Reuters Health News Summary
Following is a summary of current health news briefs.
Supreme Court declines Alabama bid to revive abortion restriction
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday sidestepped a major new challenge to abortion rights by declining to hear Alabama's bid to revive a Republican-backed state law that would have effectively banned the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The justices left in place a lower court ruling that struck down the 2016 law, which would have criminalized a method called dilation and evacuation that is the most common type of abortion performed during the second trimester of a pregnancy.
Encompass Health to pay $48 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations: DOJ
Encompass Health Corp has agreed to pay $48 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act, the U.S. Justice Department said on Friday. The settlement resolves allegations in three lawsuits that some of Encompass Health's inpatient rehabilitation facilities provided inaccurate information to the federal Medicare program to maintain their status as an IRF and earn a higher rate of reimbursement, and that some admissions were not medically necessary, the department said.
Pfizer's Avastin biosimilar wins FDA approval
Pfizer Inc said on Friday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had approved its biosimilar to Roche Holding AG's blockbuster cancer treatment Avastin. Pfizer's Zirabev received approval for the treatment of five types of cancer, including colorectal and lung cancers, it said.
U.S. rights groups, doctors sue to stop Georgia 'heartbeat' abortion ban
A group of civil rights organizations, doctors and clinics sued Georgia's government on Friday to overturn a law passed in March that bans abortions if an embryonic or fetal heartbeat can be detected. The law, which was passed by Republicans, will make abortion possible only in the first few weeks of a pregnancy absent a medical emergency, in many cases before a woman even realizes she is pregnant. It is due to take effect in January.
French health watchdog recommends ending reimbursement for homeopathic drugs
France's health watchdog on Friday recommended that social security stop reimbursing patients for homeopathic drugs, citing insufficient effectiveness. For nine months the HAS watchdog investigated the effects of the alternative medicine on 24 medical conditions, including anxiety, foot warts and acute breathing infections and said it did not find sufficient scientific evidence to justify continued state reimbursement of homeopathic drugs.
Sarepta surges after Pfizer gene therapy data raises safety concerns
Shares of Sarepta Therapeutics Inc surged 15% on Friday after some safety concerns were raised in a small, early-stage study of a competing gene therapy for a rare muscle-wasting disorder from Pfizer Inc. Sarepta reported promising data from its study last year and is in a race with Pfizer and Solid Biosciences Inc to first market a gene therapy for the genetic degenerative disorder that affects one in 3,500 to 5,000 males.
Missouri's only abortion clinic to stay open until at least August 1
Missouri's only abortion clinic will remain open for now after a state arbiter on Friday ordered a stay in response to Planned Parenthood's challenge of the state health department's refusal to renew the clinic's license. Planned Parenthood, the women's healthcare and abortion provider that operates the clinic, filed a petition with Missouri's Administrative Hearing Commission on Tuesday after the group challenged the health department's denial in state court and a judge referred the matter to the commission.
China facing shortage of pediatricians, especially in rural areas
China is facing a shortage of pediatricians and, just as in America, that scarcity is being felt most in rural areas, researchers report in a new study. Rural areas also had the largest percentage of pediatricians with low levels of education, according to the study published in Pediatrics.
French court rules that quadriplegic should be allowed to die
A quadriplegic French patient, who has been in a vegetative state for more than a decade, should be allowed to die, France's top court ruled on Friday. The Cour de Cassation overruled an appeals court which last month had ordered doctors to keep Vincent Lambert alive, just 12 hours after medics had already switched off the man's life support against his parents' will.
Democrats clash on healthcare, border in scrappy first U.S. presidential debate
Democratic presidential contenders battled over healthcare coverage and border policy on Wednesday during a surprisingly heated first debate that laid bare the party's divisions on whether to abolish private insurance and shift to a Medicare-for-All system. In the first round of back-to-back debates, several of the lesser-known candidates vied for attention in the crowded race to take on President Donald Trump, shouting over one another to grab the spotlight and prove they are capable of standing up to the Republican in the November 2020 election.
