• California/New Jersey: Novo Nordisk and Hims & Hers have agreed to partner on a new initiative to expand access to GLP-1 medications. Through the partnership, Hims will offer multiple dosages of Novo's injectable GLP-1 medications, Ozempic and Wegovy, as well as oral medications. The company will also no longer promote compounded semaglutide options on its platform or in its marketing but will make compounded options available to patients if a provider decides they are necessary. "I'm excited to have a great partner in Novo Nordisk as we work to create a new model that works for everyday people," said Andrew Dudum, Hims' co-founder and CEO. "This collaboration reflects what's possible globally when drugmakers, biotech companies, and diagnostic leaders partner with consumer platforms to support scaled distribution of their latest medical innovations." This is the second collaboration between Hims and Novo, though the first was quickly dissolved due to disagreements over compounded GLP-1s. Novo also recently sued Hims over selling compounded GLP-1s, but dismissed the lawsuit as part of the new partnership agreement. (Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare, 3/9; Jeffries, Becker's Hospital Review, 3/9)
• Massachusetts: Moderna recently agreed to pay $950 million to settle lawsuits over patents related to its COVID-19 vaccines. Last year, Arbutus Biopharma and Genevant Sciences sued Moderna for patent infringing, claiming the company used their proprietary lipid nanoparticle (LNP) delivery technology in its COVID-19 vaccine. Under the settlement agreement, Genevant will grant Moderna a global non-exclusive license to its LNP technology for certain mRNA vaccines. With this settlement, all global litigation related to Moderna's Spikevax and mResvia vaccines will be resolved. "It is enormously gratifying for the Genevant team to, at long last, be recognized for our pivotal contribution to restoring normalcy around the world in the face of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic," said Genevant CEO James Heyes. However, Moderna is also planning to appeal to a federal circuit court to argue that it has limited liability due to being a government contractor. If the company loses the appeal, it will make an additional settlement payment of up to $1.3 billion within 90 days. (Schisgall/Hamilton, Wall Street Journal, 3/3)
• Rhode Island: CVS Health has partnered with Google Cloud to launch a new health technology unit called Health 100, which will build an integrated health engagement platform for consumers. The platform will use agentic artificial intelligence (AI) to provide consumers with an omnichannel experience. According to CVS, Health 100 will give users greater access to price transparency and benefits data to help them track and manage costs and connect them to care management services led by pharmacists. "Uncertainty alone creates friction. Fragmentation creates fatigue, and fatigue leads to disengagement," said Tony Ambrozie, SVP and chief digital officer for CVS' pharmacy and consumer wellness team. "That's what Health 100 is designed to help over time to change." CVS plans to launch the new platform later this year and will offer more details, including a first look, at Google's annual health event, The Check Up, later this month. (Minemyer, Fierce Healthcare, 3/5)

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