7 days in healthcare (February 24th- March 2nd, 2025)

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Summary

The most impactful news in health this week were:

  • Biomedicine: Editorial by The Economist: The enormous possibilities of CRISPR technology in agriculture and medicine.
  • Global health: Editorial by Nature: The need to learn the lessons of Covid-19, before it is too late.
  • International health policy: Threats to Medicaid. To make their numbers work, many Republicans want to restrict Medicaid, which could affect 20 million Americans.
  • National health policy. Interoperable clinical history of private health care from IDIS. It is already active in 12 companies, including insurers and hospital groups.
  • Companies: Only 50% of the most important drugs launched in 2024 were by large companies.

Biomedicine

  • The enormous possibilities of CRISPR technology in agriculture and medicine. Of the many patients who need an organ, 90% are left without one; 240 million people have a rare disease, most of them without treatment; Every year, inappropriate diets cause more than 10 million premature deaths. For all these processes, CRISPR can be useful, it is like an editor that can rewrite DNA letter by letter or gene by gene, to remove harmful mutations or add protective ones.
  • The threats of Trump’s policies to the scientific and health research community. The case produced by the Trump Administration in the world of American science, which is as much as saying global, leads this Science editorial to call for the scientific world to unite against certain policies.

Global Health

  • The growing threat of H5N1 to human health. Infections in animals with the H5N1 virus have affected all continents since 1997. The NEJM analyzes 46 cases in humans, generally with self-limiting infection. The CDC still defines the risk to humans as low. However, surveillance must continue.
  • The need to learn the lessons of covid-19, before it is too late. Five years into Covid-19, irresponsible policies are hampering an effective global response to infectious outbreaks. What would happen if another pandemic were to emerge? The answer is: we don’t know. In some respects there is reason for optimism, such as the faster development of mRNA vaccines or the better surveillance system in countries. But in other respects, countries are as ill-prepared as they were in 2020.

International health policy

  • Threats to Medicaid. To make their numbers work, many Republicans want to restrict Medicaid, which could affect 20 million Americans. Medicaid is public health insurance for the “poor” in the USA.
  • The Trump Administration ends global health research: the Demographic and Health Surveys were the only metrics in many countries on mortality, nutrition and education. This program has been ended by order of the American government.
  • Pharmaceutical companies in check: Trump imposes tariffs and pressures to reduce the cost of drugs. Tariffs affect the price of imported products such as many APIs for producing medicines. There is also pressure to lower the price of medicines.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • The Basque Health Pact is moving forward with 24 strategic lines and more than 400 professionals involved.
  • Doctors call a strike against the draft Health Framework Statute. Called by the CESM, it will take place on May 23. Objectives: limit the workload and improve salary conditions.
  • Interoperable clinical history of the IDIS. It is already active in 12 companies, including insurance companies and hospital groups (these are Occident, Quirónsalud, HM Hospitales, HLA, Mapfre, Sanitas, Adeslas, Hospiten, DKV, Cigna, Clínica Universitaria de Navarra and Chipcard. All of them have 100% miHC operational. Others continue working to join the project: Ribera Salud, Caser Seguros, Nueva Mutua Sanitaria, Asisa, Vithas and the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios.

Companies

  • International
    • Only 50% of the most important drugs launched in 2024 were by large companies, according to Evaluate Pharma. This was unthinkable a few years ago in the era of blockbusters. It seems that the need to attack niche diseases and precision medicine has opened up possibilities for medium and small pharmaceutical companies.
    • Lilly will invest 25.7 billion in four new factories in the USA. The creation of 3,000 jobs. This is in addition to the announcements by Apple, Open AI and SoftBank, undoubtedly to win the sympathy of the Trump Administration.
  • National
    • Almirall earns 10.1 million and exceeds forecasts. The company reaps the rewards of its commitment to dermatology

Biomedicine

  • The Economist Editorial: The enormous potential of CRISPR technology in agriculture and medicine. Of the many patients who need an organ, 90% are left without one; 240 million people have a rare disease, most of them without treatment; inappropriate diets cause more than 10 million premature deaths every year. For all these processes, CRISPR can be useful, it is like an editor that can rewrite DNA letter by letter or gene by gene, to remove harmful mutations or add protective ones (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/02/26/crispr-technologies-hold-enormous-promise-for-farming-and-medicine)
  • Science Editorial: The threats of Trump’s policies to the scientific and health research community. The case produced by the Trump Administration in the world of American science, which is as much as to say global, leads this Science editorial to ask for the scientific world to unite against certain policies (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw9972)
  • Blood tests for aging organs that detect diseases (https://www.ft.com/content/95109083-fcf5-450c-96af-45471775adf1)
  • The FDA expands access to Clozapine, a key treatment for schizophrenia (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/25/health/clozapine- schizophrenia-fda.html)
  • The big question of why women live longer than men (https://www.ft.com/content/91cbe143-1961-4168-96f6-9892604778c1)

Global Health

  • The growing threat of H5N1 to human health. Animal infections with the H5N1 virus have affected all continents since 1997. The NEJM reviews 46 human cases, generally with self-limited infection. The CDC still defines the risk to humans as low. However, surveillance must continue (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2416323)
  • The scale of critical illness in Africa and the need for universal access (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02843-5/abstract). Access to the original article in The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)02846-0/fulltext
  • Nature Editorial: The need to learn the lessons of Covid-19, before it is too late. Five years after the start of Covid-19, irresponsible policies are hampering an effective global response to infectious outbreaks. What would happen if another pandemic were to emerge? The answer is: we do not know. In some respects there are reasons for optimism, such as the faster development of mRNA vaccines or the better surveillance systems in countries. But in other ways, countries are as ill-prepared as they were in 2020 (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00498-1)
  • WHO warns globally of resurgence of cholera, a treatable but potentially fatal bacterial disease (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/enfermedades/noticias/13244905/02/25/la-oms-advierte-a-nivel-mundial-de-la-reaparicion-de-una-de-las-enfermedades-mas-temidas-del-pasado.html)
  • Mysterious illness in Congo kills more than 50 people just hours after they fall ill. The origin may be the ingestion of a bat (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/02/25/67bdf90de85ece0b6c8b45bc.html)

International health policy

  • USA
    • Threats to Medicaid. To make their numbers work, many Republicans want to restrict Medicaid, which could affect 20 million Americans (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/02/27/to-make-their-numbers-work-republicans-must-slash-health-spending)
    • The rise of the anti-vaccine movement. Although Kennedy promised at the Senate hearing that he would not do anything against vaccines, he seems to have forgotten that promise as soon as he took office, and wants to review the childhood vaccination schedule (https://www.ft.com/content/d4199db2-01c1-4260-ac60-0f547a6a2fbe)
    • The Trump Administration ends global health research: the Demographic and Health Surveys were the only metrics in many countries on mortality, nutrition and education. This program has been terminated by order of the American government (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/health/usaid-global-health-surveys.html)
    • Unvaccinated child dies of measles in Texas (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/26/us/texas-measles-outbreak-death.html)
    •  Pharmaceutical companies in check: Trump imposes tariffs and pressures to reduce the cost of drugs. The tariffs affect the price of imported products such as many APIs for producing drugs. There is also pressure to lower the price of drugs. (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/internacional/pharmaceuticas-en-jaque-trump-impone-aranceles-presiona-reducir-coste-farmacos_154349_102.html)
  • United Kingdom and the National Health Service
      • In the reform project, primary care physicians will offer online appointments. This will allow for a telephone consultation with the patient on the same day (https://www.ft.com/content/f1aa7987-c9d8-4f86-8731-32d40bef72fa
  • European Union
    • The EMA starts 2025 with a good pace of approvals (https://www.consalud.es/industria/aprobaciones-evaluaciones-cambios-regulatorios-ema-arranca-2025-con-buen-ritmo_155322_102.html)

National health policy

  • Central administration

o The law of the State Agency of Public Health resumes its processing (https://diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/proyecto-ley-agencia-salud-publica-reanuda-tramitacion-parlamentaria-6-meses-despues.html

  • Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
    • The University of León wants to close the curriculum of the degree in Medicine in less than a month (https://www.consalud.es/formacion/universidad-leon-quiere-cerrar-plan-estudios-grado-en-medicina-en-menos-mes_155147_102.html)
    • The Basque Health Pact is moving forward with 24 strategic lines and more than 400 professionals involved (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/pais-vasco/pacto-vasco-salud-avanza-con-24-lineas-estrategicas-mas-400-profesionales-implicados_155270_102.html)
    • Extremadura leads the European project against dementia JADE (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/extremadura/extremadura-su-liderazgo-en-proyecto-europeo-contra-demencia-jade-health_155274_102.html)
    • The European Health Pact is starting in Bilbao persistent covid unit (https://www.abc.es/salud/arranca-bilbao-unidad-covid-persistente-medicos-gipuzkoa-20250227150306-vi.html)
    • Launch of the Phase I Clinical Trials Unit in Malaga (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/26/andalucia-refuerza-apuesta-por-la-innovacion-con-la-unidad-de-ensayos-clinicos-fase-i-en-malaga)
    • The Galician vaccine against tuberculosis makes its way (https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/galicia/2025-03-01/tuberculosis-vacuna-gallega-abre-paso-somos-optimistas_4075947/)
  • Framework Statute
    • Doctors call a strike against the draft Statute Health Framework. Called by CESM, it will be on May 23. Objectives: limit the workload and improve salary conditions (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-02-25/los-medicos-convocan-una-huelga-contra-el-borrador-del-estatuto-marco-de-sanidad.html)
  • Health barometer
    • The perception of a worsening of the waiting list is increasing, 38% believe that waiting times have worsened compared to the previous year (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/barometro-sanitario-aumenta-percepcion-empeoramiento-listas-espera.html). Access to the 2024 Health Barometer report: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/estadEstudios/estadisticas/BarometroSanitario/Barom_Sanit_2024/BS_2024_Totales/Informe_BS_2024.pdf
  • Interoperable clinical history of private healthcare from IDIS
    • It is already active in 12 companies, including insurers and hospital groups (These are Occident, Quirónsalud, HM Hospitales, HLA, Mapfre, Sanitas, Adeslas, Hospiten, DKV, Cigna, Clínica Universitaria de Navarra and Chipcard. All of them have 100% miHC operational. Others continue working to join the project: Ribera Salud, Caser Seguros, Nueva Mutua Sanitaria, Asisa, Vithas and the Hospital Order of San Juan de Dios. (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250219/historia-clinica-interoperable-sanidad-privada-activa-companias/925157763_0.html)
  • Spanish hospitals
    • 12 Spanish hospitals, among the 250 best in the world, according to Newsweek (https://theobjective.com/sanidad/2025-02-26/doce-hospitales-espanoles-mejores-del-mundo/)
  • Measles
    • Measles is on the rise in Spain, with eight open outbreaks and at least 107 cases since January (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-02-25/el-sarampion-se-dispara-en-espana-con-ocho-brotes-abiertos-y-al-menos-107-casos-desde-enero.html)

Companies

  • International news
    • Only 50% of the most important drugs launched in 2024 were by large companies, according to Evaluate Pharma (https://elglobalfarma.com/industria/grandes-lanzamientos-medicamentos-2024/)
    • Lilly will invest 25.7 billion in four new factories in the USA. They announce the creation of 3,000 jobs. This is in addition to announcements by Apple, Open AI and SoftBank, no doubt to win the sympathy of the Trump Administration (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/industria/2025/02/26/67bf4be5468aeb0d728b45ab.html)
    • Smith & Nephew boss rejects shareholders’ request for a company split (https://www.ft.com/content/c2dd4317-821f-4b41-96af-cd6f7918a59b)
    • Microsoft Health Futures: the future of medicine powered by AI (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/internacional/microsoft-health-futures-futuro-medicina-inteligencia-artificial_154392_102.html)
  • National
    • Almirall earns 10.1 million and exceeds forecasts. The company reaps the rewards of its commitment to dermatology (https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2025/02/24/67bc1b9be5fdea5c298b45a2.html)
    • Grifols announces a strategic plan to reach 10 billion euros in revenue by 2029 (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-02-27/grifols-anuncia-un-plan-estrategico-para-alcanzar-los-10000-millones-en-ingresos-en-2029.html)
    • Grifols buys 14 plasma centers in the USA (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-03-01/grifols-compra-14-centros-de-plasma-en-ee-uu-a-immunotek-por-135-millones.html)