White House scrapped FDA plan to restrict flavored e-cigarettes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A White House office deleted language in a recently introduced tobacco regulation that would have removed flavored e-cigarettes from the market until they had been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration, an edited version of the document shows.

General Mills recalls flour over possible link to E.coli outbreak

(Reuters) - General Mills Inc on Tuesday issued a voluntary recall of about 10 million pounds of flour, saying it was working with health officials to investigate an outbreak of E. coli that had sickened 38 people in 20 U.S. states.

WHO advises eight weeks of safe sex after return from Zika areas

GENEVA (Reuters) - People returning from areas where the Zika virus is found should follow safe sex practices or abstain from sex for at least eight weeks rather than just four, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.

How Wellcome and Gates charities profit from helping biotech

LONDON (Reuters) - The Wellcome Trust medical charity is to profit from U.S. approval of a new diagnostic cancer test, the first commercial product funded by the organization since the sale of its pharmaceuticals business to Glaxo in 1995.

Roche and Novartis face off in biosimilar drug battle

ZURICH (Reuters) - Switzerland's biggest drugmakers are clashing over cheaper copies of pricey biotech drugs - one reason why Novartis is considering selling its $14 billion stake in cross-town rival Roche.

WHO rejects call for Olympics to be moved due to Zika

LONDON, (Reuters) - The World Health Organization (WHO) on Saturday rejected a call for the Rio Olympic Games to be moved or postponed due to the threat posed by a large outbreak of Zika virus in Brazil.

Medical experts want Rio Olympics delayed or moved due to Zika

LONDON/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 medical experts, academia and scientists on Friday have called for the Rio Olympic Games to be postponed or moved because of fears that the event could speed up the spread of the Zika virus around the world.

New incentives needed to develop antibiotics to fight superbugs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Drugmakers are renewing efforts to develop medicines to fight emerging antibiotic-resistant bacteria, but creating new classes of drugs on the scale needed is unlikely to happen without new financial incentives to make the effort worth the investment, companies and industry experts said.

E-cigarette use rose rapidly in UK, France: European study

LONDON (Reuters) - The number of people in France and Britain who have tried an electronic or e-cigarette has risen sharply in just two years, according to a Europe-wide study published on Tuesday.

Scientists disagree over Zika risk at Brazil's Olympics

LONDON (Reuters) - One day after a top U.S. health official declared there was no public health reason to cancel or delay this summer's Olympics in Brazil, more than 150 scientists on Friday called for just that, saying the risk of infection from the Zika virus is too high.

U.S. sees first case of bacteria resistant to all antibiotics

(Reuters) - U.S. health officials on Thursday reported the first case in the country of a patient with an infection resistant to all known antibiotics, and expressed grave concern that the superbug could pose serious danger for routine infections if it spreads.

States on Zika's frontline see big gaps in funding, expertise

(Reuters) - In Mississippi, a small team of entomologists has begun the first survey of mosquito populations in decades. Experts do not believe the kind of mosquitoes most likely to carry the Zika virus are active in the state, but they cannot know for sure.

Europe lifts warning on Pfizer smoking cessation drug

LONDON (Reuters) - European regulators have lifted a warning on Pfizer's smoking cessation drug Champix - called Chantix in the United States - after a clinical study concluded it did not appear to increase the risk of neuropsychiatric side effects.