• California: Hims & Hers has named Nader Kabbani as its new COO, effective May 19. Most recently, Kabbani was SVP of transformative initiatives at Symbotic. Before joining Symbotic, Kabbani worked at Amazon for almost 20 years. During his time at Amazon, Kabbani led the company's 2018 acquisition of PillPack, as well as the launch of Amazon Pharmacy. Kabbani also built the operational framework behind several major Amazon services, including Amazon Logistics, Amazon Kindle, and Prime Video. "Nader's experience scaling operations at the highest level makes him uniquely qualified to help us build the future of healthcare," said Hims CEO and founder Andrew Dudum. (Olsen, Healthcare Dive, 5/8)
• Maryland: FDA has approved the first at-home screening tool for cervical cancer, providing patients with an alternative to the traditional Pap smear. The tool, which was developed by Teal Health, allows patients to self-collect a vaginal sample and mail it to a lab for the analysis of high-risk strains of human papillomavirus (HPV), an infection that causes cervical cancer. According to CDC, around 11,500 cases of cervical cancers are diagnosed in the United States each year, and around 4,000 patients die from the disease. "We know that access to a facility can be a big barrier for people," said Colleen Denny, an associate professor in the obstetrics and gynecology department and director of family planning at NYU Langone Hospital. "It may be more comfortable for people with a history of trauma or gender dysphoria to screen themselves." Denny also noted that while a positive HPV test doesn't mean you have cancer, it does mean you need more screening and support to understand your results and know what to do next. (Malhi, Washington Post, 5/9)
• Rhode Island: CVS Health recently announced that its pharmacy benefit manager will no longer include Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drug Zepbound on its preferred formulary list beginning July 1, 2025. Instead, CVS plans to prioritize Wegovy, a competing GLP-1 drug manufactured by Novo Nordisk. According to Forbes, CVS' decision to remove Zepbound from its formulary was likely driven by price negotiations, formulary rebates, and strategic contracting. Although the decision led to concerns about a potential price war in the weight-loss drug market, several Wall Street analysts said these fears were overblown. "In our view, the Novo/CVS deal does not represent the beginning of an obesity pricing war between Lilly & Novo," said Evan Seigerman, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets. He added that both Lilly and Novo have emphasized a desire to expand patient access to their drugs rather than undercutting each other on price. (Joseph, Forbes, 5/5; Constantino/Capoot, CNBC, 5/7)

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