7 days in healthcare (February 10th-16th, 2025)

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Summary

The most impactful news in health this week were:

  • Biomedicine: Personalized cancer screening is key. Especially in five cancers: breast, lung, colorectal, cervical and prostate.
  • Global health: The exit of the USA from the WHO forces reforms and reprioritization in that organization.
  • International health policy: Trump wants an alternative to the WHO, something foreseen in the executive order he signed.
  • National health policy. The plan against suicide is approved.
  • Companies: Rise in the Nasdaq of companies that fight against aging.

Biomedicine

  • Cancer screening. Although population screening has been key to the decrease in mortality, the problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment persists. The important thing is personalized cancer screening, especially in relation to these five cancers: breast, lung, colorectal, cervical and prostate.
  • A “road map” of how cancers spread offers hope for new treatments. Researchers are now focusing on the growth of cancers in surrounding tissues to help track the most malignant forms of cancer. It is believed that this knowledge will help prevent the spread of some cancers.

Global Health

  • The WHO is downsizing. The US exit represents an 18% reduction in the budget for 2024-25. A reduction in size, improved governance and a reprioritization of the initiatives are on the agenda.
  • With the withdrawal of aid, Trump threatens the lives of millions. Harsh article in the New York Times. This withdrawal may affect: HIV medications for more than 20 million people; nutritional supplements for hungry children; aid for refugees, orphaned children and women hit by violence.

International health policy

  • Trump wants an alternative for the WHO. Some things are better done together, as demonstrated by the structures for controlling civil aviation or the coordinated postal system. The complexity of bilateral efforts cannot replace multilateralism. The need for a structure for international cooperation in health is obvious. This is what the WHO was created for. This body is not the only global health organization. There is also UNAIDS, Gavi, the World Bank Group alliance, as well as philanthropic foundations such as the Gates Foundation. The executive order contemplates that efforts should be made to create a credible and transparent body to carry out activities previously developed by the WHO. According to this article in the BMJ, the creation of a parallel structure will harm global responses to common challenges.
  • The Royal Society of London meets to remove Elon Musk’s membership. More than 1,300 scientists address the world’s oldest scientific society against Elon Musk.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • The Plan against suicide is approved, with 18 million euros and a Prevention Observatory.
  • The Interterritorial Council rejects the Mental Health Plan. Only Catalonia, Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha give a yes to the document, rejected by the PP communities. Some psychiatric scientific societies claim that they have learned of the plan through the press.
  • Doctors oppose the Ministry’s proposals on the Framework Statute and want their own regulations, to avoid the negotiation of their conditions being diluted in a common Framework Statute. The attempt to reform the Framework Statute was a blunder by this ministerial team, which has created a fire in an issue that, although poorly resolved and in need of reform, was calm. The ministerial team has shown that it does not have the intellectual or political baggage to tackle a reform of this calibre. The demand by doctors for their own statute is entirely logical, given the experience that any approach to professionalism is diluted by a union representation that is more attentive to other things.
  • Muface introduces harsh fines for insurers in the new specifications. The sanctions are toughened, introducing: sanctions for delays in the provision of service, quality audits, quarterly review of the quality of service with satisfaction surveys. There is no doubt that this is an important step towards transparency. We wonder what would happen if the public system introduced these penalties for delays in services.

Companies

  • International
    • Companies that challenge ageing: United Biotechnology; Longeveron; Seres Therapeutics; BioVie Inc, all of them on the Nasdaq, among the main companies. There is no doubt that a large part of the future lies there.
  • National
    • Mapfre and Sanitas launch a subsidiary to develop hospitals. This new company Desarrollos Hospitalarios is controlled by 49.7% by Mapfre, with the rest of the capital being Sanitas. They will build a hospital in the Balearic Islands, which joins the one announced in Barcelona. This seems to be a defensive move by insurers against the concentration processes in the hospital world, which could make their negotiations with suppliers more difficult.

Biomedicine

  • Cancer screening. Although population screening has been key to the decrease in mortality, the problem of overdiagnosis and overtreatment persists. The important thing is personalized cancer screening, especially in relation to these five cancers: breast, lung, colorectal, cervical and prostate) (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00016-7/fulltext)
  • A “road map” of how cancers spread offers hope for new treatments. Researchers are now focusing on the growth of cancers in surrounding tissues to help track the most malignant forms of cancer. It is believed that this knowledge will help prevent the spread of some cancers (https://www.ft.com/content/47816a9f-c974-4b37-9d28-4bf777a2d765). Access to the original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-56299-7)
  • The Swedish biotech BioArtic behind the companies researching Alzheimer’s is looking for a way to break the blood-brain barrier, so that drugs can reach the brain. This company relies on the mechanism of transporting iron to the brain (https://www.ft.com/content/4b28c118-58ea-48c5-82e6-941bc9f2c079)
  • Can anti-obesity drugs be given to children? There is a battle between the defenders of these therapies in children and those who oppose them due to the consequences on the growth of their bodies (https://www.ft.com/content/8370db31-e9d8-4aa8-ae00-8c1a716b4b6c)
  • The new success of the “miracle” drug Ozempic: it reduces alcohol consumption by up to 40% in people with addiction. A trial in 48 people has shown the success of Ozempic in treating excessive drinking (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20250214/nuevo-exito-farmaco-milagro-ozempic-reduce-consumo-alcohol-personas-adiccion/923908094_0.html)

Global Health

  • The introduction of the malaria vaccine in Africa: progress and challenges. In 2024, Africa reached a milestone in its fight against malaria, a disease that causes 95% of deaths in the USA. In 2024, the incidence was 58.6 cases per 1,000 inhabitants, far from the target of 21.3 cases per 1,000 inhabitants that had been set for 2023. There are 14 countries involved in this fight. Financial sustainability and differences between countries are the major challenges (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02841-1/abstract?rss=yes#au30)
  • African leaders on malaria call for continued aid amid uncertainty. The freeze in American aid is causing financial constraints in the fight against malaria (https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r271)
  • The reduction in the size of the WHO. The exit of the USA represents an 18% decrease in the budget for 2024-25. Downsizing, improved governance and reprioritizing the agenda are on the agenda (https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S0140-6736%2825%2900289-2)
  • Trump’s exit from the WHO leaves it without defenses against smallpox, one of the deadliest pathogens (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/12/health/smallpox-who-cdc-bioweapons.html)
  • Withdrawal of aid, Trump threatens the lives of millions. Harsh article in the New York Times. This withdrawal may affect: HIV medications for more than 20 million people; nutritional supplements for hungry children; Aid to refugees, orphaned children and women affected by violence (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/health/trump-usaid-health-aid.html)

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • Trump wants an alternative to the WHO. Certain things are better done together, as demonstrated by the structures of civil aviation control or the coordinated postal system. The complexity of bilateral efforts cannot replace multilateralism. The need for an international health cooperation structure is obvious. This is what the WHO was created for. This body is not the only global health organization. There is also UNAIDS, Gavi, the World Bank Group alliance, as well as philanthropic foundations such as the Gates Foundation. The executive order contemplates that efforts should be made to create a credible and transparent body to carry out activities previously developed by the WHO. According to this BMJ article, the creation of a parallel structure will undermine global responses to common challenges (https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r188)
    • Vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy, Jr. is now US Secretary of Health, with a proven track record of vaccine skepticism (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00439-y)
    • Who is running health care in the new American government? This article analyzes the personality and careers of the new Secretary of Health; the new director of the NHI; the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid; the new director of the CDC; the new commissioner of the FDA and the new “surgeon general.” (https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r267)
    • How Trump’s cuts affect hospitals and universities in different American states (https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/13/upshot/nih-trump-funding-cuts.html)
    • Trump withdraws funding for schools that make vaccines mandatory (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/14/health/trump-schools-covid-vaccine-mandates.html)
  • United Kingdom and the National Health Service
    • NHS Trust deficits double. Rising costs for temporary staff and outsourcing are at the root of these deficits (https://www.ft.com/content/45e39986-4f19-4247-a4ef-da673306fdd2)
    • The Royal Society of London meets to revoke Elon Musk’s membership. More than 1,300 scientists address the world’s oldest scientific society against Elon Musk (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00486-5)
  • France
    • The French Parliament approves the ban on disposable electronic cigarettes. The Senate has approved this ban by a single vote in France (https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2025/02/13/cigarettes-electroniques-jetables-le-parlement-adopte-definitivement-l-interdiction-des-puffs_6545304_823448.html)
  • Canada
    • Canada appoints a person in charge of fighting fentanyl, a promise made to Trump (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2025/02/12/le-canada-nomme-un-responsable-de-la-lutte-contre-le-fentanyl-une-promesse-faite-a-donald-trump_6542915_3210.html)

National health policy

  • Central administration
    • he Plan against suicide is approved, with 18 million euros and a Prevention Observatory (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/ministerio-sanidad/el-plan-antisuicidio-tendra-partida-de-18-millones-y-3-vias-de-vigilancia-5554)
    • The Interterritorial Council rejects the Mental Health Plan. Only Catalonia, Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha give a yes to the document, rejected by the PP communities. Some psychiatric scientific societies claim that they have learned about the plan through the press (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/consejo-interterritorial-tumba-plan-salud-mental-aprueba-prevencion-suicidio.html)
    • Doctors oppose the Ministry’s proposals on the Framework Statute and want their own regulation, to avoid the negotiation of their conditions being diluted in a common Framework Statute (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/medicos-todo-pais-dicen-no-propuesta-estatuto-marco-queremos-norma-propia_154550_102.html)
    • The Royal Decree on Health Technology Assessment, about to be sent to the Council of State (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/rd-evaluacion-tecnologias-sanitarias-consejo-estado/)
  • Initiatives and news from the communities autonomous communities
    • Asturias opens meetings for the social pact for mental health, a prelude to the future law (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/10/asturias-abre-las-reuniones-por-el-pacto-social-por-la-salud-mental-antesala-de-la-futura-ley)
    • The Balearic Islands already have their research and clinical trials unit, the UBICEC, at the Son Espases hospital (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/10/baleares-cuenta-ya-con-su-unidad-de-investigacion-clinica-y-ensayos-clinicos-ubicec)
    • The government of Aragon will speed up appointments in Primary Care with AI (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/aragon/gobierno-aragon-ha-dado-conocer-agilizara-citas-en-primaria-traves-ia_154805_102.html)
    • Asturian health researchers will be in group A (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/asturias/el-salto-de-los-investigadores-sanitarios-al-a1-da-un-aceleron-en-asturias-5987)
  • MUFACE
    • Sanitas, Mapfre and AXA analyze the Muface tender after years outside the agreement (https://elpais.com/economia/2025-02-14/sanitas-mapfre-y-axa-analizan-el-pliego-de-muface-despues-de-anos-fuera-del-concierto.html)
    • Muface introduces harsh fines to insurers in the new specifications. Sanctions are toughened, introducing: sanctions for delays in the provision of the service, quality audit, quarterly review of the quality of the service with satisfaction surveys (https://www.vozpopuli.com/economia/letra-pequena-nuevos-pliegos-muface-multas-sd.html)
  • Pharmaceutical sector
    • Pharmaceutical companies commit to Sánchez to multiply their investment if it is encouraged. They plan to close this year with 9,000 million of investment in three years (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-02-12/las-farmaceuticas-se-comprometen-con-sanchez-a-multiplicar-su-inversion-si-es-incentivada.html)
  • Sick leave
    • Sick leave soars by 113% in just a decade and already lasts 43 days. Causes: aging of workers, lack of control, health collapse and increased employment (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-02-09/coste-incapacidad-temporal-bajas-laborales-dispara-decada/)

Companies

  • International news
    • Companies that challenge aging: United Biotechnology; Longeveron; Seres Therapeutics; BioVie Inc, all of them on the Nasdaq, among the main companies (https://www.eleconomista.es/mercados-cotizaciones/noticias/13213813/02/25/biotecnologia-y-longevidad-las-companias-que-desafian-el-envejecimiento.html)
    • The growing weight of Private Equity in healthcare: a phenomenon not only American. Between 2018 and 2022, more than 446 billion dollars have been invested globally in healthcare by private equity firms. The concern remains that they are focusing more on short-term profit than on long-term profit and patient care, and investments have been mostly in sectors with limited regulation and public funding (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2412002)
    • Bain buys 340-year-old drug company to boost development in Japan (https://www.ft.com/content/6fd756af-c63f-4587-ba67-189009102e5f)
    • Johnson & Johnson puts stroke-related business up for sale (https://www.ft.com/content/b2a52b96-121e-469e-b4a3-5b6c3ab2994b)
    • Novartis agrees to pay $3 billion to buy cardiovascular biotech from Blackstone (https://www.ft.com/content/6d2458c4-9c0b-4548-a387-c229dba73e26)

This post is also available in: Spanish