Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, The Lancet commemorates the 200th anniversary of the birth of Pasteur, the creator of the germ theory. Even today a high percentage of deaths are from infections. Promising results of an mRNA vaccine against melanoma, presented by Moderna and Merck.

As far as Global Health is concerned, it is worth highlighting the article published in Nature that says that without a strategy and global financing of vaccines, the world will be unable to successfully face new epidemics.

As for international health policy, the discouraging news of China’s abandonment of the covid-zero policy continues, when the country is not prepared and is most likely to suffer high mortality. The CDC quantifies the deaths from persistent covid in the USA. The conflict of nurses in the NHS continues, which coincides with the appearance of a report from the Institute for Fiscal Studies in the United Kingdom that attributes the problems of the NHS to underfunding of the system. New Zealand, the second country in the world to announce a ban on tobacco sales.

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), in terms of covid, the incidence continues to decrease, what has not completely decreased, or has decreased very slowly, is mortality (236 deaths in the last week). After confinement in a unit of the Regional Ministry of Health, the strike committee of primary care doctors in Madrid decided to continue the strike, extending the conflict to a demonstration, along the lines of the “white tides”.

In the field of companies, internationally, it seems that Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are making an important bet in the field of neurotechnology with the company Synchron. As far as national news is concerned, perhaps highlighting that it seems that the hopes placed on the Spanish HIPRA vaccine are fading.

Biomedicine

• Article from The Lancet: Pasteur’s legacy in 21st century medicine. Born in 1822, at 40 he was already a national hero. His great contribution was the theory of germs (the basis of microbiology and immunology) and he created the first vaccine against rabies in 1885. Even before covid, infections caused 20% of deaths globally (https:// www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02573-9/fulltext)
• Innovation for infection prevention and control. Following Pasteur’s path, which he insisted on the hospital as an amplifier of transmission and the need for aseptic techniques in modern surgery (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22 )02459-X/fulltext)
• Moderna and Merck’s initial trials of an mRNA vaccine against melanoma, promising, with great reduction in mortality and recurrences (https://www.ft.com/content/455ef4e3-b870-4baa-9b05-977329e24356)
• Gene therapy can cure diseases, but can we afford it? The price of CSL (3.5 million dollars for a single dose) introduces the debate on how to pay for certain revolutionary drugs (https://www.ft.com/content/8173d816-1167-4773-bad5-f565fed3ffde)
• A new combination of immunotherapy improves survival in metastatic lung cancer by 63% (https://www.lavanguardia.com/vida/20221216/8647742/nueva-combinacion-immunoterapia-mejora-63-supervivencia-cancer-pulmon- metastatic.html)
• Brain implants may have improved function, but progress is slow. Involvement of Elon Musk’s company Neuralink (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/13/health/elon-musk-brain-implants-paralysis.html)

Global Health

• The failure of the global vaccine strategy, article in Nature. Without a global strategy and public funding to provide vaccines, the world will be unable to stop a new epidemic (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04423-8)
• New England Journal of Medicine report on achieving zero emissions in healthcare. The healthcare sector is responsible for 5% of global emissions and 8.5% in the USA. A metric is proposed (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMsb2210022)

International Health Policy

• COVID19
  • The need to better monitor covid mortality. Estimates multiply the official figures by 2.7 (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-04422-9.pdf)
  • Covid can spread from dead bodies, according to a scientific report (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/health/covid-dead-bodies.html)

• The crisis of the covid-zero policy in China
  • Xi Jinping’s policy of withdrawing from covid-zero (https://www.economist.com/china/2022/12/15/the-politics-of-xi-jinpings-covid-retreat)
  • The wave of covid in China can mean 1.5 million deaths. The country is ill-prepared in terms of vaccines, treatments, and guidelines for action (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/12/15/what-china-can-still-do-to-avoid-an- enormous-covid-death-toll)

• USA
  • According to the CDC, persistent covid has produced more than 3,500 deaths in the USA (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/14/health/long-covid-deaths.html)
  • Emergency doctors misdiagnose patients with unusual symptoms, article in NYT. (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/health/medical-errors-emergency-rooms.html). Original article: https://effectivehealthcare.ahrq.gov/products/diagnostic-errors-emergency/research

• United Kingdom
  • Nurses will step up unless the pay offer improves (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/dec/15/nurses-will-step-up-strikes-unless-pay-offer -improved-nhs-official-warns)
  • Article in Financial Times: the real reasons for the NHS crisis. To a large extent, he attributes it to underinvestment (expenditure per inhabitant on healthcare, beds, MRIs, TACS) (https://www.ft.com/content/2ee16591-a973-4f9f-93e3-3ec6db66cf48). A study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies is mentioned: https://ifs.org.uk/sites/default/files/2022-12/NHS-funding-resources-and-treatment-volumes-Institute-for-Fiscal-Studies. pdf

• France
  • The covid epidemic in France is progressing more slowly (https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2022/12/16/covid-19-en-france-l-epidemie-progresse-moins-vite_6154763_3244.html )

• New Zealand
  • New Zealand progressively bans the sale of tobacco. Second country in the world, after Bhutan, to prohibit the sale since 2027 (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medicina-preventiva/politica/nueva-zelanda-aprueba-la-ley-que-prohibe-progresivamente-la -sale-of-tobacco.html)

• European Union
  • ECDC: high risk due to covid, influenza and RSV (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/infeccionesas/ecdc-alto-riesgo-aumento-presion-hospitalaria-covid-gripe-vrs_123817_102.html)

• Publications of interest
  • Health at a glance Europe 2022, joint publication of the OECD and the European Union (https://www.oecd.org/health/health-at-a-glance-europe/)

National health policy

• COVID
  • The incidence of the pandemic continues to drop, to 157 points, 236 deaths in a week, 4,431 patients admitted for covid, of which 269 in ICU beds (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/especial-coronavirus /covid-spain-notifies-18604-new-cases-236-deaths_124064_102.html)

• Tensions in the public health system in Madrid
  • The Primary Care Physicians Strike Committee ends its confinement in the Ministry, but the strike continues (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/c-madrid/comite-huelga-encierro-consejeria-madrilena_124069_102.html )
  • The white tide returns to the streets (https://www.eldiario.es/madrid/marea-blanca-vuelve-calles-medio-choque-total-ayuso-medicos-familia-huelga_1_9801134.html)

• Regulatory framework
  • The Madrid Assembly approves the new Pharmacy Law. The law has come out with 79 votes in favor (PP and Vox) and 54 against. New elements: pharmaceutical indication for non-prescription drugs, home pharmaceutical care, Nutrition and Diet section in pharmacies and more flexible opening hours (https://www.diariomedico.com/farmacia/politica/madrid-el- plenary-of-the-assembly-approves-the-new-pharmacy-law.html)
  • The reform of the abortion law is approved in Congress and passed to the Senate (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/ginecologia/profesion/la-reforma-del-aborto-llega-al-senado-y- about-the-creation-of-the-registry-of-objectors.html)

• Reports of interest
  • Contribution of the Spanish health system to the economy, publication of the WHO and the European Observatory on Healthcare Systems (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/publications/i/how-does-spain-s-health-sector-contribute- to-the-economy)

Companies

• International News
  • Gates and Bezos join the neurotechnology race with Synchron (https://www.consalud.es/ecsalud/ehealth/bill-gates-jeff-bezos-se-unen-carrera-neurotecnologia-con-synchron_124034_102.html )
  • Amgen closes the purchase of the pharmaceutical company Horizon for 20,000 million dollars (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/12/12/companias/1670839444_694681.html)

• National News
  • Caser continues to grow in dental and opens two centers in Salamanca and Sabadell (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/caser-continua-creciendo-en-dental-y-abre-dos-centros-en-salamanca-y -sabadell.html)
  • ASISA promotes a telemedicine program for chronic patients (https://www.asisa.es/noticias-salud/2022-12-13-Programa-Actua-cronicos)
  • Uriach willing to open its shareholding to venture capital funds (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/uriach-dispuesta-a-abrir-su-accionariado-a-fondos-de-capital-riesgo.html)
  • Grifols is considering the sale of 2,000 million assets to straighten its financial course (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/12/13/companias/1670959571_654886.html)
  • HIPRA: the Spanish vaccine in limbo (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20221216/hipra-retrasos-desinterestes-ema-primera-covid-espanola/726177738_0.html)
  • Healthcare Activos makes its big international leap and buys 8 nursing homes in Belgium (https://www.elconfidencial.com/inmobiliario/inversiones-alternativas/2022-12-15/healthcare-activos-compra-seis-residencias-belgica_3540306 /)
  • Maex grows in Spain and lands in Galicia with clinics in Santiago and Ourense (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/maex-crece-en-espana-y-aterriza-en-galicia-con-clinicas-en- santiago-and-ourense.html)