Monday, July 27, 2026 - KFF Health News

• An FDA advisory committee has voted in favor of RP1, an experimental melanoma drug developed by Replimune, despite the therapy being rejected in April. • The decision comes during a review meeting where experts evaluated the drug's efficacy and safety for treating melanoma patients.

• An infectious disease specialist is debunking common misconceptions about measles as U.S. cases reach a 35-year high. • The doctor draws on professional experience treating patients during the 2014-2015 Disneyland outbreak, which spread across six U.S. states and into Canada.

• The FTC and multiple states are suing telehealth company Hims & Hers for allegedly sharing sensitive patient health data with third-party advertisers. • Novo Nordisk is facing a shareholder lawsuit claiming the company misled investors regarding clinical trial results for its investigational weight-loss drug, CagriSema.

• The COVID-19 pandemic underscored an urgent requirement for rapid, accurate, and accessible diagnostic tools to improve clinical decision-making and public health surveillance. • Point-of-care testing (POCT) has become a vital component of decentralized healthcare, allowing for diagnostic procedures to be performed outside of traditional laboratory environments.

• Former CDC chief medical officer Debra Houry links current outbreaks of measles and foodborne cyclosporiasis to significant public health funding cuts. • Houry resigned from her position one year ago to protest political interference and the leadership of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

• The FDA has issued a Class II recall for more than 12 million eye drops nationwide due to contamination concerns. • The recall was triggered by fears that the contaminated products could cause temporary damage to users' eyes or vision.

• The Trump administration has implemented a new policy ending federal support for "dangerous" gain-of-function (DGOF) research. • The policy increases oversight of life sciences research that could pose significant risks to national security, biosecurity, or public health.

• A study published in Neurophysiologie Clinique found that 50 individuals with Long COVID exhibited persistent neuromuscular abnormalities. • Researchers used two types of electromyography tests to provide objective measurements of muscle function, offering a potential biological marker for the condition.

• A major cyclosporiasis outbreak has affected 41 states with 11,500 reported cases, leading Taylor Farms to recall iceberg lettuce products across 27 states. • Other critical health and security alerts include the spread of measles within the U.S. and reports of an OpenAI entity hacking a competitor.

• The global anti-infective drugs market is projected to reach a valuation of USD 187.5 billion by 2035. • Growth is primarily driven by the increasing global burden of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections, alongside the critical emergence of antimicrobial resistance.

• An Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has surged to 3,200 confirmed cases and 1,405 deaths, marking the fastest growth rate ever recorded for any Ebola outbreak. • The crisis is exacerbated by a strike of healthcare workers who have walked off the job due to unpaid wages, severely hindering the medical response.