Reuters Health News Summary

For full-year 2024, Gilead said it still expects product sales of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion, but lowered its earnings outlook to include the recent charge as well as incremental expenses related to the CymaBay deal. Healthpeak Properties increases 2024 FFO forecast owing to higher demand Healthpeak Properties raised its annual funds from operations (FFO) forecast on Thursday, banking on resilient demand for its medical office and life science properties.

Following is a summary of current health news briefs.

Regeneron to collaborate on gene editing therapies with Doudna-founded Mammoth

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Mammoth Biosciences will collaborate to research, develop and commercialize gene editing therapies for multiple diseases, the companies said on Thursday.

Mammoth's CRISPR-based gene editing platform and Regeneron's delivery technologies will be used to create disease-modifying medicines that can be delivered to tissues beyond the liver.

Explainer-What to know about bird flu in dairy cows and the risk to humans

U.S. officials have strengthened measures to contain the further spread of the first known outbreak of H5N1 or bird flu in dairy cows, which has now spread to 33 herds in eight states and bled over into the country's milk supply. So far, only one person - a Texas farm worker - has tested positive for H5N1, and while health officials and scientists say the risk to people remains low, many questions remain.

Merck raises 2024 profit forecast on surging sales of cancer drug Keytruda

Merck & Co on Thursday raised its annual profit and revenue forecasts on the back of double-digit growth for its blockbuster cancer drug Keytruda, the world's top selling prescription medicine. The New Jersey-based drugmaker said it expected annual earnings of $8.53 to $8.65 per share, up from its previous forecast of $8.44 to $8.59. Analysts had estimated earnings of $8.56 per share, below the midpoint of the new range.

GlaxoSmithKline sues Pfizer and BioNTech over Covid-19 vaccine technology

GlaxoSmithKline sued Pfizer and BioNTech in Delaware federal court on Thursday, accusing them of infringing GSK patents related to messenger RNA (mRNA) technology in the companies' blockbuster COVID-19 vaccines. GSK said in the lawsuit that Pfizer and BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccines violate the company's patent rights in mRNA-vaccine innovations developed "more than a decade before" the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cigna to offer Humira rivals with $0 copay at specialty pharmacy

Cigna plans to make close copies of AbbVie's blockbuster arthritis drug Humira available with no out-of-pocket payment to eligible patients in the U.S. using its specialty pharmacy beginning in June, the health insurer said on Thursday. Cigna said it will stock high- and low-concentration biosimilar versions of Humira from drugmakers including Boehringer Ingelheim, Teva and Alvotech at its Accredo pharmacy.

US states sue over agency rule on protections for workers who get abortions

A group of Republican-led U.S. states filed a lawsuit on Thursday seeking to block a federal rule that gives workers who had abortions the same legal protections as workers who are pregnant or recently gave birth. The 17 states claim in a complaint filed in Arkansas federal court that the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rule unveiled last week violates the U.S. Constitution by interfering with the ability of states to regulate and ban abortion.

West Africa's Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launch malaria vaccination

Benin, Liberia and Sierra Leone launched large-scale malaria vaccine programmes on Thursday under an Africa-focused initiative that hopes to save tens of thousands of children's lives per year across the continent. The three West African countries are the latest to participate after successful rollouts of routine malaria immunization for children in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ghana, Kenya and Malawi, the global vaccine alliance GAVI said in a statement.

US FDA sends warning letter to Cardinal Health for marketing unapproved devices

The U.S. health regulator has sent a warning letter to Cardinal Health after an inspection of its facility in Illinois found the company was marketing and distributing unapproved devices made by a Chinese manufacturer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 recommended against the use of some China-made syringes as it investigated reports of leaks, breakages and other quality problems with such products and last month expanded the guidance.

Gilead posts quarterly loss on acquisition charge, revenue rises 5%

Gilead Sciences reported a first-quarter loss on Thursday after taking a $3.9 billion charge for its recent acquisition of liver drug developer CymaBay Therapeutics, while revenue rose 5% on higher HIV, oncology and liver disease treatment sales. For full-year 2024, Gilead said it still expects product sales of $27.1 billion to $27.5 billion, but lowered its earnings outlook to include the recent charge as well as incremental expenses related to the CymaBay deal.

Healthpeak Properties increases 2024 FFO forecast owing to higher demand

Healthpeak Properties raised its annual funds from operations (FFO) forecast on Thursday, banking on resilient demand for its medical office and life science properties. The U.S. healthcare-centric real estate investment trust (REIT) mainly owns medical office and life science assets, as well as a handful of senior housing, hospital and post-acute care assets.

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