• California: The California Office of Health Care Affordability recently voted unanimously to implement financial penalties against hospitals, health insurance companies, and medical practices that fail to meet spending benchmarks. In 2024, California established a spending growth limit to limit growing healthcare costs. The target was initially set at 3.5% in 2025 and will gradually decline to 3% by 2029. Covered entities could see penalties up to 125% of the amount they spend above state-set growth targets. Providers and insurers could also face penalties of up to $10,000 a day if they don't file acceptable performance improvement plans repeatedly or flat penalties of up to $500,000 if they don't implement corrective action plans or falsify information. According to a spokesperson for the Office of Health Care Affordability, covered entities could start receiving penalties in 2031. Both the California Hospital Association and the California Association of Health Plans have pushed back on the decision. "Hospitals are relentless in pursuing their mission to care for their communities, no matter the challenges they face. It's time [the Office of Health Care Affordability] is just as relentless in assessing all of healthcare's problems, rather than creating new ones," Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association. (Hudson, Modern Healthcare, 8/27)
• Maryland: FDA approved Eli Lilly's GLP-1 drug Mounjaro to decrease the risk of heart events, including heart attacks, in patients with diabetes. In a clinical study, researchers found that patients with diabetes who took Mounjaro had an 8% lower risk of heart attack, stroke, or heart-related death compared to those taking Trulicity, another Lilly diabetes drug. "This study was in patients with Type 2 diabetes, in whom the No. 1 cause of death is cardiovascular disease," said Rachel Batterham, SVP of medical innovation and external engagement for cardiometabolic health at Lilly. "So reducing that risk is critically important." Lilly is also studying whether patients without type 2 diabetes who are taking Zepbound, their GLP-1 drug designed for weight loss, could also see similar heart benefits. "[W]hat we could say is that we know people with Type 2 diabetes see this [heart] benefit, but as yet we don't have the data to say that this same benefit applies in people without diabetes — but we will have those data next year," Batterham said. (Park, TIME, 8/28)
• New Jersey: Novartis has agreed to acquire Myricx Bio in a deal worth over $1 billion. Myricx is a startup that is aims to develop next-generation drugs to overcome limitations in antibody drug conjugates (ADCs) for cancer, such as toxic drug payloads which limit dosing levels. The company has developed a novel approach called inhibiting N-myristoyltransferase (NMT), which has shown potential for broad activity across solid tumors. Currently, Myricx has two lead ADCs with NMT inhibitors that could potentially compete with similar treatments from other major drugmakers. In a statement, Fiona Marshall, president of biomedical research at Novartis, said the deal reflects the company's strategy to turn to innovative platforms, much like it did with radiation therapies. "ADCs have become an important part of cancer treatment, but there remains a clear need for new payload mechanisms to overcome resistance and expand their impact for patients," Marshall said. "Myricx Bio has developed a promising [NMT inhibitor] payload platform with a differentiated mechanism that could broaden the use of ADCs across multiple tumor settings." (Vinluan, MedCity News, 7/6)

As demand for GLP-1 combination therapies for diabetes and cardiovascular disease increases, providers must shift away from fragmented cardiometabolic care delivery. Discover how adopting an interdisciplinary, coordinated model with ongoing follow-up care can better serve patients with cardiometabolic disease.