Health Sector Faces Challenges from Price Cuts to Personnel Changes

The health sector faces pressing issues, from global advocates urging for mpox test price reductions to big pharma's friction with RFK Jr.'s FDA plans. Meanwhile, California reports a clade I mpox case, and Oregon confirms its first human bird flu case. Equinox faces a data breach involving client and staff health info.

Global health advocates are pushing for a significant reduction in the price of Cepheid's crucial mpox diagnostic test. They argue that cutting the cost from $20 to $5 could improve the testing rates in low-income countries significantly affected by the virus, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo.

In the U.S., the CDC confirmed California's first case of clade I mpox, linked to a traveler from Eastern Africa, and Oregon's first human case of bird flu tied to a poultry outbreak. Meanwhile, drugmaker Eyenovia halts a study for an eye treatment and downsizes its workforce by 50% due to financial constraints.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. pledges a thorough reform of the U.S. FDA, setting the stage for potential conflicts with pharmaceutical companies that fund part of the agency's operations. Additionally, the health and counseling firm Equinox has disclosed a data breach of sensitive health information, affecting clients and staff.

(With inputs from agencies.)