• California: According to reports, Anthropic plans to acquire AI biotech startup Coefficient in a $400 million stock deal, furthering its push into the healthcare space. Coefficient, which was founded in 2025, aims to use AI to increase efficiency and biological research. Over the last six months, Anthropic has worked to expand its healthcare presence. Last October, the company launched Claude for Life Sciences, followed by Claude for Healthcare in January. Anthropic has also announced new life sciences capabilities, including preclinical research and development, clinical operations, and regulatory affairs. According to Eric Kauderer-Abrams, head of biology and life sciences at Anthropic, healthcare and life sciences are one of the company's biggest strategic bets. "For life sciences, it's about making sure that our models have skills spanning everything from early-stage discovery through translation and commercialization, and that they connect to the tools that scientists and life science professionals are using every day," he said. (Maddox, Fierce Healthcare, 4/6)
• Georgia: CDC has paused diagnostic testing for rabies, mpox, and several other infectious diseases. According to an HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon, the pause in testing is temporary and is part of "a routine review to uphold our commitment to high quality laboratory testing." Scott Becker, CEO of the Association of Public Health Laboratories, said the pause in testing would be "concerning, only if it's permanent." CDC has periodically paused testing to evaluate the quality of its testing, which Becker said was good policy. However, other health experts have expressed concerns about how CDC's pause in testing will impact coordinated public health responses to infectious diseases. Lab officials have also warned that CDC's testing pause could lead to delays in detection, reducing the effectiveness of national disease surveillance. "Right now, it is not clear that this level of coordination is in place, and that uncertainty is concerning," said Sarah Henn, chief health officer at Whitman-Walker Health. (Boden, CIDRAP News, 4/3; Associated Press/NBC News, 4/2)
• Maryland: FDA has issued new guidance around compounded GLP-1 drugs, saying that pharmacies should stop compounding the medications once branded versions are no longer on the agency shortage list. Under federal law, compounding medications is only permitted when medications are in active shortage. In the new guidance, FDA said the exemption is temporary and directly linked to supply conditions. The agency warned that continued production of "essentially copies" outside of those specific situations could lead to enforcement action. Recently, FDA has increased its scrutiny of compounded GLP-1 drugs. In March, the agency sent 30 warning letters to telehealth companies for promoting misleading claims about compounded GLP-1s being equivalent to FDA-approved medications. In response to compounded GLP-1s, FDA has emphasized that the drugs are not FDA-approved or reviewed for safety, effectiveness, or quality before being marketed. (Jeffries, Becker's Hospital Review, 4/2)

Even if it appears otherwise, big tech isn't trying to completely disrupt the healthcare system. Get a glimpse of the advances that big tech companies have made as well as the hurdles that prevent them from replacing traditional healthcare incumbents.