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July 26 (Reuters) - The private equity owners of popular emergency contraception pill Plan B, Foundation Consumer Healthcare, have hired advisors to explore options including a potential sale of the company, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. A sale could value the company at more than $4 billion, the source said, adding that the process is at an early stage. Foundation Consumer Healthcare also owns brands such as Breathe Right nasal strips, Dimetapp, which is a medicine for cough and cold for children and allergy drug Alavert. Foundation Consumer Healthcare or its private-equity owners Kelso & Co and Juggernaut Capital Partners did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment. The report on the potential sale was first reported by Bloomberg News.

Persons: Roe, Wade, Mariam Sunny, Sriparna Roy, Abigail Summerville, Shilpi Majumdar, Arun Koyyur Organizations: Foundation Consumer Healthcare, Reuters, Kelso & Co, Juggernaut Capital Partners, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Consumer Healthcare, Bloomberg News, Thomson Locations: United States, Israel, Bengaluru, New York

☆ Exclusive: UK probes Novo's Ozempic, weight-loss drug Saxenda over suicidal, self-harming thoughts
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Maggie Fick | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Saxenda is Novo's older GLP-1 drug and has lower effectiveness than its newer obesity treatment Wegovy, which contains semaglutide. Novo told Reuters it had received a request on Monday from the MHRA about the agency's review of potential suicidal and self-harming thoughts related to GLP-1 drugs. The MHRA said AstraZeneca's GLP-1 drug for type 2 diabetes, called exenatide and marketed as Bydureon, was also included in the review. The MHRA said that two other GLP-1 drugs, Sanofi's (SASY.PA) lixisenatide and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N) dulaglutide, were also included. It is also investigating GLP-1 drugs for possible risk of thyroid cancer.

Persons: Novo, AstraZeneca's GLP, lixisenatide, Eli Lilly's, Sanofi, Eli Lilly, liraglutide, Alison Cave, Novo's, MHRA, Ozempic, GLP, Maggie Fick, Josephine Mason, Mark Potter, Jane Merriman Organizations: Novo Nordisk, European Union, The Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, Reuters, AstraZeneca, European Medicines Agency, Thomson Locations: Britain, Europe, United States

☆ UK investigates weight loss, diabetes drugs like Wegovy and Ozempic for suicide risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Packages of the weight-loss drug Wegovy from the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk lie on the sales counter in a Danish pharmacy. U.K. health authorities on Wednesday said they are reviewing obesity and diabetes drugs like Novo Nordisk 's Wegovy and Ozempic after some patients who took the treatments reported thoughts of suicide or self-harm. The MHRA said the review includes all obesity and diabetes drugs available in the U.K. Aside from Ozempic and Wegovy, it includes Novo Nordisk's other weight loss drug Saxenda. Other diabetes drugs like AstraZeneca 's Bydureon, Eli Lilly 's Trulicity and Sanofi 's Lyxumia are also included in the probe. Novo Nordisk said in a statement that it received a review request from the MHRA on Monday.

Persons: MHRA, Eli Lilly, Sanofi Organizations: Novo Nordisk, Nordisk, Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, CNBC, European Union, AstraZeneca, Reuters Locations: Danish, U.S, Novo

SummaryCompanies Order intake down 8% in April-June periodQ2 EBITA 453 mln eur vs forecast 394 mln2023 EBITA margin now seen at upper end of provided rangeShares fall 5%July 24 (Reuters) - Health technology group Philips (PHG.AS) posted a fourth straight drop in order intake on Monday and warned that it expects global market conditions to remain highly uncertain, sending its shares down 5% from a recent 12-month high. The Amsterdam-based group, a former industrial conglomerate that now focuses on medical technology, said order intake had decreased 8% in the April-June period, the fourth quarterly fall in a row. Philips generates 15% of group sales in the People's Republic. New licensing requirements for its healthcare products in Russia were responsible for half the quarterly order decline, Jakobs said. ($1 = 0.8992 euros)Reporting by Diana Mandiá; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David HolmesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Roy Jakobs, Jakobs, Philips, Abhijit Bhattacharya, Diana Mandiá, Kirsten Donovan, David Holmes Organizations: Health, Philips, European Union, ING, Thomson Locations: Amsterdam, United States, China, East, Turkey, Latin America, People's Republic, Russia, Ukraine

☆ Fact Check-SKYCovion vaccine is not sprayed from aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A South Korean COVID-19 vaccine recently authorised in Britain is administered by injection, not sprayed into the sky from aircraft, as social media posts falsely claim. Some social media users have since been saying that SKYCovion will be sprayed on people from aircraft in a possible misinterpretation of the vaccine’s name (here). However, the vaccine is not based on mRNA and is administered through intramuscular injection, according to the MHRA and SK bioscience. SKYCovion is not an mRNA vaccine but has a traditional protein-antigen design. The SKYCovion vaccine authorised in Britain is injected intramuscularly, not sprayed from the sky.

Persons: chemtrails, Read Organizations: South, SK bioscience, GlaxoSmithKline, GSK, SK Chemicals, Britain’s Medicines, Healthcare, Agency, Twitter, ” SK bioscience, Reuters Locations: Britain, South Korean

☆ We got an inside look at a presentation showing the future of Microsoft's $20 billion health-tech acquisition. It revealed how new AI models could transform how we go to the doctor.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Blake Dodge | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Microsoft bought Nuance in 2022 for nearly $20 billion to expand its reach in healthcare. CHICAGO — In 2022, Microsoft bought Nuance for nearly $20 billion to supercharge its growth in the healthcare industry. It's the first tool in Nuance's pipeline to combine the company's own AI models with that of OpenAI, ChatGPT's creator and a deep Microsoft partner. Even back in 2015, enthusiasm for the idea was palpable, Peter Durlach, Nuance's chief strategy officer, told Insider in April. In a conference presentation, Andrea Barrett, a physician assistant and Nuance consultant, demonstrates products using generative AI.

☆ Fact Check-UK COVID vaccine offer for vulnerable young children not mandatory
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The offer of COVID vaccination for very young children is voluntary and specifically targeted to children who are most at risk from COVID, according to the government’s April announcement of the new policy. After Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that young children in clinical risk groups should be offered COVID vaccination, some social media users responded with outrage. JCVI ADVICEThe UK advice does not include all young children. In fact, the prioritisation of COVID-19 vaccination for clinically vulnerable children explains higher mortality rates seen during the pandemic among vaccinated children as compared with unvaccinated children (here and here). There is no evidence the vaccine is unsafe for infants and young children, according to experts and health regulators.

☆ Factbox: India's Wadia Group whose Go First is in trouble
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEW DELHI, May 4 (Reuters) - India's Wadia Group has survived British colonial rule and fierce business rivalries to create an empire that spans industries, from aviation and real estate to retail, healthcare, engineering and chemicals. - Founded in 1736 by Loeji Nusserwanjee Wadia, the group began as a marine construction company that built ships for the British empire, according to its website. - Chairman Nusli N. Wadia is the grandson of Pakistan's founder, Muhammad Ali Jinnah. - Go First, India's third-largest airline filed for bankruptcy protection blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its fleet. The Wadia Group said all its transactions had been conducted in compliance with the law.

☆ The creepy secret behind online therapy
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-20 | by ( Tanmoy Goswami | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +16 min

Crisis Text Line, now in its 10th year of operations, uses artificial intelligence to respond to people experiencing emotional abuse, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts. 'The vast majority of mental-health apps are exceptionally creepy'BetterHelp, a poster child of online therapy founded in 2013, calls itself "the world's largest therapy platform" and says it has over 2 million users. One of the first popular mental-health apps, PTSD Coach, was launched by the US Department of Veteran Affairs in 2011. But for mental-health companies these practices can undermine the very foundations of mental-health care: dignity, trust, and psychological safety. As Crisis Text Line wrote on its website extolling its deal with Loris: "Why sell T-shirts when you can sell what your organization does best?"

☆ 3 reasons digital-healthcare pioneer Hims is staying out of the latest weight-loss craze for now
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-10 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

'As startups dive into prescribing hot new weight loss drugs, Hims & Hers is taking a backseat. Its CEO said Hims wants to offer GLP-1s for weight loss, but thinks it's too early. He cited challenges in the young market like insurers refusing to cover GLP-1s and drug shortages. After Hims & Hers' first profitable quarter ever, the startup is thinking about getting in on telehealth's weight-loss craze. An 'inconsistent' supply chainExploding demand for the new weight-loss drugs has also resulted in shortages, which affect all patients prescribed GLP-1s, not just those using the drugs for weight loss.

☆ Fact Check-Experts say Pfizer COVID vaccine trials did not cause more miscarriages and there is no evidence of COVID-19 vaccine impact on fertility
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Women who got pregnant during Pfizer’s COVID vaccine trials did not have an unusual rate of miscarriage, experts said as they responded to an online video. This is a miscarriage rate of 14%, which is within the “normal” or expected rate of miscarriage per pregnancy, Male said. They also said there is no evidence of impact from COVID-19 vaccines on fertility. Pfizer started a global trial of pregnant women in February 2021. There is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines affect fertility and pregnancies during Pfizer’s COVID vaccine trials did not have an unusual rate of miscarriage.

☆ Factbox: The Japanese chipmaking equipment manufacturers navigating export curbs
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-31 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Here are some of Japan's leading manufacturers of tools used to make semiconductors. In October-December, its chip equipment sales in China fell 22.3% from a year earlier to 102.7 billion yen, accounting for 22.4% of its total chip equipment sales in the quarter. SCREEN HOLDINGS CO LTD (7735.T)Screen is the world's largest manufacturer of equipment used to clean silicon wafers. The company expects shipments to China to make up 20% of chipmaking equipment sales of 375 billion yen for the year to March. About 40% of sales from its lithography machines business, which combines semiconductor lithography and flat panel display lithography equipment, is generated in China.

☆ Britain to overhaul clinical trial regulation to fast-track approvals
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - Britain's health regulator said on Tuesday it would introduce new measures for faster and easier approval and execution of clinical trials in the country. The move comes months after an industry report showed that the number of annual clinical trials started in Britain dropped by 41% between 2017 and 2021, posing a "clear and serious threat" to its reputation as a clinical research destination. "This overhaul of the clinical trials legislation will ... help to streamline approvals by removing granular and duplicative regulatory requirements," Marc Bailey, Chief Science and Innovation Officer at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said. An application review will need to be completed within 30 days, while a maximum of 10 days will be given for a decision to be granted, the regulator said. Reporting by Radhika Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Vinay DwivediOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ U.S. FTC asks social media, video streaming firms info on misleading ads
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Thursday issued orders to eight social media and video streaming firms including Meta Platforms Inc (META.O), Twitter, TikTok and YouTube seeking information on how the platforms screen for misleading advertisements. The companies did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. "Social media has been a gold mine for scammers who tout sham products and other scams that have cost consumers enormously in recent years," said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC's consumer protection bureau. "This study will help the FTC ensure that social media and video streaming companies are doing everything they can to keep scammers and deceptive ads off their platforms." read moreReporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju SamuelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ How buzzy weight-loss drugs like Ozempic became the next craze in the hottest part of healthcare
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-14 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Healthcare companies are launching programs left and right to prescribe trendy weight-loss drugs. And Ro, a startup that prescribes and sells products like Viagra and hair-loss pills to consumers, is going all in with a program it launched in January to prescribe the weight-loss drugs to patients online. CalibrateFirst developed to manage type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 medications regulate blood-sugar levels, which can help people curb cravings and feel fuller after eating. The weight-loss market for GLP-1 drugs is relatively new, and not everyone is on board. But for some companies, stepping into prescribing these new weight-loss medications seems to simply be the natural next step for growth.

☆ Why buzzy weight-loss drugs are the next craze for healthcare startups
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-13 | by ( Rebecca Torrence | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Healthcare companies are launching programs left and right to prescribe trendy weight-loss drugs. And Ro, a startup that prescribes and sells products like Viagra and hair-loss pills to consumers, is going all in with a program it launched in January to prescribe the weight-loss drugs to patients online. Even startups like Noom, which quietly started a program prescribing GLP-1 medications, could stand to benefit from the drugs' popularity after a tumultuous year for the startup. The weight-loss market for GLP-1 drugs is relatively new, and not everyone is on board. But for some companies, stepping into prescribing these new weight-loss medications seems to simply be the natural next step for growth.

☆ Fact Check-Poster claiming COVID vaccines caused UK psychiatric disorders is fabricated
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A poster masked as an advert and featuring a photo of a man’s head shattering falsely alleges that COVID-19 vaccines have been officially recognized as the cause of 31,570 psychiatric disorders in the UK. However, no association between COVID-19 vaccines and any psychiatric disorder has been found, an MHRA spokesperson told Reuters. The spokesperson added: “We have closely monitored the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines since the beginning of the UK vaccination programme. Reuters previously addressed claims that the UK’s Yellow Card scheme shows confirmed side effects of COVID vaccines here, here and here . No link has been found between COVID-19 vaccines and psychiatric disorders, according to the MHRA.

The campaign increases the pressure on non-executive Chairman Norbert Winkeljohann, who has faced calls from large shareholders for the swift replacement of Chief Executive Werner Baumann, who engineered Bayer's troubled Monsanto takeover. The approaches come after Ubben's activist investment fund Inclusive Capital Partners said last month it had bought a 0.83% stake in Bayer. David Herro, deputy chairman of Harris Associates, told Reuters in brief emailed comments that Ubben had contacted him to discuss Bayer. A spokesperson said Bayer was always open to a constructive dialogue with shareholders and declined to comment further. Investors who have publicly called for a swift CEO change hold at least a combined 6.7% in Bayer, according to Refinitiv data.

☆ Drug Distributor AmerisourceBergen to Change Name to Cencora
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Ariana Perez-Castells | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The company’s name change will go into effect in the second half of this year. AmerisourceBergen Corp. plans to change its name to Cencora to reflect its aim to expand outside the U.S. and beyond drug distribution. The company, among the largest distributors of medicines and other healthcare products in the U.S., with $239 billion in revenue last fiscal year, said Tuesday it expects to begin using the new name in the second half of this year.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence COVID-19 mRNA vaccines are significant contributing factor to UK’s 30,000 excess cardiovascular deaths
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Millions of people have viewed a BBC News interview with a British cardiologist who used the broadcast to spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Malhotra cites the British Heart Foundation (BHF) for reporting 30,000 excess cardiovascular deaths “during the pandemic or since the pandemic”. A BHF spokesperson told Reuters that there were indeed 30,000 excess deaths involving ischaemic heart disease (IHD) in England between March 2020 and August 2022. Reuters has addressed similar claims linking COVID-19 vaccines with excess mortality (here, here and here), cardiac arrests (here, here and here), and other heart issues. Experts say the 30,000 excess cardiovascular deaths reported since the beginning of the pandemic are due to COVID-19 infection and issues with healthcare services.

☆ Fact Check-No evidence COVID-19 vaccines are linked to athletes collapsing or dying
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

He suffered a cardiac arrest moments after making a tackle and had to have his heartbeat restored on the field (here). In the UK, Dr Steven Cox, chief executive of charity Cardiac Risk on the Young (CRY), also told Reuters via email that sudden cardiac death in young people “is sadly not a new phenomenon”. The authors also noted that this was “likely... a significant underestimate” of the true incidence of cardiac death in the young. Another study published in 2022 by PLOS medicine found acute COVID-19 was associated with a 5.8x increased risk of cardiovascular disease, including a 6.4x increased risk of atrial arrythmias in the month after infection. Experts say there is no research that shows a link between COVID-19 vaccines and athletes collapsing or dying from sudden cardiac arrest.

☆ Fact Check-Flu vaccine study unrelated to Group A Strep doesn't show increase of illness
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

Group A Streptococcus (GAS) is the name for bacteria that can cause infections like strep throat, scarlet fever and impetigo. However, the 2014 study examined different bacteria and found that while their numbers increased following the nasal flu vaccine, that did not lead to increased bacterial disease. A recent UK study has also found that while infections of influenza itself be linked to increased cases of Group A Strep, the nasal vaccine is associated with a reduction in bacterial infections. But it did not investigate group A strep bacteria; rather, the study investigated Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus, which Mina said in an email, are “very different” pathogens to group A strep. A 2014 study does not show the nasal spray flu vaccine causes Group A Strep.

☆ We're finally learning more about how Dollar General could take on the healthcare industry
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Dollar General unveiled plans in 2021 to become a health destination for people in rural areas. Dollar General said it will evaluate whether to bring the clinics to additional stores. Dollar General just started delivering urgent and preventative care to customers in mobile clinics at three of its stores outside of Nashville. Dollar General is among several large retailers hoping to carve out a bigger piece of the $4.3 trillion healthcare industry. Dollar General's healthcare push so far has been limitedDollar General first said it wanted to expand access to healthcare services in rural communities in July 2021.

☆ Top Wall Street analysts like these stocks amid easing inflation
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Tipranks.Com Staff | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

To help the process, here are five stocks chosen by Wall Street's top pros, according to TipRanks, a platform that ranks analysts based on their track records. Hims & HersAnother stock that Feinseth has recently reiterated as a buy is the multi-specialty telehealth company, Hims & Hers (HIMS). Feinseth is confident in HIMS's strong brand equity and customer loyalty, which he expects will continue to drive business performance. BTIG analyst Ryan Zimmerman notes that the company stands to benefit from this space as larger players have mostly overlooked the opportunity. (See OrthoPediatrics Financial Statements on TipRanks) Last week, Zimmerman reiterated his buy rating and $62 price target on KIDS stock.

TORONTO, Dec 28 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Like dogs seeking forever homes, stray pet businesses will find new owners in 2023. After a surge in Covid-19 lockdown adoptions, some seven out of 10 U.S. households owned one, according to a recent survey by The American Pet Products Association. Nestlé (NESN.S) boss Mark Schneider, for one, said he is open to opportunities in pet food, while Colgate-Palmolive (CL.N) recently bought additional manufacturing facilities to beef up its Hill’s Pet Nutrition division. Privately held Mars, which acquired Canada-based Champion Petfoods and Nom Nom, also could be on the hunt. Separately, Mars also agreed to acquire pet food brand Nom Nom for an undisclosed price, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14.

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