7 days in healthcare (August 25th-31st, 2025)

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Summary

The most impactful health news of the week were:

  • Biomedicine: The first transplant of an animal lung into a human chest works for nine days.
  • Global Health: The great progress of vaccines, which could be reversed.
  • International Health Policy: It seems the CDC is done for.
  • National Health Policy: Spain will have a shortage of 100,000 healthcare workers by 2035.
  • Companies: Pills, the new target of “pharmaceuticals” to increase obesity.

Biomedicine

  • The first transplant of an animal lung into a human chest works for nine days. A Chinese company, Clonorgan Biotechnology, was responsible for “humanizing” the pig using CRISPR technology. The recipient was a 39-year-old man who was brain-dead. The implant worked for nine days, until the patient’s family asked to end the experiment. The history of xenotransplants dates back to 1906.
  • The gut-brain connection. A macro study links digestive disorders with neurodegenerative diseases. The journal Science Advances publishes a study examining the connection between the gut and the brain and how digestive or metabolic disorders increase the risk of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Global Health

  • Unraveling the maze of vaccine progress. Vaccines have been considered the single largest contributor to the decline in infant mortality worldwide. However, the United States, long considered the leader in medical science, is alarmingly jeopardizing decades of progress through severe budget cuts, politicization of research agendas, the closure of USAID, and the withdrawal from the WHO.
  • Cholera: The situation is worsening and the number of deaths is increasing, according to the WHO. The global cholera situation continues to deteriorate and is aggravated by conflict and poverty. Although the number of cases is decreasing, mortality is increasing.

International Health Policy

  • It seems the CDC is finished. Management changes are undermining staff morale and undermining the Agency’s national and international leadership role. Its role is to establish immunization criteria for Americans.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • Spain will have a shortage of 100,000 healthcare workers by 2035, due to the retirement of baby boomers. In the next decade, 1,081,834 retirements will be recorded, but only 974,523 jobs will be created. This would require the development of a 10-year Human Resources Plan for healthcare, as has been done in the United Kingdom.
  • The Valencian Community’s new plan for the Humanization of Healthcare includes everything from adapting spaces to new forms of participation.

Companies

  • International
    • Pills, the new target for pharmaceutical companies to increase obesity. Lilly and Novonordisk take the lead in the race for weight-loss pills.
  • National
    • Bayer relaunches Spanish-made aspirin as a pain reliever in the USA. American patients now have access to prescription-free aspirin for pain relief, manufactured exclusively in Spain.

Biomedicine

  • The dialogue on NCDs (non-communicable diseases) needs to change. On September 25, the Fourth High-Level Conference on Non-Communicable Diseases will be held at the UN General Assembly. This meeting is not expected to be successful, as commercial pressures are preventing truly effective measures from being considered: increased taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01743-X/fulltext?rss=yes).
  • These are the ADC (conjugated) drugs that are beginning to demonstrate efficacy in different types of cancer. These drugs act in a similar way to the mythical Trojan horse, entering the tumor cell and acting in a very precise and direct manner. After decades of achieving good results in breast cancer, research is now underway in ovarian, cervical, and lung cancer (https://www.larazon.es/salud/asi-son-farmacos-adc-que-comienzan-demostrar-eficacia-diferentes-tipos-cancer_2025083168b3908f506ef67d06e8f584.html)
  • The first transplant of an animal lung into a human chest works for nine days. A Chinese company, Clonorgan Biotechnology, was responsible for “humanizing” the pig using CRISPR technology. The recipient was a 39-year-old man who was brain-dead. The implant worked for nine days until the patient’s family asked to end the experiment. The history of xenotransplants dates back to 1906 (https://elpais.com/ciencia/2025-08-25/el-primer-trasplante-de-un-pulmon-animal-en-el-pecho-de-una-persona-funciona-durante-nueve-dias.html). Access the original article in Nature Medicine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-025-03861-x
  • The gut-brain connection. A macro study links digestive disorders with neurodegenerative diseases. The journal Science Advances publishes a study examining the connection between the gut and the brain and how digestive or metabolic disorders increase the risk of Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s (https://elpais.com/ciencia/2025-08-27/la-conexion-intestino-cerebro-un-macroestudio-relaciona-los-trastornos-digestivos-con-enfermedades-neurogenerativas.html). Access the original article in Science Advances: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adu2937

Global Health

  • The global resurgence of Chikungunya. This disease appeared on Reunion Island, a French island in the Indian Ocean, in 2005-2006. It originally affected one-third of the population. The disease is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti vector, the same transmitter of dengue fever. But, unlike dengue, Chikungunya is a chronic disease with significant joint involvement. An article published this year reports 35 million cases of the disease each year and around 3,700 deaths. (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01745-3/abstract?rss=yes)
  • Using a global health trends perspective, in studies published in The Lancet, Angela Chang and colleagues show that 2019 was the year with the lowest adjusted mortality in human history, which was altered in 2020 by the pandemic. The world is witnessing a rise in raw morality (measured as deaths per 1,000 people/year) (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01337-6/abstract?rss=yes)
  • Unraveling the skein of vaccine progress. Vaccines have been considered the single largest contributor to the decline in child mortality worldwide. However, the United States, long considered the leader in medical science, is alarmingly jeopardizing decades of progress through severe budget cuts, politicization of research agendas, the closure of USAID, and withdrawal from the WHO (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aea7053)
  • Cholera: the situation is worsening and the number of deaths is increasing, according to the WHO. The global cholera situation continues to deteriorate and is exacerbated by conflict and poverty. Although the number of cases is declining, mortality is rising (https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/08/29/cholera-la-situation-s-aggrave-et-le-nombre-de-deces-augmente-selon-l-oms_6637432_3212.html#:~:text=La%20situation%20de%20cette%20infection,«%20accès%20retardé%20aux%20soins%20».)

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • The CDC appears to be finished. Leadership changes are undermining staff morale and undermining the agency’s national and international leadership role. Its role is to establish immunization criteria for Americans (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/08/cdc-resignations-tipping-point/684038/)
    • The Trump Administration will consolidate health inequities. The White House AI Plan purges information from government websites, removes data from marginalized communities, and removes data that contradicts political ideology (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/08/ai-health-inequities/684047/)
  • United Kingdom
    • Health Secretary Wes Streeting criticizes pharmaceutical companies for their shortsightedness in not negotiating the price offer (https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/aug/25/wes-streeting-criticises-shortsighted-drug-firms-for-rejecting-pricing-offer)
  • France
    • Calls for mobilization for a return under pressure. Although Prime Minister Bayrou has not reiterated the figure of 5.5 billion in healthcare savings, concern in the sector at all levels is high (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2025/08/26/sante-des-appels-a-la-mobilisation-pour-une-rentree-sous-tension_6635470_3224.html)
  • European Union
    • The commercialization of Gilead’s preventive treatment for AIDS, approved by the European Union. The method of administration of this drug could transform the fight against AIDS, but its cost raises serious questions regarding accessibility (https://www.lemonde.fr/sante/article/2025/08/27/vih-la-commercialisation-du-traitement-preventif-prometteur-de-gilead-validee-par-l-union-europeenne_6635889_1651302.html)
    • Is Europe committed to cancer screening? These are the differences between countries. While more than 80% of women in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland have access to breast screening, in Greece, Poland, and Romania, participation remains well below the European average (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/europa-comprometida-con-los-cribados-de-cancer-estas-son-las-diferencias-entre-paises.html)

National Health Policy

  • Autonomous Community Initiatives
    • Catalonia is considering concentrating specialist physicians in the busiest centers and hospitals. The idea is to concentrate some medical specialties in busier centers (https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2025-08-25/salud-estudia-concentrar-a-los-medicos-especialistas-en-los-centros-y-hospitales-con-mayor-actividad-en-cataluna.html#:~:text=En%20su%20avance%20para%20reformar,cambios%20demográficos%20y%20mayor%20cronicidad.)
    • Doctors of Catalonia will activate a CSIR Observatory. The idea is for physician representatives to be able to explain the measures implemented and their results in real time (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/medicos-cataluna-activara-observatorio-csir.html)
    • The Valencian Community’s new plan for the Humanization of Healthcare includes adapting spaces to new forms of participation (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/plan-humanizacion-asistencia-sanitaria-sistema-valenciano-salud/)
    • Catalonia is breaking away from the trend and creating a more fragmented healthcare map. This affects the Barcelona metropolitan area and would begin by dividing the Barcelona Nord and Maresme sectors in two (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/cataluna/cataluna-se-sale-de-la-tendencia-y-traza-un-mapa-sanitario-mas-fragmentado-5325)
    • Catalonia aims to professionalize leadership and management positions. To this end, a bill is being prepared (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/cataluna-propone-profesionalizar-cargos-direccion-gestion.html)
    • Castilla-La Mancha leads the race for the 2026 healthcare budget. Over the summer, it designed the macroeconomic framework, which was submitted for evaluation by AIREF, the first region to submit its accounts for oversight (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/castilla-mancha/castilla-la-mancha-lidera-la-carrera-del-presupuesto-sanitario-de-2026-7132)
  • Professionals
    • Spain will have a deficit of 100,000 healthcare workers in 2035, due to the retirement of baby boomers. In the next decade, 1,081,834 retirements will be recorded, but only 974,523 jobs will be created (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-08-27/espana-deficit-sanitarios-jubilacion-baby-boomers/)

Companies

  • International
    • Lilly’s obesity pill achieves its goals in a trial. Results show an average weight loss of 10.5% (https://www.ft.com/content/78e99a27-9b63-4c42-80c4-3459c737db9b)
    • Pills, the new target for “pharmaceuticals” to increase obesity. Lilly and Novonordisk take the lead in the race for weight-loss pills (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/industria/2025/08/25/68ab8210468aeb5c2c8b4594.html)
  • National
    • Bayer relaunches aspirin manufactured in Spain as a pain reliever in the USA. American patients now have access to non-prescription aspirin for pain relief, manufactured exclusively in Spain (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13514705/08/25/bayer-relanza-la-aspirina-fabricada-en-espana-como-analgesico-en-eeuu.html)
    • Grifols, a shielded industrial giant. The group manufactures everything it sells in the country in the USA and rules out any impact from tariffs (https://www.expansion.com/directivos/2025/08/26/68ad5ca5468aeb8a7c8b4584.html)

This post is also available in: Spanish