7 days in healhtcare (August 4th-10th, 2025)

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Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

  • Biomedicine: The discovery of lithium’s essential role in Alzheimer’s opens a hopeful avenue for treating the disease.
  • Global Health: The famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failure. This includes Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen.
  • International Health Policy: Trump threatens pharmaceutical companies with retaliation if they don’t lower “vastly inflated prices.”
  • National Health Policy: The so-called “health reforms” of four pending laws (tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and the Framework Statute) run into an unpredictable Congress.
  • Business: Lilly’s obesity pill disappoints but gives encouragement to NovoNordisk.

Biomedicine

  • The discovery of lithium’s essential role in Alzheimer’s opens a hopeful avenue for treating the disease. A Harvard team manages to reverse dementia in mice after a lithium supplement.
  • A large study (JAMA) supports lowering the age for colorectal cancer screening to 45 years and doing it at home. Until now, the recommendation was age 50 and older.

Global Health

  • The famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failure. This includes Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen.
  • What the closure of USAID is really costing the world. The abrupt withdrawal of American aid is affecting millions of patients and entire countries in the coming years. In two decades, 92 million deaths had been avoided thanks to USAID. Perhaps the biggest disaster of the Trump Administration, although it’s difficult to say for sure with such a wide array of absurdities.

International Health Policy

  • Trump threatens retaliation against pharmaceutical companies if they don’t lower “massively inflated prices.” He also accuses other countries, including European ones, of freeloading on American innovation. Currently, medications are on average three times more expensive in the US than in other countries.
  • The EU is promoting effective strategies to stem the healthcare workforce drain: salary increases, improved working conditions, and increased staff.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • The so-called “healthcare reforms” of four pending laws (tobacco, alcohol, medicines, and the Framework Statute) are facing an unpredictable Congress. Although calling these initiatives “healthcare reforms” is merely a use of language. It is, at best, “ordinary management,” often with misguided policies, such as those affecting the Framework Statute.
  • SESPA will begin competitive examinations in the fall to fill 2,031 positions, with more than 65,000 applicants. One problem is finding venues to hold the “tests.” Logically, as a spectacle, it’s not bad, but any resemblance to a professional selection in this format is purely coincidental.

Companies

  • International
    • Lilly’s obesity pill disappoints and gives NovoNordisk a boost. The weight loss is less than expected. It is striking that a few days ago, Lilly seemed the big winner and Novonordisk the loser in the race for obesity therapy. The situation is very volatile.
    • Demanding that 17 companies lower drug prices in the US raises legal, ethical, and economic problems. The lack of centralized negotiation, the absence of a binding cost-effectiveness assessment in pricing, and the fragmentation of insurance companies are at the heart of the problem. Without a comprehensive reform of the purchasing system, the impact of this initiative would be temporary, partial, and politically fragile, it is emphasized.
  • National
    • Grifols completes the purchase of 28 plasma collection centers in the US from Immunotek for 415 million.

Biomedicine

  • The discovery of lithium’s essential role in Alzheimer’s opens a promising avenue for treating the disease. A Harvard team successfully reversed dementia in mice after supplementing with the metal (https://elpais.com/ciencia/2025-08-06/el-descubrimiento-del-papel-esencial-del-litio-en-el-alzheimer-abre-un-esperanzador-frente-para-tratar-la-enfermedad.html). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09335-x
  • A new drug target has been discovered to treat ALS (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/hallan-nueva-diana-farmacologica-tratar-ela-20250805110000-nt.html)
  • A biotechnology company is conducting a trial of antidepressants combined with genetic testing. A German pharmaceutical company, HMNC Brain Health, identifies patients who benefit from its drug (https://www.ft.com/content/4b5f120f-5000-4671-a7a0-5eceedb12da5)
  • Patients with chronic fatigue have different genes, according to a study by the University of Edinburgh, after analyzing 15,000 patients (https://www.ft.com/content/b82711ca-0842-4e73-9475-52435997e349)
  • The “big picture” of Alzheimer’s is missing the small pieces (https://www.ft.com/content/ba453de8-7ed0-44c1-b749-03bc33b05239)
  • Warning of the unexpected effects of Ozempic on muscle function (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/alertan-inesperados-efectos-ozempic-funcion-muscular-20250805141051-nt.html).
  • A large study (JAMA) supports lowering the age for colorectal cancer screening to 45 years and doing it at home. Until now, the recommendation was for children aged 50 and over (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20250804/gran-estudio-avala-bajar-edad-cribado-cancer-colorectal-anos-implantar-pruebas-casa/1003743873991_0.html)

Global Health

  • Children in Gaza are starving, while politicians engage in public relations spectacles (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1610)
  • Famines in Gaza and other conflict areas are a moral failing. This includes Gaza, Sudan, South Sudan, and Yemen (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01542-9/fulltext?rss=yes)
  • Scientists warn of plastics as a serious health hazard, before UN talks begin (https://www.ft.com/content/09108445-c1cb-45c2-b145-d767d56aeb7b)
  • What the USAID shutdown is really costing the world. The abrupt withdrawal of US aid is affecting millions of patients and entire countries for years to come. In two decades, 92 million deaths had been averted thanks to USAID (https://www.ft.com/content/0a13ad23-eaa8-475d-a2a9-5e67ff0b2756)
  • The changing future of foreign aid. The demise of USAID has been followed by a decline in development aid funding from other European countries (https://www.ft.com/content/d877a584-72b1-4721-bc54-45117f06a104)

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • Fertility in the US plummets, reaching an all-time low. Even the most fertile states are having fewer children (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/08/05/americas-fertility-crash-reaches-a-new-low)
    • On vaccines, RFK Jr. has completely broken with conventional thinking (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/07/health/kennedy-vaccines-mrna-trump.html)
    • RFK Jr. cancels nearly $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/05/health/rfk-jr-vaccine-funding.html)
    • Trump threatens pharmaceutical companies with retaliation if they don’t lower “vastly inflated prices.” He also accuses other countries, including European ones, of making gratuitous use of American innovation. Currently, medications are on average three times more expensive in the US than in other countries (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/07/31/688bb8f7fc6c830c798b458e.html)
    • The US is preparing a large-scale pilot program for Medicare and Medicaid to cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/eeuu-programa-piloto-medicare-medicaid-glp-1-obesidad/)
  • China
    • China is launching a war reminiscent of the COVID lockdowns in its fight against the Chikungunya virus (https://www.ft.com/content/25d57195-619e-4406-9b3f-c3566cf1747c)
    • China is stepping up its domestic development of obesity therapies, with 10 already in the final phase of trials. (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250809/china-pisa-acelerador-desarrollo-local-terapias-obesidad-ultima-fase-ensayo/1003743875162_0.html)
  • United Kingdom
    • The medical exodus in the United Kingdom is a warning sign for the NHS. Doctors are increasingly willing to go abroad in search of better pay (https://www.ft.com/content/e26311ca-e821-40a4-afc3-f11595358a45)
  • France
    • Paris threatens a private equity-owned laboratory with a profit cap (https://www.ft.com/content/146aef21-8e0a-4969-8c3a-a961e46ba72c)
  • European Union
    • The EU is promoting effective strategies to stem the flow of healthcare workers: salary increases, improved working conditions, and increased staff (https://www.consalud.es/profesionaleseceta-atraer-retener-profesionales-sanitarios.html). Access the Eurofound report: https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/en/publications/2023/measures-tackle-labour-shortages-lessons-future-policy
    • The EMA recommends the approval of 13 new medicines, of which 5 are orphan medicines and 4 are biosimilars (https://diariofarma.com/2025/08/06/la-ema-recomienda-la-aprobacion-de-13-nuevos-medicamentos)

National Health Policy

  • Central Administration Initiatives
    • The so-called “health reforms” of four pending laws (tobacco, alcohol, medicines, and the Framework Statute) are running into an unpredictable Congress (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-08-06/del-tabaco-en-las-terrazas-a-las-guardias-medicas-las-reformas-sanitarias-se-topan-con-un-congreso-imprevisible.html)
  • Autonomous Community Initiatives
    • The Catalan private healthcare system will establish quality assurance systems. The Regional Ministry is drafting a bill, which will be submitted for public consultation (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/cataluna/la-sanidad-concertada-catalana-establecera-sistemas-de-garantia-de-calidad-2151)
    • SESPA will launch competitive examinations in the fall to fill 2,031 positions, with more than 65,000 applicants (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/profesion/sespa-iniciara-otono-oposiciones-cubrir-2031-plazas.html#:~:text=Profesión%20Procesos%20selectivos-,El%20Sespa%20iniciará%20en%20otoño%20las%20oposiciones%20para%20cubrir%202.031,de%202022%2C%202023%20y%202024.)
    • The Balearic Islands launch a pioneering plan for telemental health. This is a pilot program with video calls (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/baleares/las-islas-baleares-ponen-en-marcha-un-proyecto-de-telesalud-mental.html)
    • The new Malaga hospital of the Andalusian Regional Government is getting closer. The three proposals will be evaluated next week (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/andalucia/el-nuevo-hospital-de-malaga-cada-vez-mas-cerca-la-junta-de-andalucia-recibe-tres-propuestas.html)
  • MIR Test
    • The PP demands explanations in Congress for the changes in the MIR committee (https://www.consalud.es/formacion/mir/el-pp-registra-en-el-congreso-doce-preguntas-para-explicar-la-crisis-en-el-comite-del-mir.html)
  • COVID
    • COVID is raging this summer, with sales of self-diagnostic tests doubling (https://www.elconfidencial.com/salud/2025-08-08/covid-desatado-verano_4187704/)

Companies

  • International
    • AstraZeneca is falling with The United Kingdom, with which the company expresses its disappointment, considering going public in New York (https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/08/03/astrazenecas-falling-out-with-britain)
    • BioNTech reaches agreement on COVID vaccine patent with CureVac (https://www.ft.com/content/7dc60b08-bde6-4564-a88c-f5a73e4de84c)
    • Lilly’s obesity pill disappoints but gives NovoNordisk encouragement. Weight loss is less than expected (https://www.ft.com/content/4ca30822-26a9-4a2d-8a19-3a07238ac182)
    • Sandoz is trying to lower the price of anti-obesity drugs by 70% in Canada (https://www.ft.com/content/e1da2702-e904-4c52-b7de-9525f0639f18)
    • Pharmaceutical companies are considering not launching their drugs in the EU to avoid Trump’s price cuts. The reason: the low profitability of the prices set by government agencies. It seems that Portugal already has a shortage of innovative medicines. Nearly half of pharmaceutical companies’ revenues originate in the USA (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250805/laboratorios-barajan-no-lanzar-farmacos-ue-eludir-bajada-precios-trump/1003743874507_0.html)
    • NovoNordisk closes the first half of the year with a profit of 7.442 billion euros, up 22%. (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250806/novo-nordisk-cierra-primer-semestre-beneficio-millones/1003743876623_0.html#:~:text=despues%20de%20rebajar%20sus%20previsiones,)%2C%20un%2022%25%20más.)
    • Demanding that 17 companies lower drug prices in the US raises legal, ethical, and economic issues. The lack of centralized negotiation, the absence of a binding cost-effectiveness assessment in pricing, and the fragmentation of insurance companies are at the root of the problem. Without a comprehensive reform of the purchasing system, the impact of this initiative would be punctual, partial, and politically fragile, it is emphasized (https://elglobalfarma.com/industria/exigir-companias-bajen-precios-medicamentos-eeuu-problemas/).
  • National
    • Grifols completes the purchase of 28 plasma collection centers in the USA from Immunotek for 415 million (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-08-06/grifols-centros-plasma-eeuu-immunotek/#:~:text=Grifols%20ha%20consolidado%20la%20propiedad,(415%20millones%20de%20euros).)
    • CVC sells the Vitalia nursing homes to StepStone and Greykite for 900 million (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/08/04/688fa4f0e5fdea556d8b459b.html)

 

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