Health insurers commit to prior auth reform Read in browser

Tuesday, 24 June 2025

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SVB Report: Women’s health biopharma investments triple in 3 years sponsored by Silicon Valley Bank

Crossed wires Back in April, I was surprised (and skeptical) when Hims said it was teaming up with Novo Nordisk to offer its members discounted Wegovy — just the start of a long-term collaboration with the pharma giant, CEO Andrew Dudum claimed. It seemed odd that Novo, which had been suing lots of GLP-1 compounders, would sidle up to one of the most prominent. Whatever the reason, the relationship fizzled quickly. Perhaps wires were crossed. A Novo spokesperson told me there was a “shared vision” with Hims that there’d be less compounding of semaglutide (the main ingredient in Wegovy). Yet, for more than a year, Hims has been upfront that it would keep offering compounded semaglutide post supply shortage by offering custom dosages to individual patients. The breakup highlights the emerging tension between brand-name GLP-1 manufacturers and the pharmacies and telehealth companies offering cheaper versions of their drugs: How much compounding is legally permitted when there’s no longer a shortage? Compounders say the law allows them to tweak the formulas or dosages of FDA-approved drugs to meet patients’ individual needs. But both Novo and rival Eli Lilly (the maker of obesity drug Zepbound) have argued that drugs can’t possibly be “personalized” if compounded on a large scale. This week, Novo decided that what Hims was doing was too much. But the debate goes well beyond Novo/Hims. Whether it’s settled by the FDA or in court remains to be seen. - Shelby

Here’s what’s new Novo ends short-lived partnership with Hims over compounded obesity drugs The collaboration was surprising because Hims has been one of the most prominent prescribers of compounded semaglutide, the main ingredient in Wegovy, making it a key competitor to Novo. At the time, Hims said the partnership was the start of a long-term collaboration. The relationship apparently soured quickly. Tennr raises $101M to fix faxes with AI Ten­nr has raised Se­ries C fund­ing at a $605 mil­lion val­u­a­tion to or­ga­nize and automate fax­es in health­care, eight months af­ter its last round and a year af­ter its Se­ries A. Compounders lose case over semaglutide shortage A fed­er­al court once again ruled against a trade group for large com­pound­ing phar­ma­cies that sought to put No­vo Nordisk’s block­buster obe­si­ty drug semaglu­tide back on the FDA’s short­age list so com­pounders could con­tin­ue mak­ing the drug.

Blood-testing boom 1000 The number of biomarkers included in LabCorp’s newly released test menu "to support the growing needs of functional medicine, integrative medicine and primary care providers in delivering holistic care." It comes as companies like Function Health and Superhuman begin to popularize cash-pay blood testing in preventive care.

This week in health Тech Dozens of US health insurers pledged to reform burdensome prior authorizations by standardizing an electronic process, reducing the procedures subject to preapproval, and expanding real-time approvals, industry trade group AHIP said Monday. HHS officials held a press briefing later in the day to tout the pledge and emphasized that they’d be holding insurers accountable. Still, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz conceded that the voluntary pledge “is not a mandate” and that the government’s role in the effort was “as a sponsor, as a steward, as a cheerleader.” If insurers can’t address the problem themselves, the government will get more involved, he said. Wheel, a startup that provides the infrastructure behind telehealth services, announced an expanded partnership with Amazon Pharmacy that will give patients and clinicians a real-time view of a prescription’s price and availability, as well as access to same-day delivery in some markets. The collaboration aims to solve problems with treatment adherence that stem from not knowing whether a patient will be able to access a drug when it’s prescribed, Wheel CEO Michelle Davey told Endpoints News. Abridge raised $300 million at a $5.3 billion valuation. Andreessen Horowitz led the round, which came together just four months after the AI scribe company raised a $250 million Series D.  Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has conditionally approved the sale of Akron-based Summa Health to General Catalyst’s HatCo business. The proposed deal, first announced in January 2024 followed by a definitive agreement in November, would make the health system a for-profit entity. Yost’s office approved the deal with 10 conditions, including $15 million in cash and $15 million in equity to support Summa’s nonprofit foundation.  Sword Health, rival to newly public Hinge Health, has a new $4 billion valuation after raising $40 million, the company said on June 17. As part of the new funding, the startup, which got its start in virtual physical therapy, launched a new mental health service called Mind.

John Carroll Editor & Founder Arsalan Arif Publisher & Founder Igor Yavych Architect & Founder Valentin Manov Creative Director Ryan McRae Chief Revenue Officer Amanda Florez Chief of Staff Drew Armstrong Executive Editor Liam Chua Chief Technical Officer Jaimy Lee Deputy Editor Lydia R. Pflanzer Deputy Editor Zachary Brennan Senior Editor Max Gelman Senior Editor