposed class action filed in Manhattan federal court, Joanne Noriega said she bought PediaSure Grow & Gain…

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Natera wins $19 million US verdict from ArcherDX in cancer-detection patent case

By Blake Brittain (Reuters) – Genetic testing company Natera Inc convinced a Delaware federal jury on Monday to award it $19.3 million in damages from Invitae Corp’s ArcherDX for infringing patents related to cancer detection. The jury agreed with Natera that biotech company ArcherDX Inc’s blood-based DNA tests for detecting and monitoring cancer infringed three…

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AI in Washington’s crosshairs but consensus far from certain

By Diane Bartz and Jeffrey Dastin WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. lawmakers are grappling with what guardrails to put around burgeoning artificial intelligence, but months after ChatGPT got Washington’s attention, consensus is far from certain. Interviews with a U.S. senator, congressional staffers, AI companies and interest groups show there are a number of options under discussion. The…

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Biden picks cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to head NIH

By Julie Steenhuysen (Reuters) – The Biden administration on Monday said it intends to nominate cancer surgeon Dr. Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following a 16-month search for a permanent successor to the agency’s long-serving director Dr. Francis Collins, who stepped down in December 2021. If confirmed by the U.S….

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US Supreme Court rejects Teva challenge to $235 million GSK award in patent dispute

By Blake Brittain WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear Teva Pharmaceuticals USA Inc’s challenge to a $235 million award to GlaxoSmithKline LLC in a patent dispute over generic drugs involving a heart medication. The justices turned away Israel-based Teva’s appeal of a lower court’s ruling reinstating the jury award…

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Sarepta surges after FDA panel backs Duchenne gene therapy

By Aditya Samal (Reuters) -Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics jumped 25% on Monday as a backing by the U.S. health regulator’s advisers increased the certainty of an accelerated approval for the company’s gene therapy for a muscle-wasting genetic disorder. The stock was set for its biggest percentage jump in over three years, while the drugmaker’s market…

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G7 plans new vaccine effort for developing nations, Yomiuri reports

TOKYO (Reuters) -The Group of Seven (G7) rich nations is set to agree on establishing a new programme to distribute vaccines to developing countries at next week’s summit of leaders, Japan’s Yomiuri newspaper said on Saturday. In addition to the G7, G20 nations such as India and international groups such as the World Health Organization…

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