Mark Cuban’s online pharmacy, Cost Plus Drug Company, signed a deal to sell a biosimilar version of Johnson & Johnson’s drug Stelara at a price far below the brand-name list price and lower than competing biosimilars. Starjemza isn’t Cost Plus’ first move into biosimilars, but the drug’s steep discount compared to other Stelara competitors could pose a real challenge to typical pharmacy benefit manager pricing negotiations.

Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly struck a deal with the Trump administration to lower GLP-1 prices in exchange for expanded Medicare and Medicaid coverage. It’s by far the most consequential pharma agreement to date For Novo and Lilly, it’s a tradeoff: lower prices for higher patient and prescription volume—a bet that should pay off over time, especially since tariff relief is part of the deal.

The three health insurers with the largest Medicare Advantage (MA) footprint (UnitedHealth Group, Humana, and CVS) are cutting membership in 2026 and rolling back plan offerings in certain regions. Many seniors who were lured by aggressive MA marketing promising extra benefits and free perks must now find a new MA plan or switch to traditional Medicare. The Medicare annual enrollment period is underway, offering insurers a chance to rebuild trust with seniors by providing online tools and live support to help them understand their options and switch plans if needed.

Direct-to-consumer TV advertising doubled the collective sales of many of the largest pharma TV advertisers across the last three years, per a recent analysis by VAB. Big Pharma’s large TV ad budgets are still paying off despite the industry-wide shift towards digital. The VAB findings highlight TV’s ability to generate brand awareness that also fuels downstream digital engagement.

Facing slowing GLP-1 drug sales, Novo Nordisk lowered its full year sales forecast for the third time this year as it continues to lose ground to Eli Lilly in obesity and diabetes. Novo’s next opportunity to close the gap with Lilly lies with the Wegovy pill. Novo is set to be first to market with a next generation weight loss pill and a potential new swath of customers who don’t like needles or prefer the convenience of a pill.

Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk are closing in on deals with the Trump administration that would exchange deep discounts on their weight loss drugs for coverage under Medicare, per Endpoints News. Millions of Medicare recipients could become new weight-loss drug customers with the federal program on the hook for the cost.

Hims & Hers is offering prescription microdoses of compounded GLP-1 semaglutide, joining other telehealth companies touting mini doses with lower costs and fewer side effects. As patients and providers move to try lower-cost doses with fewer side effects, some demand may shift from full-strength prescriptions. That puts pressure on Novo and Lilly to engage physicians around maintenance dosing and longer term patient retention strategies.

Between 2022 and 2024, Novo Nordisk spent about $7.5 million to have Ozempic ads run on related search keywords to drive users to its prescription drug brand website, according to a JAMA Network Open study. Novo spent the $7.5 million across 15,000 paid keywords related to weight loss, which generated 2.4 million paid visits to Ozempic.com. Some drugmakers might be getting away with pay-per-click drug advertising that promotes their product for off-label use. Given that pharma companies devote about 56% of their annual digital ad spend to search—the second-highest share of any sector—marketers should work with search platforms to better align paid keywords with appropriate drug ad placements.

Kimberly-Clark has agreed to buy consumer health company Kenvue for more than $40 billion. The acquisition significantly expands Kimberly-Clark’s presence in the over-the-counter (OTC) consumer health market, and gives it an entry into the lucrative beauty and skincare category. The acquisition will allow the company to stay relevant with shoppers who are prioritizing health and wellness purchases—even while cutting back on other spending. But in order to extract maximum value from Kenvue, Kimberly-Clark will have to take a leaf from competitor Procter & Gamble and rely on innovation and marketing to revitalize sales.

Healthcare organizations are implementing commercial AI solutions at more than twice the rate (2.2x) of the broader US economy, according to a recent report from Menlo Ventures. Hospitals and health systems dominate AI adoption in healthcare, accounting for 75% of the spending total. The greatest current demand for AI in healthcare is among provider organizations that must improve doctors’ workflows and cut admin waste. AI startups and incumbents will compete by delivering revenue-driving tools that go beyond note transcription and earning physician trust through models that enhance diagnostic accuracy.

CVS Health posted a $5.7 billion goodwill impairment charge in Q3, primarily attributed to Oak Street Health, its primary care clinic chain for seniors. CVS will also close 16 underperforming Oak Street locations, or about 7% of Oak Street’s clinic footprint, and won’t open any new centers in 2026. Companies looking to enter the primary care market—or larger healthcare players seeing a reset—should focus on strategies that don’t require massive upfront investments. That could include partnering with incumbents or leaning into direct-to-consumer telehealth, where disruptors have had some success.

Nearly three-quarters (73%) of nurse practitioners and physician assistants prefer email to receive pharma communications, but other channels are gaining ground, per a new HealthLink Dimensions study. As more NPs and PAs step up to fill physician shortage gaps, pharma marketers need to tailor communications specifically to them. That entails reaching them on their preferred social media platforms, while blending in-person and digital outreach.

Novo Nordisk entered the escalating acquisition battle for Metsera with a rival offer of up to $9 billion, topping Pfizer's earlier $7.3 billion bid. The Metsersa takeover clash signals how difficult and costly it will be for some companies to enter the weight loss drug category through M&A. Developing novel obesity drugs that offer a significant advantage over current GLP-1s is challenging (see: Pfizer), but it could be the better option for some pharma firms that want to avoid potentially messy, drawn-out bidding wars.

Due to the Trump administration's crackdown on direct-to-consumer (D2C) pharma advertising, drugmakers face a greater need to develop strong strategies to effectively reach the healthcare professionals (HCPs) who prescribe their treatments. Pharma marketers must use digital tools and channels, including social media and AI, to create credible engagement strategies that offset decreased consumer exposure to drug ads.

Eli Lilly is offering cash-pay pricing for its weight loss drug Zepbound at Walmart. This is the first time Lilly has offered a retail pharmacy pick-up option to customers who order Zepbound through LillyDirect. Walmart will soon be the only retail pharmacy where customers paying cash for Novo’s and Lilly’s GLP-1 weight loss drugs can pick up their prescriptions. This will help the company benefit from increased foot traffic as more of Lilly’s customers enter its stores.

Eli Lilly is partnering with chipmaker NVIDIA to build the pharma industry’s most powerful supercomputer. Lily claims it will be the largest AI factory owned by a pharma company and will be up and running in January 2026. Lilly’s partnership with NVIDIA highlights the shift pharma companies are making to rely on tech firms who have the computing power and AI expertise pharma needs to stay competitive.

Eli Lilly is already manufacturing its not-yet-approved GLP-1 pill for weight loss in anticipation of strong global demand next year. Lilly’s proactive approach puts them in the lead for now, but the GLP-1 and next generation obesity drug market is still in the early stages. Drugmakers need to focus on value-priced messaging and creating accessible weight loss drug brands.

OpenAI detailed new ChatGPT mental health safety measure results on Monday, alongside an internal analysis that shows potentially millions of users’ conversations indicate emotional reliance on the chatbot. Marketers should educate parents of teens and young adults about safe AI use, and emphasize best practices like clinician collaboration, backup safety measures, and transparent data policies to build credibility and trust.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue, alleging that the companies “deceptively market” Tylenol to pregnant mothers despite knowing the pain medication increases the risk of autism and ADHD in children. The lawsuit comes just a few days after President Trump again warned pregnant mothers not to take Tylenol “unless absolutely necessary” and not to give young children the medication. Kenvue will now need to take action, given the unpredictable nature of when Trump will comment next, along with his administration’s efforts to relabel Tylenol. Efforts should emphasize direct consumer assurance of the drug’s safety, trusted expert validation, and physician-first communication.

Cigna will eliminate prescription drug rebates for many of its commercial health plans and instead offer discounts directly to consumers beginning in 2027. Cigna’s decision marks a big shift in the way prescription drugs are priced and paid for, and could pressure CVS and UnitedHealth to follow. Patients are beginning to see some lower drug prices online and at the pharmacy counter, but they’re also facing more complexity and responsibility. Healthcare and pharma marketers need to engage these more empowered and potentially overwhelmed consumers with clear, actionable communications.