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For every 1,000 people in Kentucky, roughly 21 were prescribed a drug that belongs to a buzzy class of diabetes and anti-obesity medications last year — the highest rate of any state, according to insurance claims data provided to Axios by health analytics company PurpleLab. It's among a few Southern states, including Louisiana and Mississippi, that had some of the highest prescribing rates for drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. (Reed, 1/18)

Next Life Sciences has raised $2.5 million to develop a male contraceptive product called Plan A, which could become a nonsurgical alternative to vasectomies. This could help balance family-planning responsibilities that fall disproportionately on women. (Primack, 1/17)

UK-based biotechnology company Utility Therapeutics announced today that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted priority review to its new drug application (NDA) for pivmecillinam for treatment of uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTIs). The company also announced that it has received a new round of funding led by the AMR Action Fund. (Dall, 1/17)

Apple said on Wednesday that it would begin selling its flagship smartwatches without the ability to detect people’s blood-oxygen levels. The tech giant will drop the feature starting Thursday after losing a patent case over its blood-oxygen measurement technology two months ago. The court ordered Apple to stop selling its Apple Watch Series 9 and Watch Ultra 2 devices. Rather than discontinue sales, the company sought permission to continue selling the devices after removing the infringing technology. (Mickle, 1/17)

The Office of Health Strategy issued an initial denial of Trinity Health of New England’s application to close the labor and delivery unit at Johnson Memorial Hospital, according to a proposed final decision published Tuesday. The decision found, among other points, that Johnson Memorial failed to sufficiently demonstrate that the closure would improve accessibility and cost effectiveness of health care delivery in the region. (Golvala, 1/17)

Amid a nationwide shortage of physicians, Duquesne University opened its new College of Medicine on Wednesday. "This is probably the biggest thing to happen to the university in 50-plus years," said College of Medicine Dean Dr. John Kauffman. In July, the college will welcome its inaugural class of 85 students pursuing their doctor of osteopathic medicine degrees. (Guay, 1/17)

Cigna Group is revamping its leadership approach as it continues searching for ways to drive growth for the company. Cigna Group Chief Financial Officer Brian Evanko will take on the newly created additional roles of president and CEO of Cigna Healthcare, the company's health insurance division. Evanko will oversee Cigna Healthcare's U.S. commercial, international health and U.S. government businesses, according to a Wednesday news release. (Berryman, 1/17)

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina closed its acquisition of 55 FastMed locations in North Carolina and named a leader for the urgent care provider. Jim Moffett will serve as FastMed's CEO, replacing Webster Golinkin. Moffett previously served as president of Livonia, Michigan-based Trinity Health’s Holy Cross Medical Group in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. (DeSilva, 1/17)

Venture capital firm General Catalyst has agreed to acquire Ohio-based nonprofit health system Summa Health, and its insurance plan, and reestablish it as a for-profit organization, the health system’s board of directors announced Wednesday. (Ravindranath, 1/17)

Even though Erin Booth was not thrilled about having to travel to Philadelphia for a conference at six weeks postpartum, this one at least advertised having a private lactation space. This was back in 2013, when such accommodations were a rarity. The first bad sign was having to walk clear across the convention center to get there, cutting into her already brief pumping window. Booth’s hopes were fully dashed when she walked in and saw the setup: round tables lined with chairs facing one another. No fridge, no sink, no outlets — which pumps required back then. (Bannow, 1/18)