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Eli Lilly and Co. signed yet another partnership aimed at developing immune-oncology drugs. The Indianapolis-based drugmaker formed a collaboration with U.K.-based AstraZeneca plc to collaborate on a Phase 1 clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors. The test will study the effect of giving patients Lilly’s drug Cryamza in combination with AstraZeneca’s experimental drug MEDI4736, which is known as an anti-PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitor. That inhibitor helps cancerous tumors avoid detection by the body’s immune system. Lilly’s Cryamza is approved to treat gastric cancer, colorectal cancer and non-small-cell lung cancer. Lilly has also formed partnerships with New York-based Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., New Jersey-based Merck & Co. Inc., and Germany-based BioNTech to develop cancer treatments that use the body’s immune system, a market that analysts expect to reap tens of billions of dollars in annual sales.

With a $350 per month payment to oncologists, Anthem Inc. has successfully pushed two-thirds of patients with colon, breast and non-small-cell lung cancer into its Cancer Care Quality Program, which launched in July 2014. Of those patients registered with the program, 72 percent of colon cancer patients are being treated in accordance with one of Anthem’s recommended regimens, which are based on evidence for best outcomes, fewest side effects and most efficient. For patients with breast and lung cancer, 63 percent are being treated with one of Anthem’s recommended regimens. Since the first rollout of the program in Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin and Georgia in July 2014, the program has expanded to include other cancers, such as ovarian, pancreatic, leukemia, lymphoma, melanoma, myeloma, prostate and cancers that affect the central nervous system. By July 1, the program will be implemented for patients and providers in 13 states.

Physicians and their employers would have immunity from liability if they agree to collaborate with midwives under a new law passed by the Indiana General Assembly. According to Indiana Public Media, the change is the Legislature’s answer to the lack of action after a 2013 law allowed midwives to practice if they signed a collaborative agreement with a doctor. But the Indiana Professional Licensing Board—charged with fully developing midwife regulations—couldn’t find a doctor willing to sign an agreement, and gave up creating the midwifery license. The Professional Licensing Board will still have to develop a final set of rules for midwife licensing, which it’s expected to do in the coming months.