News on drugmaker deals, weight loss drug coverage, medication price hikes, and health insurance to kick off the New Year.

The UK will increase the price it pays for new medicines in exchange for evading tariffs on pharmaceutical exports to the US, under a trade agreement reached between the two governments on Monday. The deal is further affirmation that Trump will use tariff threats as a bargaining tool to advance what he views as larger measures against the pharma industry: increasing domestic drug production, reducing the cash-pay prices of some expensive medicines, and bringing US drug costs closer in line with those in other affluent countries.

Sanofi’s Opella secures FDA nod to pursue OTC Cialis study: If Cialis’ shift from a prescription drug to over-the-counter product comes to fruition, both consumers and D2C retailers could benefit.

Drugmakers plan price hikes on over 250 branded medications in US: Facing a hit under the Inflation Reduction Act, they’re taking matters into their own hands to offset lost revenue.

Sanofi in talks to sell 50% stake in Opella: The pharma company joins other drugmakers shedding their consumer health businesses to better focus on bolstering their prescription drug pipelines.