• California: Gov. Gavin Newson (D) last week vetoed a bill that would have allowed the state to block private equity (PE) from acquiring most healthcare facilities and service providers. Currently, PE firms and hedge funds are required to notify California's attorney general (AG) when buying certain healthcare businesses, but the legislation would have required the AG to provide written consent for transactions valued at $25 million or more at least 90 days before they occurred. In his veto message, Newsom said that while he appreciated the intent of the bill's authors, he believed healthcare acquisition should be reviewed by the state's Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA). "While OHCA itself cannot block a proposed transaction, it can coordinate with other state entities, including referring transactions for further review to the AG," Newsom said. "This bill would exempt transactions involving [private equity groups] or hedge funds that would be subject to review by the AG from OHCA's existing review." (Primack, Axios, 9/30)
• District of Columbia: The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month ruled that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the National Infusion Center Association (NICA), and the Global Colon Cancer Association can challenge Medicare's drug price negotiation program. Previously, a lower court judge in Texas dismissed NICA from the case because it did not have subject matter jurisdiction for the lawsuit. The lower court judge also tossed out the case entirely since NICA was the only party that resided in Texas. Under the federal court's ruling, the lawsuit will return to the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas. In response to the ruling, an HHS spokesperson said that the agency continues "to strongly believe in the merits of the Inflation Reduction Act, which is already lowering costs for millions of Americans." (Zhang, STAT+ [subscription required], 9/20)
• Massachusetts: On Monday, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun were awarded the Nobel Prize in physiology or medicine for their discovery of microRNA, or tiny pieces of genetic material that can change how genes function at a cellular level. Ambros is currently a professor of natural science at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and Ruvkun is a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School. Through their research on two mutant strains of worms, Ambros and Ruvkun identified microRNA, which helps regulate how genes work in our cells and has been an integral part of evolution for hundreds of millions of years. "Their groundbreaking discovery revealed a completely new principle of gene regulation that turned out to be essential for multicellular organisms, including humans," a citation explaining the importance of their work said. According to Claire Fletcher, a lecturer in molecular oncology at Imperial College London, microRNA could help identify different diseases by tracking their levels in the body and help develop new drugs to treat diseases. (Niemann et al., Associated Press, 10/7; Edwards/Hunt, CNN, 10/7)

The pipeline of cell and gene therapies is expanding in both depth and breadth. Healthcare leaders must adapt as competition grows and innovation stretches into new specialties. Find out how new cell and gene therapies will change the status quo and what it means for providers, purchasers, and pharmaceutical manufacturers.