Global Health Updates: Innovations, Legal Battles, and Policy Shifts

Recent health news highlights various topics including Abbott's profit rise due to medical device sales, Trump's IVF comments, synthetic nicotine pouches by BAT, Italy's surrogacy law, and legal battles like GSK suing Moderna, and McKinsey's opioid settlement. FDA halts a Novavax trial raising safety concerns.

In the world of health and medical news, Abbott Laboratories announced a slight increase in their profit forecast thanks to robust sales of their medical devices, such as continuous glucose monitors. This announcement boosted the company's stock by 2%.

Meanwhile, from the political arena, Donald Trump, in an attempt to appeal to women voters, labeled himself the 'father of IVF' during a town hall meeting in Georgia, a state pivotal for the upcoming elections.

In other developments, British American Tobacco is set to launch synthetic nicotine pouches, while Italy has made it illegal to pursue surrogacy abroad as part of a conservative social agenda. GSK has filed a lawsuit against Moderna over patent issues related to mRNA technology, and McKinsey is nearing a $500 million settlement over its role in the opioid crisis.

(With inputs from agencies.)