Health
FDA clears first generic of breakthrough twice-yearly HIV prevention shot for 120 countries
The FDA tentatively approved Dr. Reddy's generic lenacapavir, a twice-yearly HIV prevention injection nearly 100% effective in large trials — priced at $40 a year for 120 low- and middle-income countries, against about $28,000 for the branded shot in the U.S.
FDA approves first DNA-based immunotherapy for rare airway disease that forces repeated surgeries
The FDA granted accelerated approval on October 30 to Inovio's Voceryq, the first plasmid DNA-based immunotherapy approved in the U.S., for adults with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis — a rare HPV-driven disease that forces patients into repeated airway surgeries.
Ohio Medicaid open enrollment opens today: members have until Nov. 30 to pick a plan
Ohio Medicaid's annual managed care open enrollment runs November 1–30, 2026. Members can review plans and switch online or by phone; those happy with their current plan need take no action.
Ohio measles cases near 300 in 2026 — almost 600% above all of 2025
Ohio has reported 296 measles cases across 24 counties in 2026, up 36 in a week, with Pike County reporting 20 new cases; the state total is 557% above the 45 cases recorded in all of 2025.
Mercy Health to end deliveries at Warren hospital, moving births to Boardman
Mercy Health will stop delivering babies at St. Joseph Warren Hospital by early December and consolidate births at St. Elizabeth Boardman, prompting Trumbull County commissioners to file a complaint with the Ohio Department of Medicaid.
Rural Ohio health system still waiting on $80 million in federal Medicaid payments
Marietta-based Memorial Health System is waiting on about $80 million in Medicaid supplemental payments pending CMS approval, its CEO told Becker's on October 31 — a delay that has stalled financing for the new women's and children's hospital in Belpre.
U.S. measles cases climb to 4,852, CDC says — more than double all of 2025
The CDC reported 4,852 confirmed cases as of October 29, up 264 in a week, with 511 hospitalizations; 96% of cases were in people unvaccinated or with unknown vaccination status.
Erie wastewater shows meth up nearly 26% this summer, health officials say
Erie County health officials say summer wastewater samples showed methamphetamine up nearly 26% from a year earlier, while cocaine held steady and fentanyl kept appearing in small but dangerous amounts.
Belpre's new women's and children's hospital stalls as Ohio waits on federal rural funds
Construction of southeast Ohio's first women's and children's hospital in Belpre is on hold while Memorial Health System waits on $36 million in federal rural-hospital funds that had not been released as of October 28.
FDA clears first U.S. catheter device built to seal leaks around replacement heart valves
Abbott announced October 28 that the FDA approved its Amplatzer Paraclose PVL Occluder, the first transcatheter device approved in the U.S. specifically to treat paravalvular leak — blood flowing through a gap around a surgical heart valve — offering an alternative to repeat open-heart surgery.
FDA grants orphan drug status to experimental oral treatment for inherited vision loss
The FDA granted orphan drug designation to Octant's OCT-980 for rhodopsin-associated autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa, an inherited condition that causes gradual vision loss; the designation supports development but is not an approval.
Lung cancer immunotherapy combination cuts risk of death by a third in final phase 3 analysis
The NEOTORCH phase 3 final analysis found perioperative toripalimab plus chemotherapy cut the risk of death by 34% versus chemotherapy alone in resectable stage II–III lung cancer, with median event-free survival not yet reached versus 20.2 months.
FDA issues draft guidance for personalized gene therapies as CMS moves to widen access
The FDA issued draft guidance letting multiple patient-specific gene-editing variants sit within a single license application, while CMS announced steps to widen access for rare-disease patients.
FDA clears OrthoPediatrics' pediatric thigh-bone nail system; first surgeries done
OrthoPediatrics said the FDA cleared its Pediatric Nailing Platform Femur Retrograde Nail System for pediatric femoral trauma and deformity correction, and that the first procedures using the system have already been completed.
FDA clears Cullinan's velinotamig trial for two autoimmune blood disorders
Cullinan Therapeutics said U.S. and Australian regulators cleared a global Phase 1b/2a trial of velinotamig, a BCMAxCD3 T-cell engager given under the skin, in relapsing and refractory ITP and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
Lung cancer combination nearly doubles time without progression in first-line trial
The SANOVO phase 3 trial found savolitinib plus osimertinib extended median progression-free survival to 24.9 months versus 13.8 months with osimertinib alone in EGFR-mutated lung cancer with MET overexpression.
Keytruda alone beats chemotherapy in advanced endometrial cancer trial
Median progression-free survival was 38.2 months versus 8.4 months with chemotherapy in mismatch repair deficient disease; results presented at ESMO and published in The Lancet.
FDA approves Talzenna plus Xtandi for earlier metastatic prostate cancer with HRR mutations
The TALAPRO-3 trial cut the risk of progression or death by 52% in men with HRR-mutated disease still sensitive to hormone therapy.
FDA grants breakthrough status to ultrasound-guided dialysis needle device
The breakthrough designation for X9's ultrasound system with power-assisted needle insertion is a development milestone, not an approval; the device remains investigational.
Lung cancer combo cuts risk of progression 45% in hard-to-treat tumors, ESMO trial shows
Savolitinib plus osimertinib extended median progression-free survival to 7.6 months from 5.4 months with chemotherapy in MET-driven lung cancer, in results presented at ESMO Madrid and published in NEJM.
Cleveland's University Hospitals still working through outage after 'unusual activity'
The 18-hospital system took its systems offline October 22, disrupting MyChart and its website; patient access was still limited in an October 25 registry update.
Lung cancer drug combo shows durable responses in first-line trial presented at ESMO
Sacituzumab tirumotecan plus pembrolizumab lengthened responses to 13.6 months versus 6.8 months in OptiTROP-Lung06, presented October 25 and published in NEJM.
FDA clears dostarlimab for rectal cancer that may spare patients chemo, radiation and surgery
Approved October 19 for MSI-H/dMMR stage II/III rectal cancer, the immunotherapy left 68% of evaluable trial patients in sustained complete response at 12 months.
FDA grants Keytruda full approval for high-mutation tumors, with a stricter cutoff
The approval converts the 2020 accelerated approval to full approval but raises the qualifying threshold from 10 to 13 mutations per megabase.
Breast-cancer triplet nearly triples time without progression in key subgroup, ESMO data show
Gedatolisib plus fulvestrant and palbociclib delivered median progression-free survival of 21.5 months versus 9.1 months in PIK3CA-mutant breast cancer without liver metastases.
Immunotherapy combo adds nearly a year of survival in advanced endometrial cancer
DUO-E trial: median survival of 51.1 months with durvalumab plus olaparib versus 39.6 with chemotherapy alone, ESMO data showed.
Amgen drug combo cuts lung-cancer death risk 58% in major trial
Imdelltra plus Imfinzi delivered median survival of 21.1 months versus 12.7 in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer, ESMO data showed.
FDA approves first once-weekly insulin for children with type 2 diabetes
Awiqli cuts basal injections from seven a week to one for children 10 and older, Novo Nordisk announced Oct. 23.
Novartis breast cancer drug cuts death risk 19% in six-year trial
Kisqali plus hormone therapy widened the survival gap for high-risk early breast cancer, data presented at ESMO in Madrid show.
Novartis MS drug remibrutinib cuts relapse rates by a third in Phase 3 trials
The oral drug cut relapse rates by 35% and 31% against Sanofi's Aubagio. Novartis plans global regulatory submissions.
1.4 million patients exposed in Central Ohio Primary Care data breach
An August voice-phishing attack hit COPC's systems. Notifications began Oct. 21 — a delay a law firm says may have broken the law.
Cincinnati blood supplier issues urgent call for donors as supply dips
Hoxworth serves 31 hospitals across the Tri-State. O-positive and O-negative donors are needed most.
Nigeria confirms its first Ebola case, sparking a regional alert — 44 contacts under watch
Fifth country hit by the deadliest Ebola outbreak in DRC history — over 4,200 deaths. No vaccine exists for this strain.
FDA approves Hibsago, the first drug with the potential to cure chronic hepatitis B
A six-month course achieved functional cure in 19% of trial patients, versus less than 1% on current standard of care.