Healthineers, GOSH, AWS: This Week’s Top Healthcare Stories
Siemens Healthineers has announced an evolution of its brand identity, which will see it drop Siemens from its name and forge a path forward solely as Healthineers.
The proposed rebrand marks another step in the company's progression into an independent healthcare technology business, following its initial separation from Siemens AG in 2017.
The transition is expected to begin in 2027, with a three-year migration period to introduce the new identity across the organisation.
Announced on 5 November 2026, the move will be subject to shareholder approval at Siemens Healthineers' Annual Shareholders' Meeting in February 2027. It will also coincide with Siemens AG's planned deconsolidation of the medical technology business through a spin-off.
Bernd Montag, President and CEO of Siemens Healthineers, describes the change as a natural progression for a company that has developed its own identity and capabilities over the past decade.
“Siemens is where we have come from and remains an important and treasured part of our heritage. Healthineers is who we are – engineers and pioneers in healthcare,” he says.
“After the deconsolidation from Siemens, we will write the next chapters of our journey in the Healthineers name and will continue pioneering breakthroughs in healthcare for everyone. Everywhere. Sustainably.”
Demand for obesity drugs continues to rise across the US. According to Gallup, the proportion of adults using GLP-1 treatments in the US has spiralled from 3% in 2024 to 11% in 2026.
Against this backdrop of widespread obesity drug use, Eli Lilly is expanding access to its obesity medicines through an agreement with digital health platform Hims & Hers, bringing two of its FDA-approved treatments to patients seeking care through telehealth.
Announced on 6 November 2026, the agreement will give eligible patients access to Eli Lilly's Zepbound (tirzepatide) and Foundayo (orforglipron) through the Hims & Hers platform.
Patients who receive a prescription from a licensed provider will be able to access the medicines at the same self-pay prices available to other patients, without leaving the platform.
The arrangement creates a more direct route between clinical consultations, prescriptions and medication fulfilment by merging Eli Lilly’s leading GLP-1 portfolio with Hims & Hers' digital infrastructure.
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is expanding its healthcare investment commitments with the launch of the AWS Health Impact Initiative (HII), a five-year, US$100m commitment of AI, agentic services and cloud infrastructure for organisations developing solutions to address critical health inequalities affecting underserved populations worldwide.
The initiative will support health non-profits, government agencies, research institutions, industry organisations and technology companies developing healthcare solutions and advancing critical research, helping them move projects from initial prototypes into production and scale.
HII builds on AWS's previous Health Equity Initiative (HEI), which launched in 2021 and provided US$60m in AI and cloud technology to more than 400 awardees.
Across five years of wider social impact investment in healthcare, AWS says it has supported more than 600 health organisations worldwide.
AI’s integration into global healthcare systems is becoming ever more deep-rooted and sophisticated, with applications spanning diagnostics, clinical workflows, medical research and patient services.
However, the benefits of these technologies are not being distributed equally, particularly among communities with limited access to healthcare infrastructure and digital resources.
“What I've seen again and again is that AI can do a lot, but it doesn't reach everyone on its own. The organisations closest to these communities need help getting access and building. That's what this initiative is for,” writes Dr Rowland Illing, Chief Medical Officer and Director of Healthcare and Life Sciences at AWS, in a LinkedIn post announcing the initiative.
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) is one of the UK’s most prominent and respected hospitals and is recognised globally as a leader and innovator in the field of paediatric care.
Since 1852, the Central London hospital has provided care and support for seriously ill children, including those with rare and complex conditions, and their families.
GOSH treats around 750 children every day, advances more than 200 clinical trials and provides thousands of educational opportunities through its Learning Academy.
Today, GOSH is maintaining its long-standing commitment to medical innovation following the renewal of its strategic partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which aims to harness emerging technologies to improve clinical outcomes for children and their families, empower staff and advance research and education.
Building on an existing relationship that has delivered a range of digital, data and other technology initiatives, the agreement creates a strategic framework for GOSH and AWS to work more closely together.
By combining GOSH's world-leading clinical expertise and digital maturity with AWS' experience in cloud computing, data infrastructure and AI, the organisations aim to accelerate data and technology capabilities and tackle some of the most complex challenges facing paediatric healthcare.
"We are at a pivotal moment for healthcare,” says Karl Munslow-Ong, CEO at GOSH. “Technological advances are creating opportunities to enhance care, operations, research and education in ways that would have seemed unimaginable just a few years ago.
The burgeoning GLP-1 market continues to attract pharmaceutical companies looking to challenge established market leaders Eli Lilly and Novo.
According to J.P. Morgan Global Research, the global incretin market, which includes GLP-1s, could reach US$200bn by 2030.
The latest indication of the wider sector’s growing interest in this expanding market is a strategic funding agreement between Pfizer and Blackstone Life Sciences, under which investment firm Blackstone will provide up to US$1.5bn to support the development of Pfizer's experimental obesity treatment berobenatide.
The agreement will see funds managed by Blackstone cover development costs through to 2028. In return, Blackstone will be eligible for milestone-based payments, conditional on US regulatory approval and the achievement of specified commercial sales targets.
Dr Nicholas Galakatos, Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences, described berobenatide as a potentially “first-in-class” monthly GLP-1 candidate in a LinkedIn post announcing the agreement.
"The BXLS team appreciates our continued work with Pfizer on mission critical programmes that can improve the standard of care across a variety of diseases for patients," he says.
In the official announcement, Nicholas adds: "We are pleased to further expand our relationship with Pfizer and support the broad and rigorous development of berobenatide as the anchor of Pfizer's cardiometabolic pipeline."
Company portals
Executives
Bernd Montag
Chief Executive Officer
Dr Rowland Illing
Global Chief Medical Officer and Director, Healthcare and Life Sciences
Karl Munslow-Ong
Chief Executive Officer
Nicholas Galakatos
Global Head of Blackstone Life Sciences (BXLS)
