• Indiana: Eli Lilly has partnered with AI drug discovery company Nimbus Therapeutics to develop an oral treatment for obesity and other metabolic diseases. Previously, Lilly and Nimbus collaborated on targeting AMPK in cardiometabolic diseases. Under the new partnership, Nimbus is eligible for upfront and near-term milestone payments totaling $55 million, as well as up to $1.3 billion in development, commercial, and sales milestones and tiered royalties on global net sales. "We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Nimbus, a team that has demonstrated exceptional ability to tackle complex drug discovery challenges," said Ruth Gimeno, VP of Lilly's diabetes and metabolic research and development group. "Working together to develop this novel obesity therapy represents an important addition to Lilly's efforts to advance innovative treatment options for patients with metabolic disorders." (Schisgall, Wall Street Journal, 1/6)
• New York: On Monday, almost 15,000 nurses at three major New York City health systems went on strike, pushing for salary increases, continued protection against understaffing, and new contract provisions on AI and workplace violence. Nurses went on strike after months of stalled negotiations over new three-year collective bargaining agreements. The previous contracts expired Dec. 31, 2025. According to the New York State Nurses Association, this is the largest nursing strike in New York City history — more than double the size of a similar strike in 2023. Ahead of the strike, hospital leaders secured contracts with staffing agencies for travel nurses, and the New York Department of Health instructed hospitals not affected by the strike to be prepared to accept patients from affected medical centers. Some hospitals also canceled scheduled surgeries and accelerated patient discharges to reduce their patient counts. So far, hospital leaders have pushed back on the union's demands, saying that they are unreasonable and could cost billions of dollars when hospitals are already bracing for significant federal healthcare cuts under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. "The healthcare system is under siege financially," said Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association. "The demands of the union are so outrageous that there is no way they can concede to what the union is asking for." (Kaufman, POLITICO, 1/12; Goldstein, New York Times, 1/12)
• Wyoming: The Wyoming Supreme Court last week ruled against the state's near-total abortion ban, as well as a first-of-its-kind ban on abortion pills, saying that the laws violated the state constitution. In 2023, Wyoming passed a strict abortion ban with only narrow exceptions and later that year became the first state to explicitly ban abortion pills. However, abortion remained legal in the state as the laws were challenged in court. Ultimately, the state supreme court ruled that the laws violated a woman's right to make her own healthcare choices, which is guaranteed in the state constitution. "Although a woman's decision to have an abortion ends the fetal life, the decision is, nevertheless, one she makes concerning her own healthcare," wrote Wyoming Chief Justice Lynne Boomgaarden in the court's ruling. In response to the ruling, Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who signed both contested laws, criticized the court's decision and pressed the state legislature to pass a constitutional amendment on abortion as quickly as possible. If such an amendment is passed, it would go before voters during the 2026 elections. (Somasundaram, Washington Post, 1/6)

The state of the nursing workforce is better than recent years — sort of. Our experts weigh in on how leaders are overlooking a key driver to hold onto their nurses: career pathing that focuses on engaging nurses — not just meeting organizational needs.