Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Saturday signed a bill that bans gender-affirming care for transgender youth, in today's bite-sized hospital and health industry news from Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Utah.

• Illinois: AbbVie will now face competition from biosimilars of Humira—an injectable treatment for several autoimmune conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis (RA)—after its patent protection was lifted. Notably, over half a dozen biosimilars are expected to launch in 2023, giving consumers an alternative to the top-selling RA drug. On Tuesday, Amgen launched Amjevita, a biosimilar that will cost between $1,558 and $3,288 for a 40 milligram, two-week supply. For a monthly supply, Amjevita is being offered two different price points—one 55% below Humira's $6,922 list price and the other 5% below. However, payers may still favor Humira because of rebate offerings, Fierce Pharma reports. (Hopkins, Wall Street Journal, 1/31; Alltucker, USA Today, 1/31; Walker/Gorenstein, "Shots," NPR, 1/31;Becker, Fierce Pharma, 1/31; Wingrove, Reuters, 1/31; Silverman, STAT+, 1/31 [subscription required])

• Pennsylvania: The Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday dismissed the chapter 11 bankruptcy case of Johnson & Johnson (J&J) subsidiary LTL Management. In 2021, J&J filed for bankruptcy to freeze around 40,000 lawsuits linking its talc products to cancer. Now, the company is once again exposed to these claims, which have cost J&J $4.5 billion in recent years. Consumers who have sued the company praised the ruling. For example, Willie Gregory, whose wife died in 2021 from ovarian cancer at the age of 59, said the court's ruling was a relief because he was concerned that J&J would be able to stop the lawsuits and "sweep it under the rug" with its vast resources. "It makes me feel like there is a sense of justice," Gregory said. "There are a lot of folks just like me who have lost loved ones because of this." (Randles/Loftus, Wall Street Journal Pro, 1/30)

• Utah: Gov. Cox on Saturday signed Senate Bill 16—a measure that bans "hormonal transgender treatment to new patients who were not diagnosed with gender dysphoria" before the bill went into effect, and "sex characteristic surgical procedures on a minor for the purpose of effectuating a sex change." In addition, the bill requires HHS to conduct "a systematic review of the medical evidence regarding hormonal transgender treatments," and subsequently, to "provide recommendations to the Legislature." While Cox noted that the bill is not "perfect," he defended it, saying, "More and more experts, states and countries around the world are pausing these permanent and life-altering treatments for new patients until more and better research can help determine the long-term consequences." (Mandler, CBS News, 1/29)