Health

Packages of M&M's milk chocolate candy are stacked at a Costco Wholesale store in San Diego, California, on July 12, 2025.Kevin Carter | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesCandy maker Mars said Wednesday it has partnered with biotech company Pairwise to speed up the development of more resilient cocoa using CRISPR-based gene editing technology.The agreement gives the M&M's maker access to Pairwise's Fulcrum platform, which includes a library of plant traits, and gives Mars the ability to tailor its crops to be stronger and more sustainable.CRISPR is a gene-editing tool that makes fast and precise changes to DNA. In farming, it's used to improve crops by targeting different traits such as drought and disease resistance.The goal is to create cacao plants — the source of cacao beans, whi...

FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is seen in Silver Spring, Maryland November 4, 2009. Jason Reed | ReutersA version of this article first appeared in CNBC's Healthy Returns newsletter, which brings the latest health-care news straight to your inbox. Subscribe here to receive future editions.A new program from the Trump administration aims to make setting up manufacturing plants in the U.S. less of a headache for the pharmaceutical industry. The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced a new "PreCheck" program, which will use a two-phase approach to help boost domestic drug manufacturing after it shrunk dramatically over the past two decades.  The announcement is a direct response to President Donald Trump's executive order in May calling...

Many on Wall Street expect that Novo Nordisk 's loss has been Eli Lilly 's gain, and this will be good news for the Zepbound maker's second-quarter results. Novo Nordisk's stock has cratered about 47% since the start of the year, as doubts emerged about the outlook for its GLP-1 drugs, Ozempic for diabetes and Wegovy for obesity. The company has said its business has been hurt by competition from compounding pharmacies, which are making knock-off versions of its semaglutide, the active ingredient in both brands. This prompted Novo to cut its annual forecast and oust its CEO. Lilly's business appears to be holding up much better, according to analysts. They anticipate the proof will be in the quarterly results and outlook. What's more, several analysts expect other catalysts, including next...

Eli Lilly on Thursday hiked its 2025 guidance and posted second-quarter earnings that topped estimates on strong demand for its blockbuster weight loss and diabetes drugs.The company raised its fiscal 2025 sales guidance to $60 billion to $62 billion, from a previous outlook of $58 billion to $61 billion on underlying strength across its business. The pharmaceutical giant also expects its adjusted fiscal 2025 earnings to come in between $21.75 and $23, up from previous guidance of $20.78 to $22.28 per share. Eli Lilly said the guidance reflects President Donald Trump's existing tariffs as of Aug. 7, but does not include his planned levies on pharmaceuticals imported into the U.S.Also on Thursday, Eli Lilly released long-awaited late-stage trial data on its experimental obesity pill, orforg...

Eli Lilly on Thursday said the highest dose of its daily obesity pill helped patients lose almost 12% of their body weight, or roughly 27 pounds, at 72 weeks in a late-stage trial, paving the way for its entrance into the market.The pill's weight loss was 11.2% when analyzing all patients regardless of discontinuations.Shares of the company fell around 13% on Thursday. Meanwhile, shares of rival Novo Nordisk, which is also working to bring an obesity pill to the market, jumped more than 7% on Thursday.The data comes under what some Wall Street analysts were expecting for Eli Lilly's oral GLP-1, with hopes for weight loss of around 15%. Some doctors said the results appear to be comparable to, but overall slightly lower, the level of weight loss seen with Novo Nordisk's blockbuster weekly G...

Doximity at the New York Stock Exchange for its initial public offering on June 24, 2021.Source: NYSEDoximity is diving deeper into artificial intelligence, announcing on Thursday the acquisition of startup Pathway Medical for $63 million. Pathway has built an AI-powered clinical reference tool that doctors can use to ask questions about guidelines, drugs and trials. Pathway's answers are synthesized from medical literature, and Doximity said the Montreal-based startup has one of the largest structured datasets in medicine. Doximity's platform, which for years was described as LinkedIn for doctors, helps clinicians stay current on medical news, manage paperwork, find referrals and carry out telehealth appointments with patients. Through its acquisition of Pathway, Doximity hopes doctors wi...

A U.S. company that makes health care products is recalling four over-the-counter skin cleansers and an anti-itch lotion it says could lead to "serious and life-threatening infections." New Jersey-based DermaRite Industries announced on Friday that it was voluntarily recalling the health care products due to the fact that they may cause a microbial contamination known as Burkholderia cepecia, which may result in adverse reactions, particularly in immunocompromised individuals.In a company statement, DermaRite said the contaminated products "may be used by immunosuppressed individuals or by people who are attending to these individuals." The recall notice was also shared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.Symptoms for Burkholderia Cepecia Complex can range from fever and fatigue to se...

The Omada Health logo is displayed on a smartphone screen.Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesOmada Health reported quarterly results for the first time since its initial public offering in June.Here's how the company did based on average analysts' estimates compiled by LSEG:Loss per share: 24 centsRevenue: $61 million vs. $55.2 million expectedThe virtual care company's revenue increased 49% in its second quarter from $41.21 million a year earlier. The company reported a net loss of $5.31 million, or a loss of 24 cents per share, compared to a net loss of $10.69 million, or a loss of $1.40 per share, during the same period last year."It's a strategically consistent quarter for Omada, happening at an accelerated pace, which is nice," Omada CEO Sean Duffy said in an interview with CNBC....

A nurse prepares doses of the Pfizer vaccine during a COVID-19 vaccination event at Josephine's Southern Cooking in Chatham, Illinois, Dec. 30, 2021.Brian Cassella | Tribune News Service | Getty ImagesThe Food and Drug Administration is considering revoking its authorization of Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine for healthy children under the age of 5, the drugmaker confirmed to CNBC on Tuesday. The move could leave many kids with no available shot against the virus, as jabs from Moderna and Novavax are cleared for more limited populations. While Covid typically causes mild symptoms in most children, others, such as infants under 1 or those with certain health conditions, can be at a higher risk of severe illness and hospitalization.If the FDA pulls the authorization, it would add to a string of re...

Infants and toddlers are getting in on animal-heavy diets, gnawing on leg of lamb and pork rinds. Pediatricians and nutrition scientists are concerned—and perplexed. ]