Health News
Latest health news and updates
Total: 73
Surgeon Convicted After Charging Patients for Implanted Devices That Never Went In — A Case of Medical Corruption in China
A senior surgeon at Zhengzhou University’s First Affiliated Hospital was convicted in 2025 for charging patients for implanted microvascular devices that were not used or were hidden in tissue, pocketing over ¥1m in kickbacks. The case exposes weaknesses in hospital procurement, clinician incentives and device oversight, with implications for patient trust and regulator enforcement in China’s healthcare system.
Patient Companions: How China’s Gig Workforce Is Filling a Healthcare Gap — and Testing Regulation
China’s informal industry of patient companions has grown rapidly to help elderly and urban patients navigate crowded hospitals, but it remains fragmented, poorly regulated and exposed to fraud and liability risks. Recent local pilots and an interagency statement signal a move toward professionalisation, while practitioners warn that certification and platform dynamics have yet to resolve structural precarity.
Testing Blind Spot in Infant Formula: Toxin Levels Can Jump up to 75× After Reconstitution
Belgium’s Sciensano found that cereulide toxin levels can be up to 75 times higher after infant formula is reconstituted than when measured in powder, a discrepancy linked to microencapsulated arachidonic acid (ARA). The discovery has triggered method revisions, industry recalls, and an EFSA proposal for a strict infant exposure limit, exposing gaps in testing standards and supply‑chain controls.
Pfizer’s Monthly GLP‑1 Shows Promising Weight‑Loss Signal — A New Challenger in a Crowded Market
Pfizer’s long‑acting GLP‑1 candidate PF‑08653944 produced a 12.3% placebo‑adjusted mean weight loss at 28 weeks and sustained reductions after switching to monthly dosing, with mainly mild‑to‑moderate gastrointestinal side effects. The company has launched an ambitious phase 3 programme of ten trials and plans to advance full development in 2026, positioning itself to challenge incumbent GLP‑1 therapies if larger trials confirm efficacy and safety.
How ‘Free’ Psychiatric Beds Became a Lucrative Fraud: Inside China’s Private Mental‑health Market
An undercover probe by New Beijing News uncovered systematic insurance fraud and abuse at private psychiatric hospitals in Hubei, where facilities recruit patients with promises of free care, fabricate diagnoses and billable treatments, and sometimes coerce or harm inpatients. The practices—paired with “fake discharge” tactics to evade audits—have siphoned public medical insurance funds and left vulnerable patients mistreated and trapped.
Light‑Activated Nanoparticles Offer a More Targeted Way to Kill Cancer Cells — But Clinical Hurdles Remain
Researchers at NYU Abu Dhabi have developed a light‑activated nanotechnology that kills cancer cells via localized heating, reporting enhanced precision and fewer side effects than conventional treatments. The approach, published in Cell Reports Physical Science, could improve detection and focal treatment for some tumours, but faces significant technical and clinical translation challenges.
China Installs First Superconducting Linac for Mass Production of Scarce Alpha Cancer Isotopes
China’s Institute of Modern Physics has installed the main accelerator for IP-SAFE, a superconducting linac demonstrator intended to mass-produce scarce alpha-emitting isotopes Ac-225 and Ra-223. The facility aims to ease global shortages that constrain targeted alpha therapies and to bolster domestic biomedical and accelerator capabilities.
Huawei Unveils Cloud–Edge–Device AI System to Digitize Pathology for Grassroots Hospitals
Huawei has launched a cloud–edge–device smart pathology solution and a RuiPath pathology appliance developed with Ruijin Hospital, targeting smaller hospitals and clinics. The initiative bundles scanning hardware, AI models and cloud services to speed diagnosis and enable telepathology, while also creating a national medical-AI community and consumer health partnerships.
China’s TCM Clean‑Up: Regulatory Clock Ticks on ‘Unknown’ Safety Claims
China’s National Medical Products Administration is enforcing a rule that will bar re‑registration of traditional patent medicines whose package inserts still state key safety items as “not yet clear.” The measure aims to eliminate low‑use and poorly documented approvals, compel firms to supply safety data, and accelerate consolidation in an industry long criticised for uneven evidence on safety and efficacy.
Foreign Patients Flock to Chinese Hospitals: From SIBO Tests to Overnight Flights, China Emerges as a Medical Magnet
An American patient and several expatriates are increasingly flying to China for faster, cheaper medical care, helped by hospital internationalisation and concierge "escorts" who manage logistics and translation. Chinese hospitals and private firms are actively courting overseas patients, but scaling the trend raises questions about capacity, regulation and quality assurance.
China Tightens Safety Rules for Patent Chinese Medicines, Threatening 40,000 Formulations
China will bar registration renewals for patent Chinese medicines that still list safety information as “unclear” after July 1, 2026. Roughly 40,000 of 57,000 licensed products currently carry such wording and must revise labels or face delisting, a move framed as patient‑safety enforcement but contested by some practitioners and consumers.
Chinese Drugmaker Huadong Advances RNAi Weight‑loss Candidate into Preclinical Studies
Huadong Medicine and Suzhou Shian Biotech have confirmed a preclinical siRNA candidate aimed at an innovative weight‑loss mechanism and entered preclinical research. The move underscores China’s push into RNAi therapeutics for metabolic disease, but substantial scientific, delivery and regulatory challenges lie ahead before any clinical testing.