7 days in healthcare (February 27th-March 5th, 2023)

 

Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, The Economist celebrates medicines against obesity as a great revolution, at a particularly opportune moment, since the WHO is continually warning of the global epidemic of this disease. Psychedelics appear to be making their way into treatments for mental illness. The WHO is working on a new vaccine against bird flu, fearing that this virus will “jump” to humans, which already seems to have occurred in Asia.

With regard to Global Health, the change of management in two entities such as the World Bank and Gavi, very promising. In this last body, for the first time, the representative of a country receiving aid (Nigeria) occupies the maximum responsibility. Solutions are sought for the global shortage of certain medicines. There may be many causes, but it seems that the concentration of production in the geographic area of India and China may be at the root of the logistical problems.

As for International Health Policy, in the United States the battle for abortion, after the ruling of the American Supreme Court, is even transferred to abortion pills, which are trying to be banned in certain states. In the United Kingdom, pharmaceutical companies ask the Government for a tax cut, something that the Government does not seem willing to grant. In Canada, certain establishments are authorized to sell cocaine, in an attempt, we’ll see if it’s effective, to curb overdose problems. Two new clinics for LGBT patients open in Tel-Aviv.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), in terms of covid, the accumulated incidence continues to rise slightly, with a fairly high mortality (around 100 patients a week). The medical conflict continues in several autonomous communities, but with special virulence in Madrid, where there is even a possible strike by hospital doctors, which would be a very important qualitative change. A group of Catalan healthcare workers resorts to the Government’s call to demand Catalan to be able to run for office, where had that bilingualism left off? The Amancio Ortega Foundation donates 30 million for the construction of the first pediatric palliative care center, which will be open to children from all Spanish communities. Despite how hard it is, there are children who are going to die and who are known to die. Those are the recipients of that center. Extremadura reaches an agreement with BIOSIM to promote biosimilars through profit-sharing programs. The wide diffusion of generics and biosimilars, critical for the permanent incorporation of innovation. Great presence at the Barcelona Mobile Fair of health technology, mainly surgical robots and telemedicine solutions.

In the field of companies, at the international level, BioNTech will open a center of excellence in mRNA technology in Israel. In Spain, Grifols takes full control of the biotech company Access Biologicals.

Biomedicine

• Editorial from The Economist: New drugs may spell the end of the global obesity epidemic. Although the long-term effects must be evaluated, the excitement is justified. The drug could not come at a more opportune moment, when, according to the WHO, two fifths of the world’s population are overweight or obese (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/03/02/new-drugs-could-spell-an-end-to-the-worlds-obesity-epidemic)
• Anorexia is the most serious psychiatric disorder, can psychedelics help? There is no specific treatment for this serious disease (https://www.ft.com/content/e8dbeaea-9b65-41ae-a86a-07e9c4058456)
• The WHO is working on a new vaccine against bird flu (https://medicinaresponsable.com/actualidad-sanitaria/vacuna-gripe-aviar)
• Gene therapy with CRISPR technology: an option against rare diseases (https://gacetamedica.com/investigacion/la-terapia-genica-con-tecnologia-crispr-una-opcion-terapeutica-para-las-enfermedades-raras/)
• Scientists design a project to create a computer that works with cultured human brain cells (https://www.ft.com/content/9f51a30d-eedc-446a-8a5c-d2997c670c65)

Global Health

• The Lancet Editorial: A watershed moment for the World Bank. With the change of president, new opportunities open up. The World Bank is the second largest funder of global health (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00434-8/fulltext)
• Ukraine: more than 700 attacks on health facilities, one year after the invasion (https://www.bmj.com/content/380/bmj.p451)
• Towards a world without child marriages. Globally there are 650 million girls or women married in childhood, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00109-5/fulltext)
• A new leadership for Gavi, the new CEO is the former Minister of Health of Nigeria. For the first time, the address of this organization is held by the representative of a recipient country (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00435-X/fulltext)
• Innovative management of tropical forests is needed to better prevent new pandemics. Deforestation threatens planetary health (https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/03/01/une-gestion-innovante-des-forets-tropicales-est-necessaire-pour-mieux-prevenir-les-prochaines-pandemies_6163734_3232.html)
• TotalEnergies projects in Uganda threaten planetary health. The new design of oil wells threatens to activate infectious foci (https://www.lemonde.fr/idees/article/2023/02/28/les-projets-de-totalenergies-en-ouganda-menacent-la-sante-planetaire_6163668_3232.html)

International Health Policy

• COVID
  • The United States and the theory that the covid virus originated in a Chinese laboratory. The Department of Energy and the FBI believe in the origin of the laboratory, the CIA and other instances of the American government are not clear about it (https://www.ft.com/content/40628c4e-b856-43d6-9755-f56d35d94a14)

• USA
  • The post-Roe battle in the USA moves to abortion pills (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/02/26/the-big-american-post-roe-battle-over-abortion-pills)
  • Quality measures through CMS (Medicare and Medicaid) (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2215539)

• China
  • While the leaders meet, the ghost of the covid-zero policy still looms (https://www.ft.com/content/2d13deda-081e-4c0b-b2fb-92442d88cc71)

• UK and the NHS
  • Drug manufacturers demand substantial tax cuts (https://www.ft.com/content/f2fbb059-5a5e-4e31-824b-e7e64288927d)

• France
  • The two main unions of liberal doctors reject an agreement with the Social Security (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2023/02/27/les-deux-principaux-syndicats-de-medecins-liberaux-rejettent-a-l-unanimite-un-accord-avec-la-secu_6163442_3224.html)
  • Macron announces widespread vaccination in schools against papillomavirus (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2023/02/28/papillomavirus-emmanuel-macron-annonce-une-campagne-de-vaccination-generalisee-dans-les-colleges_6163632_3224.html)

• Canada
  • In Canada, companies receive authorization to sell cocaine, with this the Government wants to deal with overdose problems, liberalizing the possession of small amounts of “hard” drugs (https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2023/03/03/au-canada-des-entreprises-recoivent-l-autorisation-de-vendre-de-la-cocaine_6163946_3210.html)

• Germany
  • Reform of the hospital remuneration system in Germany, mainly by expanding the DRG system (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/analyses/hspm/germany-2020/the-reform-of-hospital-remuneration-and-planning-has-started-first-draft-law-expected-in-summer-2023)

• Israel
  • Two new clinics for LGBT patients, both in the Tel-Aviv district (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/updates/hspm/israel-2015/establishing-two-specialized-clinics-for-lgbt-people)

• European regulation
  • Therapeutic potential of psychedelics: the European regulatory perspective. Given the cost and frequency of mental disorders, interest in psychedelics, drugs that induce alterations in consciousness, has been activated. More research is needed to determine the therapeutic potential of psychedelics (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)00264-7/fulltext)

National health policy

• COVID
  • The cumulative incidence at 14 days rises to 58.79 points, and what is worse, mortality rises, 99 deaths in a week. There are currently 1,827 hospitalized for covid, of which only 84 are in ICU beds (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/especial-coronavirus/datos-covid-espana-3-marzo-2023_127137_102.htmll)

• Medical conflict in Madrid
  • 12,000 hospital doctors called to strike in Madrid (https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/madrid/2023-02-28/nuevo-frente-en-la-crisis-sanitaria-12-000-medicos-de-hospitals-called-to-the-strike-in-madrid_3584237/)

• The medical conflict in other communities
  • Unions will not sit down with Osakidetza (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/pais-vasco/sindicatos-no-se-sentaran-con-osakidetza-su-nula-voluntad-negociadora_126991_102.html)
  • Indefinite medical strike in Galicia, starting April 11 (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/profesion/huelga-medica-indefinida-en-galicia-partir-del-11-de-abril.html)
  • In the Balearic Islands an agreement is reached with the health workers (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/baleares/armengol-patricia-gomez-alcanzan-acuerdo-con-profesionales-sanitarios-baleares_126962_102.html)
  • The revolt of the Asturian doctors rises in level and they are already considering a strike (https://www.lne.es/asturias/2023/03/01/revuelta-medicos-asturias-sube-nivel-83974345.html)

• Public healthcare
  • A group of health workers appeals to the Government for the requirement of Catalan in the oppositions, since a C1 level of Catalan is required to be able to take the opposition (https://theobjective.com/sociedad/2023-03-03/sanitarios-sanidad-oppositions/)
  • The Amancio Ortega Foundation donates 30 million euros to build the first comprehensive pediatric palliative care center, accessible to patients from all over Spain (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2023/02/28/63fdef8ffdddff9e8a8b45ad.html)

• Private healthcare
  • The deterioration of Basque public health triggers private policies by 31% in a decade (https://www.elindependiente.com/espana/2023/03/02/el-deterioro-de-la-sanidad-publica-vasca-shoots-a-31-private-policies-in-a-decade/)

• Pharmaceutical policy
  • Extremadura signs up for shared profits in biosimilars through Biosim (https://diariofarma.com/2023/02/27/biosimilares-extremadura-se-apunta-al-circulo-virtuoso-de-las-ganancias-shared-by-the-hand-of-biosim)
  • Government and the Council of Pharmacists sign a protocol to promote rural pharmacies (https://elglobal.es/politica/gobierno-y-cgcof-firman-un-protocolo-para-impulsar-a-la-farmacia-rural/)

• Other news
  • Stopping new Faculties of Medicine due to the increase in places (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/estudiantes/-portazo-a-nuevas-facultades-de-medicina-tras-la-subida-del-15-of-places-5504)
  • Technology applied to the health sector, with a large presence in Mobile, mainly surgical robots and telemedicine solutions (https://www.lavanguardia.com/local/barcelona/20230301/8791138/tecnologia-aplicada-sector-sanitario-health-mobile-world-congress.html)

Companies

• International News
  • BioNTech announces the creation of a center of excellence in mRNA in Israel (https://www.plantadoce.com/company/biontech-sets-up-a-new-mRNA-center-in-israel.html )
  • Bayer quadruples its profit in 2022, up to 4,150 million euros (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/bayer-cuadriplica-su-beneficio-en-2022-hasta-4150-millones-de-euros.html)
  • Ambani, an Indian billionaire, wants to revolutionize health, through a human genome test that will be the cheapest in the world (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud/noticias/12172198/03/23/Ambani-wants-to-revolutionize-health-his-human-genome-test-will-be-the-cheapest-in-the-world.html)

• National News
  • Grifols pays 134 million for 51% of Access Biologicals (https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2023/03/02/63ffb1ac468aeb33248b4594.html)
  • Clínica Baviera increases its profit by 7.7% in 2022, up to 29.5 million euros (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/clinica-baviera-aumenta-un-77-su-beneficio-en-2022-upto-295-million-euros.html)

This post is also available in: Spanish