Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

• Biomedicine: Nature editorial: canceling mRNA research is the greatest irresponsibility.
• Global health: WHO Pandemic Agreement.
• International health policy: RFK Jr. and MAHA (Make American Healthy Again): dangerous, emboldened, and growing.
• National health policy: 2026 MIR call for applications: The Official State Gazette publishes this year’s official call for applications.
• Business: The expiration of key patents will cost pharmaceutical companies in Europe $12.53 billion.

Biomedicine

• Nature editorial: canceling mRNA research is the greatest irresponsibility. Despite the fact that mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID pandemic, RFK Jr. announces the withdrawal of $500 million from this research. It’s the technology that Trump himself had supported in his first term, and it has potential to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and hereditary diseases. Although other countries are choosing another path, it’s hard to imagine mRNA research without the United States.
• Article in The Economist: RFK Jr.’s attacks on mRNA research are damaging the world. Perhaps the most significant impact is reducing the world’s capacity to rapidly produce a vaccine against a potential pandemic. Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the UAE, and the United Kingdom are competing to continue this research. Van de Leyden says the EU should step up and launch a special initiative.
• Pregnant women need protection during heat waves. A recent analysis of 198 studies in 66 countries indicates that preterm birth increases by 4% for every degree Celsius increase in temperature in the months before birth.

Global Health

• WHO Pandemic Agreement. This agreement, reached in May 2025 at the WHO General Assembly, has been an important step in preparing for future pandemics. However, some points remain to be clarified, such as the annex on sharing access to pathogens (PABS).

International Health Policy

• RFK, Jr., and MAHA (Make American Healthy Again): dangerous, emboldened, and growing. Whether due to incompetence or misinformation, the actions of this movement represent the greatest threat to the health of Americans and millions of people globally.
• Trump and Van der Leiden confirm the controversial 15% single tariff on pharmaceutical products, received with extreme reluctance by the European pharmaceutical industry (EFPIA).

National Health Policy (Spain)

• 2026 MIR Call: The Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes this year’s official call: 12,366 specialized healthcare training places.
• Health effects of forest fires. Alterations in the mucous membranes, cardiovascular, neurological, and immune systems are mentioned, not to mention the psychological effects.

Companies

• International
  • The expiration of key patents will cost pharmaceutical companies €12.53 billion in Europe. This means that pharmaceutical companies will lose €12.53 billion in revenue in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, from 2024 to 2029, according to the consulting firm IQVIA.
  • Lilly and NovoNordisk are bowing to Trump: raising prices in Europe and lowering them in the US. Two of the 17 multinationals that received Trump’s letter on July 31 have already taken the first steps.

• National
  • Brussels authorizes the purchase of Vitaldent by OTPP. This means the sale of the Donte Group by KKR to the Canadian fund Ontario Teachers (OTPP).

Biomedicine

• Nature editorial: canceling mRNA research is the ultimate irresponsibility. Despite the fact that mRNA vaccines saved millions of lives during the COVID pandemic, RFK Jr. announces the withdrawal of $500 million from this research. It is the technology that Trump himself had supported in his first term and that has potential to treat cancer, autoimmune diseases, and hereditary diseases. Although other countries are choosing another path, it is difficult to imagine mRNA research without the United States (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02612-9)
• Article in The Economist: RFK Jr.’s attacks on mRNA research are damaging the world. Perhaps the most significant impact is reducing the world’s capacity to rapidly produce a vaccine against a potential pandemic. Saudi Arabia, Switzerland, the UAE, and the United Kingdom are competing to continue this research. Van de Leyden says the EU should step up and launches a special initiative (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/08/20/rfk-jrs-attack-on-mrna-technology-endangers-the-world)
• Editorial in The Economist: Pregnant women need protection during heat waves. A recent analysis of 198 studies in 66 countries indicates that preterm birth increases by 4% for every degree Celsius increase in temperature in the months before birth (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/08/21/pregnant-women-need-protecting-from-heatwaves)
• New technology paves the way for human eye transplants (https://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/novaceno/2025-08-24/nueva-tecnologia-trasplante-de-ojos-humanos_4195354/)

Global Health

• Editorial in The BMJ: The WHO’s pandemic agreement. This agreement, reached in May 2025 at the WHO General Assembly, has been an important step in preparing for future pandemics. However, there are some points that need clarification, such as in the annex for sharing access to pathogens (PABS) (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1742)
• Cholera outbreak in Sudan with 40 deaths last week (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1756#:~:text=Sudan%3A%20Cholera%20outbreak%20worsens%20as%20clinics%20record%2040%20deaths%20in%20past%20week,-BMJ%202025%3B%20390&text=Doctors%20working%20with%20Médecins%20Sans,people%20die%20from%20the%20infection.)
• Congo has astronomical rates of sexual violence, Victims have now lost access to care (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/health/rape-congo-sexual-violence.html)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • The Lancet Editorial: RFK, Jr. and MAHA (Make American Healthy Again): dangerous, emboldened, and growing. Whether due to incompetence or misinformation, the actions of this movement represent the greatest threat to the health of Americans and millions of people globally (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01683-6/fulltext)
  • COVID vaccine opponent, about to be named leader of the Federal Review Team on COVID Vaccine Safety. This person has described these vaccines as “the most nefarious medical product in the history of medical products” (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/22/health/covid-vaccines-rfk.html)
  • RFK Jr. attacks a group of pediatricians over vaccine recommendations (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/19/rfk-jr-attacks-pediatricians-covid-vaccine-recommendations-00515609)
  • Trump’s Budget Office is withdrawing HIV funding that had been approved by Congress (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/21/health/hiv-aids-pepfar-funding-trump.html)

• United Kingdom
  • Secretary of State for Health ends talks with pharmaceutical companies over NHS pricing. The official position is that pharmaceutical companies must continue paying the recovery tax, which expires in 2028 and represents 22.9% of sales (https://www.ft.com/content/d3d991a4-f789-4448-a4d9-bf1716c2ebdb)
  • A third of doctors are considering leaving the UK, while only a quarter are satisfied with their career progress (https://www.bmj.com/content/390/bmj.r1671)

• France
  • France faces medical deserts (https://podcasts.lemonde.fr/le-monde-festival-international-de-journalisme-les-rencontre/202508230400-pourquoi-la-france-fait-face-aux-deserts-medicaux)
• European Union
  • Trump and Van der Leiden confirmed the controversial single tariff 15% for pharmaceutical products (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/arancel-unico-trump-von-der-leyen-europa-eeuu/)
  • The European industry is responding to the tariff agreement between the EU and the US. According to EFPIA, the 15% tariff on pharmaceuticals, with no exceptions for innovative medicines, remains a concern for the future of patients and our sector in Europe (https://diariofarma.com/2025/08/22/la-industria-europea-responde-al-atrabajo-arancelario-entre-la-ue-y-estados-unidos). EFPIA’s response document: https://www.efpia.eu/news-events/the-efpia-view/statements-press-releases/efpia-responds-to-the-publication-of-the-us-eu-joint-framework-agreement/
  • The pharmaceutical industry expects to lose €18 billion due to tariffs, which will generate unsustainable costs. This figure is the one estimated by the pharmaceutical industry as a loss for the sector per year (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250822/industria-farmaceutica-ue-preve-perder-aranceles-generaran-costes- unsustainable/1003743894980_0.html#:~:text=The%20calculations%20prepared%20by%20the,%20European%20employer%20of%20innovative%20medicine.)

National Health Policy

• Central Administration Initiatives
  • 2026 MIR Call: The Official State Gazette (BOE) publishes this year’s official call: 12,366 specialized healthcare training places (https://www.sanidad.gob.es/gabinete/notasPrensa.do?id=6737)
  • The PP attacks the “insufficient” number of MIR places, saying it condemns the system to collapse. He is particularly critical of the number of vacancies in Primary Care, only 36 more than the previous year (https://www.consalud.es/politica/el-pp-carga-contra-el-insuficiente-numero-de-plazas-mir-condena-al-sistema-al-colapso.html).

• Autonomous community initiatives
  • The Galician Advanced Therapies Manufacturing Center is part of the CERTERA project of the ISCIII (https://www.xunta.gal/es/notas-de-prensa/-/nova/015812/centro-fabricacion-terapias-avanzadas-integra-consorcio-certera-plataforma-del).

• Forest fires
  • A wide and diverse array of negative effects on health. Alterations in mucous membranes, the cardiovascular, neurological, and immune systems are mentioned, not to mention the psychological effects (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medicina-urgencias/incendios-forestales-amplio-diverso-rosario-efectos-negativos-salud.html)

• New guide for the management of medical equipment
  • The SEEIC publishes a guide for the management of medical equipment (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/nueva-guia-para-la-gestion-del-equipamiento-medico-puede-ser-una-palanca-de-cambio.html). Access the guide in PDF format: https://seeic.org/images/site/2025/SEEIC_Guia_gestion_estrategica_y_responsable_de_equipamiento_medico_2025_NO_SOCIOS.pdf

• New distribution of health areas in different regions
  • New health maps are being prepared in different regions, including Asturias, Aragon, Castilla-La Mancha, the Valencian Community, Cantabria, and La Rioja (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/las-ccaa-cambian-el-tablero-estos-son-los-nuevos-mapas-sanitarios-que-preparan.html#:~:text=Las%20CC.-,AA.,nuevos%20mapas%20sanitarios%20que%20preparan&text=La%20necesidad%20de%20garantizar%20una,de%20sus%20actuales%20mapas%20sanitarios.)

• Heat wave
  • The heat wave ends with 1,149 deaths attributable to high temperatures (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/08/19/68a49288fc6c83bc7e8b459c.html)

• Inequalities in healthcare spending in autonomous communities
  • Differences of 69% between regions (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-08-18/record-historico-desigualdad-gasto-sanitario-69-regiones/#:~:text=La%20sanidad%20pública%20española%20affronta,y%20la%20que%20menos%2C%20Cataluña.)

Companies

• International
  • NovoNordisk halves the price of Ozempic in the US (https://www.ft.com/content/825a4fb6-1f41-4f89-b2fb-5d344f48afa1)
  • Bill Gates funds an AI project for Alzheimer’s (https://www.expansion.com/economia/financial-times/2025/08/22/68a85c5ee5fdeaea038b4591.html)
  • The expiration of key patents will cost pharmaceutical companies in Europe €12.53 billion. This means pharmaceutical companies will lose €12.53 billion in revenue in Spain, Germany, France, Italy, and the United Kingdom from 2024 to 2029, according to the consulting firm IQVIA (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13509150/08/25/el-vencimiento-de-patentes-clave-costara-12530-millones-a-las-farmaceuticas-en-europa.html#:~:text=Provocará%20que%20las%20farmacéuticas%20dejen,compuesta%20por%20varios%20fármacos%20superventas.)
  • Lilly and NovoNordisk will follow Trump’s lead: prices will rise in Europe and fall in the US. Two of the 17 multinationals that received Trump’s letter on July 31 have already taken the first steps (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/empresas/noticias/13511906/08/25/lilly-y-novo-nordisk-se-pliegan-a-trump-suben-precios-en-europa-y-bajan-en-eeuu.html)
  • NovoNordisk rebounds on the stock market after US approval to use Wegovy for liver diseases (https://cincodias.elpais.com/mercados-financieros/2025-08-18/novo-nordisk-repunta-en-bolsa-tras-la-aprobacion-de-ee-uu-para-utilizar-wegovy-en-enfermedades-hepaticas.html)

• National
  • Pharma industry rejects Trump’s tariff; it is far from being a stimulus for the sector (https://elglobalfarma.com/industria/aranceles-trump-farmaindustria/)
  • Brussels authorizes the purchase of Vitaldent by OTPP. This means the sale of the Donte Group by KKR to the Canadian fund Ontario Teachers (OTPP) (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/08/18/68a36f28e5fdea993a8b458e.html)

 

This post is also available in: Spanish