7 days in healthcare (August 15-21, 2022)

Summary

From the point of view of biomedicine, the first drug is prepared using CRISPR (gene editing) technology. Important publication from The Lancet in the largest effort yet to identify risk factors in relation to cancer. Not surprisingly, however, tobacco and alcohol are the biggest risk factors, particularly tobacco.

As far as Global Health is concerned, polio is back and the UK is now offering vaccinations to children in London between the ages of 1 and 9.

Regarding international health policy, the famous North American Inflation Reduction Act has been signed by President Biden. Despite its name, the law has more to do with climate change and health, especially drug prices. No large growth in monkeypox is predicted, based on modeling carried out by The Economist. Deaths from covid remain high (15,000 a week globally) warns the Director General of the WHO. The Director of the American CDC denounces serious failures in the management of covid and announces substantial changes in the functioning of this body. A clear contrast to what is happening in Spain, where no conclusions seem to be drawn from the management of covid, despite being one of the most affected countries in terms of the number of cases and mortality in relation to the population.

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), the good news are that covid continues to decline, although there are still 62 deaths per day. The approval of the State Center for Public Health, scheduled for next week, is possibly the biggest consequence of covid. The birth rate in Spain falls to historical lows.

In the field of companies, drug prices break historical records in the USA. In Spain, HIPRA is preparing to manufacture 250 million doses of covid vaccines, pending approval by the EMA.

Biomedicine

• Ten years after the discovery of CRISPR (technology that allows gene editing), the first drug is proposed (by CRISPR Therapeutics in collaboration with Vertex) for the treatment of sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia. It will be submitted to UK and EU regulators at the end of 2022 (https://www.ft.com/content/e3c12117-190c-4fc9-9988-57eb9ab9de56)
• Important study published in The Lancet to analyze the risk factors associated with cancer, in the largest global effort to identify this problem to date. 87 risk factors are analyzed. Highest risk identified: tobacco, followed by alcohol (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01438-6/fulltext)
• Most cancers are preventable and 40% are due to two factors: tobacco (by far the greatest risk factor, 33.9%) and alcohol (7.4%) (https://www.lemonde .fr/societe/article/2022/08/19/plus-de-40-des-cancers-dans-le-monde-sont-dus-au-tabac-et-a-l-alcool_6138453_3224.html)

Global Health

• Child health deteriorates in Afghanistan under the Taliban (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)01573-2/fulltext)
• Polio, which was almost eradicated, is back (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/health/polio-new-york-malawi.html)
• The polio vaccine, offered to children between 1 and 9 years old in London, after the discovery of the virus in wastewater (https://www.bmj.com/content/378/bmj.o2007)
• Wastewater can be used to monitor virus infections such as covid and polio (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/17/health/wastewater-polio-covid-nyc.html)

International health policy

• The American Climate, Fiscal and Sanitary Act (Inflation Reduction Act, 2022)
  • After approval in Congress, Biden signs the law. The health component, and in particular the price of medicines, is important (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/16/us/politics/biden-climate-health-bill.html)

• Monkeypox
  • Monkeypox has spread rapidly among men who have sex with men, reaching 38,000 cases worldwide, but growth modeling seems to show that the pandemic will not progress much, according to The Economist (https://www. economist.com/graphic-detail/2022/08/18/monkeypox-has-spread-rapidly-in-male-sex-networks-will-it-spread-further)
  • The EMA (European Medicines Agency) supports fractional doses for the monkeypox vaccine (https://www.ft.com/content/8d23eb83-fa7c-4bd8-9ad9-0e600568022c)

• COVID-19
  • Deaths from covid in the world are skyrocketing, according to the WHO Director General (15,000 deaths globally in the last week) (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/especial-coronavirus/muertes-covid -world-who_119198_102.html)
  • The EU warns of a certain “vaccination fatigue” and urges countries to intensify covid vaccination campaigns in autumn and winter (https://www.ft.com/content/e781c422-9966-4390-ba0c -af0ed7e95613)
  • Covid can produce brain alterations two years after infection (https://www.ft.com/content/d01510f0-8a96-487f-95c4-c7aba489ab47)
  • The Chinese economy falls unexpectedly, after new outbreaks of covid and problems in the real estate market (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/15/china-economy-slows-unexpectedly-as-covid -and-property-crisis-bite)
  • The European review of the South Korean Skycovion vaccine begins (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/especial-coronavirus/comienza-revision-europea-vacuna-skycovion-contra-covid-19_119238_102.html)
  • The UK approves a covid vaccine “booster” effective against two variants (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/15/health/uk-covid-booster-variants.html)

• Other themes
  • The director of the American CDC recognizes “serious faults” in the management of covid and intends to make changes to prevent the situation from repeating itself (https://www.ft.com/content/d482491f-ed0b-41fd-ab63 -195cd195b082)
  • China continues to send opponents to psychiatric hospitals against their will (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2022/08/18/la-chine-continue-d-envoyer-des-opposants-en-hopitaux- psychiatriques_6138360_3210.html)
  • Scotland will be the first country to offer free tampons and other period products (https://www.npr.org/2022/08/16/1117748486/scotland-tampons-pads-menstrual-free-period-products ?t=1661011424785)
  • Fears of possible Chinese access to genetic data of British citizens (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/20/fears-over-chinas-access-to-genetic-data-of-uk- citizens)

National health policy

• Monkeypox
  • Europe is close to 20,000 cases of monkeypox, with Spain in the lead (5,800) (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/infecciosas/europa-roza-20000-casos-viruela-mono-con-espana- head-approaches-5800_119209_102.html)

• COVID
  • The incidence of covid continues to drop and stands at 195 (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/directo/coronavirus-ultimas-noticias/20220820
  • The seventh wave of covid comes to an end, with hospitals without pressure, but with 62 deaths daily (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-08-20/la-septima-ola-de-covid-llega -end-hospitals-without-pressure-but-62-deaths-daily.html)

• Other themes
  • What will be news in health in the next political year, analyzed by Consalud: State Center for Public Health; energy saving plan; Equity Law; provisions against alcohol and tobacco; possible new areas of training (Emergencies, Infectious and Genetics); and pending rulings of the Constitutional Court: abortion law, euthanasia and pandemic management (https://www.consalud.es/politica/arranca-curso-politico-sera-noticia-en-sanidad-ano-antes-elecciones_119264_102. html)
  • The government will approve the State Public Health Center on August 23 (https://www.consalud.es/politica/gobierno-aprobara-23-agosto-ley-sobre-centro-estatal-salud-publica_119149_102.html)
  • Digital Spain 2026: Health data lake, precision medicine and innovative primary care (https://www.consalud.es/politica/espana-digital-2026-data-lake-sanitario-medicina-precision-primaria_118317_102.html)
  • The birth rate in Spain falls to historic lows (https://www.expansion.com/economia/2022/08/17/62fccf59e5fdea481d8b45c4.html)
  • Fiscal benefits of the fight against cancer (https://www.consalud.es/politica/ministerio-sanidad/sanidad-hacienda-regulan-beneficios-fiscales-promover-lucha-contra-cancer_119169_102.html)

Companies

• International News
  • CVS, Walgreens and Walmart must pay a fine of 650.5 million dollars for the case of opioids in Ohio (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/17/health/opioids-cvs-walmart- walgreens.html)
  • Bavarian Nordic (the only producer of the monkeypox vaccine) acknowledges problems in producing the necessary doses (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/08/17/companias/1660753088_786499.html)
  • Drug prices in the USA break records in 2022 (https://www.consalud.es/ecsalud/internacional/precios-medicamentos-en-estados-unidos-baten-records-en-2022_119207_102.html)

• National News
  • HIPRA prepares 250 million of its covid vaccine, pending the OK from the EMA (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/industria/hipra-prepara-250-millones-de-vacunas-covid-mientras-espera-el -ok-la-ema-9135)