From Washington, DC

• The House of Representatives and the Senate return to Capitol Week to begin the second session of the 119th Congress with Committee business and floor voting.

• Federal News Network reports,
  • “Lawmakers said the fiscal 2026 defense policy bill that became law earlier this month would deliver “the most significant acquisition reforms in a generation.” But some of the more sweeping proposals introduced in the House and Senate versions of the bill were ultimately scaled back or dropped entirely from the final version of the legislation.
  • “A similar dynamic played out inside the Pentagon. A draft acquisition memo circulated prior to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s speech to defense executives and senior military acquisition officials outlined a far more aggressive overhaul of how the department would develop and buy military capabilities than what emerged in the final version of the memo and the Acquisition Transformation Strategy.
  • “But a number of provisions from the House’s SPEED Act and Senate’s FoRGED Act that survived negotiations are still expected to be impactful, including measures aimed at streamlining prototyping, accelerating the transition of technologies into production and expanding opportunities for small businesses and new entrants.”

From the public health and medical / Rx research front,

• The Washington Post tells us “what viruses an infectious-disease doctor is watching for in 2026.”

• The New York Times reports “Vaccines Are Helping Older People More Than We Knew. Many shots seem to have “off-target” benefits, such as lowering the risk of dementia, studies have found.”

• STAT News informs us, a “Genetic variant appears to protect some people against certain blood cancers. Study reveals a potential path to develop therapies for a pre-cancerous condition called CHIP.”

• Per Medscape,
  • “Eight percent of US adults older than 65 years have taken a GLP-1 agonist either to lose weight or to treat comorbidities like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Older adults are drawn to the medications because of the many antiaging benefits — some medical experts have even called them a veritable “fountain of youth.”
  • “But both patients and physicians should also be aware of some of the drawbacks and potential side effects for which older adults are particularly susceptible like a dangerous reduction in muscle mass, bone loss, low blood pressure, and dehydration.
  • “Understanding this age group’s particular vulnerabilities [discussed in this article] can help physicians know what to look out for while also staving off some potential side effects before they become an issue.

• Per Fierce Pharma,
  • “The emergence of next-generation KRAS G12C inhibitors has led Verastem Oncology to change course.
  • “The Boston biotech has decided to discontinue a phase 1/2 trial in advanced KRAS G12C-mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) following an interim data analysis.
  • “Explaining the move in a Dec. 29 statement, Verastem’s chief medical officer, John Hayslip, M.D., said newer G12C inhibitors are “establishing a new benchmark with higher response rates.”

From the U.S. healthcare business front,

• Beckers Hospital Review reports,
  • “Scottsdale, Ariz.-based HonorHealth wrapped its acquisition of 11 Evernorth Care Group locations Jan. 2. Evernorth is a subsidiary of The Cigna Group, according to its website. 
  • “HonorHealth agreed to acquire Evernorth Care Group in early September. At the time, Evernorth operated 18 clinics in the greater Phoenix area and offered integrated primary care services to almost 80,000 patients. However, HonorHealth only acquired 11 locations. 
  • “Arrowhead Ranch Center, Chandler Health Center, Paradise Valley Health Center, Paseo Health Center, Scottsdale Norte Health Center, Sun City Health Center and Westridge Health Center were not acquired in the transaction and are closed, according to HonorHealth.” * * *
  • HonorHealth comprises nine acute care hospitals, more than 200 primary, specialist and urgent care locations and more than 17,000 employees, according to its website.” 
• and
  • “Health system C-suites across the U.S. are targeting ambulatory care expansion for 2026 as pressure mounts to lower cost of care and deliver on value-based promises.
  • “Even the nation’s largest health systems are strengthening their ambulatory footprints. Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health, which operates in 28 states, is focused on outpatient growth.
  • “Our best growth opportunities are in our ambulatory footprint and enhancing our patient care access,” said Shelly Schorer, CFO of the California Division of CommonSpirit Health, which already includes 125 ambulatory sites. “There’s still a need for the acute care setting, but we are seeing more and more services and healthcare procedures moving to the outpatient setting and I think we need to expand our ambulatory care footprint.”