When the first non-alcoholic steatohepatitis drugs reach market, the health cost watchdog says payers will be justified in setting step-therapy including weight-management efforts, while early prescribing should be by specialists.

Ionis will launch its first commercial product through a co-commercialization agreement with AstraZeneca early next year, in preparation for its first wholly-owned drug launches soon to follow.

AstraZeneca plans to unveil multiple major data packages, while Servier reveals much-anticipated results in glioma, and ImmunoGen and Novartis will present key pivotal data in women’s cancers.

This week, Medtronic said it would pay $738m for insulin patch firm EOFlow; Neuralink got an FDA OK for first-in-human trials; and UK agency NICE backed genetic tests for stroke patients and digital therapeutics for mental health conditions.