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Dozens of U.S. ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028, a dairy industry group and government officials said on Monday. The producers, which together represent more than 90% of ice cream sold in the U.S., are the latest food companies to take voluntary steps to remove dyes since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said the U.S. aimed to phase out many synthetic dyes from the country's food supply. Several major food manufacturers - including General Mills (GIS.N), Kraft Heinz, J.M. Smucker (SJM.N), Hershey (HSY.N) and Nestle USA (NESN.S) - have previously announced their plans to phase out synthetic food coloring. The 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products, according to the International Dairy Foods Association. The IDFA announced the plan at an event at the U.S. Department of Agriculture headquarters on Monday with Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins. "We know that our current health outcomes, especially for our children, are unsustainable and that American agriculture is at the heart of the solution to make America healthy again," Rollins...

Abbott (ABT.N), opens new tab warned on Thursday it expects more than $1 billion in financial headwinds this year from a sharp decline in COVID-19 testing demand, new U.S. tariffs, and the government's foreign aid freeze. Its shares were down nearly 9% as the medical device giant also forecast third-quarter profit below estimates. Abbott's diagnostics division will be hit hardest, with a projected $700 million revenue impact in 2025 due to fading COVID test sales and pricing pressure from China's procurement program that buys medical devices in bulk at steep discounts. Adding to the strain, tariff-related costs are expected to total just under $200 million, with most of the impact landing in the second half of the year. But CEO Robert Ford said tariffs are now expected to be "less of a headwind than what we had originally anticipated back in January." Larger rival Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab on Wednesday halved its expectations for tariff costs this year to about $200 million. "Together with the U.S. funding (freeze) for HIV testing, that's over a billion dollars of headwind," Abbott's Ford told analysts on a call. The Trump administration's decision to halt foreign aid has upended the supply chain for medical products and...

The Novo Nordisk Foundation and Denmark's state-owned credit fund said on Thursday they will invest in what they say will be the world's most powerful quantum computer, aiming to revolutionize areas such as drug discovery and materials science. Quantum computing holds the promise of carrying out calculations that would take today's systems millions of years and could unlock discoveries in medicine, chemistry and many other fields where near-infinite seas of possible combinations of molecules confound classical computers. The Novo Nordisk Foundation, the non-profit which controls pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk (NOVOb.CO), opens new tab, and Denmark's Export and Investment Fund (EIFO), said in a statement they would invest 80 million euros ($92.93 million) in the initiative called QuNorth. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. Microsoft (MSFT.O), opens new tab, which has its largest quantum lab in Denmark, will provide software and Atom Computing will build the quantum computer. The computer will be named Magne, inspired by Norse mythology where Magne, the son of Thor, is known for his immense strength. Construction will begin in autumn and the computer is expected to be ready by the end of next year. The quantum computer will start...

British drugmaker GSK (GSK.L), opens new tab said on Monday it had submitted an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to extend the use of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine to adults under the age of 50 at a higher risk of the disease. If approved in the world's biggest pharmaceuticals market, GSK's vaccine, Arexvy, would be competing for a market share in the 18-49 age group with Moderna's (MRNA.O), opens new tab mRESVIA and Pfizer's (PFE.N), opens new tabAbrysvo, opens new tab. RSV is a common respiratory virus that causes seasonal infections such as the flu and is a leading cause of pneumonia and death in infants and older adults. GSK's vaccine is currently approved in the U.S. for preventing RSV-related disease in adults aged 60 and above, and in at-risk adults aged 50 to 59. While it had a lead in approvals initially, it has since lagged behind rivals and sales have fallen sharply. The FDA is expected to make a decision on the expanded use of Arexvy in the first half of 2026, GSK said. European regulators are also expected to rule on a similar application by then.

Hong Kong-listed Sino Biopharmaceutical (1177.HK), opens new tab said on Tuesday it will buy the remaining 95.09% stake it does not hold in Shanghai-based LaNova Medicines for no more than $950.92 million. The acquisition of the cancer treatment developer will enhance Sino's competitiveness and influence in oncology innovation, while also enabling potential future international transactions by leveraging LaNova's R&D capabilities, it added. Sino added LaNova will become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary once the deal is completed, which is expected within 30 business days after regulatory conditions are met. The firm had already bought a 4.91% stake in LaNova in November, opens new tab last year, paying around 142 million yuan ($19.80 million) at the time. LaNova Medicines was founded in 2019, specialising in discovering and developing antibody-based cancer treatments, according to details mentioned on their website. In November last year, Merck (MRK.N), opens new tab licensed an early-stage cancer drug LM-299 from LaNova in a deal worth up to $3.3 billion, taking over its development. The drug candidate targets the PD-1 protein, which prevents the immune system from killing cancerous cells. It also curbs levels of VEGF protein, which can encourage tumor growth if found in excess.

More than half of large U.S. employers plan to scale back healthcare benefits next year as rising costs from weight-loss and specialty drugs squeeze budgets, according to a new survey released by consulting firm Mercer on Wednesday. Among employers with 500 or more workers, 51% said they planned to increase cost-sharing in 2026, including raising deductibles and maximum out-of-pocket costs for workers. That is up from 45% of large employers who said they would increase cost-sharing for 2025. Concern over the cost of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs like Novo Nordisk's (http://NOVOb.CO) opens new tab Wegovy has surged, with 77% of employers naming them a top issue, the consultancy said. "More clients are saying ... 'I don't know how much longer we can sustain covering these medications'," said Alysha Fluno, a pharmacy innovation leader at Mercer, in an interview. While some employers have covered GLP-1s hoping for long-term health savings, rising prices are forcing a rethink: "Some employers facing big cost increases in 2026 may feel this coverage is out of reach," Fluno said. Greater competition in the weight-loss drug market in coming years will give pharmacy benefit managers more negotiating power with drugmakers and drive meaningful cost reductions, said Fluno. Novo's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's (LLY.N), opens...

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ.N), opens new tab raised its full-year sales forecast on Wednesday after beating estimates for second-quarter profit on strong demand for its cancer drug, Darzalex, and strength in its medical device business. The company also reduced its expectations for tariff-related costs to $200 million from $400 million for the year, citing the Trump administration's pause on levies on China and other retaliatory tariff measures. Keep up with the latest medical breakthroughs and healthcare trends with the Reuters Health Rounds newsletter. Sign up here. "We were able to absorb that and still raise our EPS guidance by 25 cents on the year," CFO Joseph Wolk said. On an adjusted basis, the drug and medical device maker earned $2.77 per share for the quarter, above analysts' expectations of $2.68 per share, according to data compiled by LSEG. Sales in the quarter were $23.74 billion, above analysts' expectations of $22.84 billion. Excluding the impact of foreign currency, quarterly sales for the medtech unit rose 6.1% to $8.54 billion. Analysts were expecting sales of $8.25 billion. The company said it now expects full-year sales, including the impact of foreign currency, in the range of $93.2 billion to $93.6 billion, up from its April forecast of $91 billion...

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted full approval for Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, in children aged 6 months through 11 years who are at an increased risk of the disease, the company said on Thursday. The shot was previously available for pediatric populations under emergency use authorization. Moderna expects to make its updated vaccine available for eligible U.S. population for the 2025-26 respiratory virus season. Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had in May said the U.S. has stopped recommending routine COVID-19 vaccinations for healthy children and healthy pregnant women. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said shots remain an option for healthy children when parents and doctors agree that it is needed. The agency recommended updated COVID vaccines for everyone aged six months and older, following the guidance of its panel of outside experts. Kennedy, who for decades has sown doubt about the safety of vaccines contrary to evidence and research by scientists, oversees the CDC. He has been sued by several leading medical organizations, arguing that current policies on COVID-19 vaccines pose an imminent threat to public health. In addition to the directive on COVID vaccines, Kennedy fired all 17 members of the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices,...

The Health Caregiving Industry has become an indispensable part of the global healthcare ecosystem, driven by aging populations, rising chronic disease prevalence, and increased demand for personalized care services. Over recent years, the industry size has expanded significantly with notable advancements in caregiving technologies and service delivery models. The Global Health Caregiving Market size is estimated to be valued at USD 300 billion in 2025 and is expected to reach USD 480 billion by 2032, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.2% from 2025 to 2032. These projections underscore robust market growth fueled by demographic shifts, increased healthcare spending, and evolving market dynamics shaping business growth and new market opportunities in caregiving sectors.

AstraZeneca (AZN.L), opens new tab's experimental drug baxdrostat has been successful in lowering high blood pressure in a late-stage study of people whose condition was hard to control or treat, the Anglo-Swedish drugmaker said on Monday, sending shares up 2%. The drug met the main and secondary goals of the study at two dosages, with a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in systolic blood pressure at 12 weeks when given with standard treatment, and compared with placebo, AstraZeneca said. The company added baxdrostat to its roster after it acquired CinCor Pharma in 2023 as part of its efforts to build out its pipeline of heart and kidney disease treatments. AstraZeneca shares rose 2% to 106.60 pounds per share, and were among top percentage gainers on the blue-chip FTSE 100 (.FTSE), opens new tab index in early trading. The drug works by targeting and suppressing the hormone aldosterone, which is responsible for increasing blood pressure and causing risk of heart and kidney diseases. The drug is currently also being investigated as a standalone therapy for hypertension, and as part of a combination therapy for chronic kidney disease and the prevention of heart failure in high-risk patients with hypertension.