Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

• Biomedicine: Deadly fungi are becoming drug-resistant.
• Global health: Tuberculosis, a health threat in Europe.
• International health policy: American drug tariffs in the US risk shortages of lower-cost generics.
• National health policy: Waiting lists become chronic.
• Companies: Novo Nordisk’s stock market plunges under pressure from rival Lilly’s weight-loss pill.

Biomedicine

• Deadly fungi are becoming drug-resistant. Although resistance is associated with bacteria, fungal infections, where there are 2.5 million deaths each year, should not be forgotten. Although the therapeutic arsenal for fungi is very limited, new therapies are emerging, as published in Nature in March.
• Kidney disease is the cause of high global mortality. 674 million people worldwide, or 8.5% of the population, have chronic kidney disease. It is one of the fastest-growing causes of death and could become the fifth leading cause by 2040. An initiative led by Guatemala on this issue will be discussed at the upcoming 78th WHO General Assembly in May.

Global Health

• Tuberculosis, a health threat in Europe. In the WHO European Region (Europe and Central Asia), there were 225 cases of tuberculosis and 16,000 deaths from the disease in 2023. Nearly 30% of cases are drug-resistant tuberculosis.

International Health Policy

• American tariffs on medicines in the US risk shortages of lower-cost generics. The vast majority of medicines consumed in the US are off-patent and produced in other countries with low labor costs.
• European pharmaceutical company leaders are calling for higher drug prices in the EU to counter the threat of tariffs. The CEOs of Novartis and Sanofi call for higher drug prices in Europe to boost innovation.
• France is a much healthier country than the United States. Although France spends 12.1% of its GDP on healthcare, compared to 16.6% in the USA, the French live on average six years longer than Americans. Mortality in France from myocardial infarction is one-third that of the United States, their obesity rate is one-third, and opioid mortality is only a small fraction of that of the United States. It seems the big difference is cultural and lifestyle.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• Statements by Félix Lobo on the drug law. Competition is necessary, but it must be well organized. He says that competitive public procurement for generic drugs is nothing new in Europe, nor in Spain. Now, the design is very delicate and must be done by listening to stakeholders and taking into account strategic autonomy.
• Spain increases its public health spending per capita by 27% in four years. In 2023, the latest data available, spending per person reached €2,021, a 27% increase compared to 2019.
• Waiting lists are becoming chronic: 105 days to see a specialist and 126 for surgery.

Companies

• International
  • Novo Nordisk’s stock market plunges under pressure from rival Lilly’s weight-loss pill,

• National
  • Oryzon receives market support on its path to the Nasdaq.
  • Clínica de Navarra will grow 7% due to healthcare demand. It expects to reach nearly €370 million in the 2024/25 financial year.

Biomedicine

• Kidney diseases are the cause of high global mortality. 674 million people worldwide, or 8.5% of the population, have chronic kidney disease. It is one of the fastest-growing causes of death and could become the fifth leading cause by 2040. An initiative led by Guatemala on this topic will be discussed at the upcoming 78th WHO General Assembly in May (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01237-2).
• Deadly fungi are becoming drug-resistant. Although resistance is associated with bacteria, we must not forget fungal infections, which cause 2.5 million deaths each year. Although the therapeutic arsenal for fungi is very limited, new therapies are on the horizon, as published in Nature in March (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/04/23/lethal-fungi-are-becoming-drug-resistant-and-spreading).
• Exposure to intestinal toxins linked to an increase in intestinal cancer. Intestinal cancer is projected to be the most common cause of death among young adults by 2030. This could be explained by a toxin from a gut microbe (https://www.ft.com/content/df0f8d19-1028-4834-ab66-3c79c3e67fa3).
• Sex hormones are brain hormones, which means they can be used to treat brain diseases. Estrogens are vital for brain development (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/health/neuroscience-estrogen-hormones.html)
• Carl H. June, creator of CAR-T therapies: “The genetic medicine of the future will be able to treat everything from diabetes to chronic infections” (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-04-24/carl-h-june-creador-de-las-terapias-car-t-la-medicina-genetica-del-futuro-podra-tratar-desde-la-diabetes-hasta-infecciones-cronicas.html)
• What’s behind unexplained strokes in people under 50 (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/detras-ictus-inexplicables-menores-anos-20250416111658-nt.html)

Global Health

• From crisis to opportunity: a united response to Trump’s attacks on climate change. On his first day in office, Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement. Political leaders, health and scientific organizations, and individual researchers must unite and condemn this Trump policy (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00777-9/fulltext?rss=yes)
• The global pandemic treaty without the US, a victory for multilateralism (https://www.science.org/content/article/global-pandemic-treaty-finalized-without-us-victory-multilateralism)
• The 2025 report on the health of women and children (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00151-5/fulltext)
• Tuberculosis, a health threat in Europe. In the WHO European Region (Europe and Central Asia), there were 225 cases of tuberculosis and 16,000 deaths from the disease in 2023. Nearly 30% of cases are drug-resistant tuberculosis (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00677-4/fulltext?rss=yes).
• Our societies must become aware that the tobacco industry is poisoning them. Opinion in Le Monde by two prestigious pulmonologists (https://www.lemonde.fr/sciences/article/2025/04/22/nos-societes-doivent-prendre-conscience-que-l-industrie-du-tabac-les-empoisonne-en-tant-que-telles_6598845_1650684.html)
• In Uganda, the sixth Ebola outbreak has ended, according to the government (https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/04/26/en-ouganda-la-sixieme-epidemie-du-virus-ebola-est-terminee-declare-le-gouvernement_6600266_3212.html)

International Health Policy

• Trump’s trade war and its impact on healthcare
  • American tariffs on drugs in the US risk shortages of lower-cost generics. The vast majority of drugs consumed in the US are off-patent and produced in other countries with low labor costs (https://www.ft.com/content/b5ed8bf5-fdd2-462b-a92c-96f0d985a685)
  • Pharmaceutical company leaders are calling for higher drug prices in the EU to counter the threat of tariffs. The CEOs of Novartis and Sanofi are calling for higher drug prices in Europe to boost innovation (https://www.ft.com/content/8c66daf4-4b87-447b-b4f5-25fd6a3c37a2)

• USA
  • Can the FDA accomplish its mission with fewer staff? (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00819-0/fulltext?rss=yes)
  • The FDA will limit industry participation in its advisory committees (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/fda-farmaceuticas-comites-asesores/)
  • Birth rates languish at record lows, according to the CDC (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/health/birth-rates-cdc.html)
  • Vague persecution of scientific journals. A federal prosecutor in Washington sent a letter to the New England Journal of Medicine, warning of certain biases (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/25/health/nejm-prosecutor-letter.html)
  • The costs of Trump’s attacks on American science (https://www.ft.com/content/67fd40e3-104e-4599-a8b2-3f34cd75c74a)

• The United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • What do Trump’s tariffs and the US-UK trade negotiations mean for the NHS? (https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/what-do-trumps-tariffs-and-us-uk-trade-negotiations-mean-for-the-nhs)
  • Satisfaction with GPs (primary care physicians) has collapsed in England. Telephone appointments have doubled, while in-person contact with doctors has significantly decreased (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/apr/22/patient-satisfaction-gp-services-england-research

• France
  • France is a much healthier country than the United States. Although France spends 12.1% of its GDP on healthcare, compared to 16.6% in the USA, the French live on average six years longer than Americans. Mortality in France from myocardial infarction is one-third that of the United States, its obesity rate is one-third, and mortality from opioids is only a small fraction of that of Americans. It seems that the big difference is cultural and lifestyle (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/24/france-is-a-far-healthier-country-than-america)
  • Medical deserts: the government wants to force doctors to visit up to two days per month in priority areas (https://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2025/04/25/deserts-medicaux-le-gouvernement-souhaite-imposer-aux-medecins-jusqu-a-deux-jours-par-mois-de-consultation-dans-les-zones-prioritaires_6599987_1651302.html)

National Health Policy

• Central Government Initiatives
  • The Ministry of Health expands coverage of CAR-T therapies for people with HIV (https://www.sanidad.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=6657)
  • The Minister hopes to bring the new anti-smoking law to Parliament in 2025 (https://www.consalud.es/politica/monica-garcia-espera-poder-llevar-nueva-ley-antitabaco-cortes-este-2025_157462_102.html)

• Autonomous Community Initiatives
  • Agreement on the Personalized Medicine Strategy in Aragon. The agreement is between the Government of Aragon and the Health Research Institute (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/aragon/aragon-impulsa-su-estrategia-de-medicina-personalizada-de-precision-7590)
  • The SESPA OPE will be decided by a single tribunal in this new phase (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/asturias/el-psoe-idea-un-tribunal-unico-para-acelerar-las-ope-pendientes-del-sespa-5782)
  • Scientists and researchers in the Madrid public health system will receive salaries more comparable to those of other healthcare personnel. The agreement will be signed with the CCOO (Spanish Workers’ Commissions) and will affect 2,000 researchers (https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2025-04-24/cientificos-e-investigadores-de-la-sanidad-publica-madrilena-tendran-salarios-mas-equiparados-con-el-resto-del-personal-sanitario.html)
  • The SERGAS (Spanish National Service of Public Works) has activated a plan to enable health centers to perform minor surgeries before the summer. These will be short-term procedures for boils, warts, and benign cysts (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13326842/04/25/el-sergas-activa-un-plan-para-que-los-centros-de-salud-puedan-realizar-cirugias-menores-antes-de-verano.html)

• Drug Law
  • Statements by Félix Lobo: Competition is necessary, but it must be well organized. He says that competitive public procurement for generic drugs is nothing new in Europe, nor in Spain. Now, the design is very delicate and must be done by listening to stakeholders and taking into account strategic autonomy (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/04/26/680bada6fc6c833c148b45b1.html)

• Healthcare Spending
  • Spain increases its public healthcare spending per capita by 27% in four years. In 2023, the latest available data, spending per person amounted to 2,021 euros, a 27% increase compared to 2019 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250421/espana-eleva-gasto-sanitario-publico-habitante-anos/1003743716007_0.html)

• Waiting lists
  • Waiting lists are becoming chronic: 105 days to see a specialist and 126 for surgery (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/04/24/6809fdb7e85ece51768b4589.html). Access the original document of the Waiting List Information System as of December 2024: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/estadEstudios/estadisticas/inforRecopilaciones/listaEspera.htm

• Private healthcare, IDIS Private Healthcare Observatory Report
  • Private healthcare performs more than 40% of surgical interventions in Spain (https://www.infosalus.com/asistencia/noticia-sanidad-privada-realiza-mas-40-intervencinoes-quirurgicas-espana-20250424114044.html#google_vignette). Access the IDIS Foundation report: https://www.fundacionidis.com/informes/analisis-de-situacion-de-la-sanidad-privada/observatorio-del-sector-sanitario-privado-2024

Companies

• International News
  • Zealand Pharma says the obesity agreement with Roche will help it remain independent (https://www.ft.com/content/e1071cf2-ef36-4d9b-b918-573030ed6681)
  • Novo Nordisk’s stock plunges amid pressure over rival Lilly’s weight-loss pill (https://www.elconfidencial.com/mercados/2025-04-22/novo-nordisk-se-hunde-en-bolsa-ante-la-presion_4113479/)
  • Roche will invest 43.4 billion in the USA to increase its production in the United States and Avoid tariffs (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/industria/2025/04/22/68074961468aebf3738b45a6.html)

• National
  • PharmaMar stock market falls 9% after recording losses in the millions in the first quarter (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/bolsa/pharmamar-cae-9-en-bolsa-registrar-perdidas-millonarias-en-primer-trimestre_157453_102.html)
  • Faes Farma launches a strategic plan with new acquisitions to double revenues and exceed 1 billion (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-04-22/faes-farma-lanza-un-plan-estrategico-con-nuevas-adquisiciones-para-duplicar-ingresos-y-superar-los-1000-millones.html)
  • Oryzon receives market support on its path to the Nasdaq (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-04-24/oryzon-recibe-el-respaldo-del-mercado-en-su-camino-al-nasdaq-amplia-capital-en-30-millones-por-encima-del-objetivo.html)
  • Clínica de Navarra will grow 7% due to healthcare demand. It expects to reach almost 370 million euros in the 2024/25 financial year (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/04/22/6806accae5fdea09378b4583.html)

This post is also available in: Spanish