• California: Skye Bioscience has hit a wall with its experimental obesity drug after it failed to help patients lose a significant amount of weight in a mid-stage study. The drug, which is called nimacimab, is an antibody that blocks CB1 receptors. In the study, patients who were on nimacimab lost an average of 1.5% of their body weight over 26 weeks, which was not statistically different than those taking a placebo. According to Skye, its preliminary analysis showed lower-than-expected drug exposure, which suggests that higher doses may be needed. Skye also tested the drug in combination with Novo Nordisk's GLP-1 drug Wegovy and found that patients who took both drugs lost 13.2% of their body weight compared to 10.3% for patients who took Wegovy alone — findings that Skye said supports further research on nimacimab and GLP-1s. Currently, it's not clear how CB1 blocker drug candidates will fare. Previously, Novo reported that its own CB1 blocking drug monlunabant only led to modest weight loss in a study. (Chen, STAT+ [subscription required], 10/6)
• New Jersey: J&J recently announced plans to spin off its orthopedics unit into a separate business within the next 18 to 24 months to enhance its strategic and operational focus. According to J&J, the separation is expected to improve top-line growth and operating margins in the orthopedics unit, which generated roughly $9.2 billion in sales in 2024. The new business will be named DePuy Synthes. "Upon completion of the planned separation, DePuy Synthes would be the largest, most comprehensive orthopaedics-focused company, with leading market share positions across major product categories," J&J said in a news release. The company named Namal Nawana as DePuy Synethes' worldwide president, effective immediately. Nawana will lead DePuy through the separation process and is expected to continue leading the business after the separation is completed. Most recently, Nawana was the founder and executive chair of Sapphiros, a platform company dedicated to creating new consumer diagnostic technologies. (Twenter, Becker's Hospital Review, 10/14; J&J press release, 10/14)
• South Carolina: Prisma Health has partnered with Press Ganey to implement a new model to centralize its routine operations, including tiered huddles, leader rounding, and dashboards, into one management system. Using the Press Ganey Clinical Operating System, Prisma will connect "siloed workstreams" for "the core daily activities in [its] operating units." According to Jonathan Gleason, EVP and chief clinical officer at Prisma, the new operating system "brings clarity and consistency to the work, helping teams improve safety, quality and efficiency while also creating a better environment for both caregivers and patients. Fully integrating and simplifying this work is transformational. This is a better way to operate." (Twenter, Becker's Clinical Leadership, 10/14)

Amid rising costs and shrinking margins, explore six data-driven strategies health systems can leverage to enhance financial resilience in uncertain times.