7 days in healthcare (July 28th-August 3rd, 2025)

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Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

  • Biomedicine: Smart antibiotics: Can AI end antimicrobial resistance?
  • Global health: Liver cancer will double by 2050, according to The Lancet.
  • International health policy: Trump asks pharmaceutical companies to lower prices by the end of September. The Biden administration’s gradualist and well-designed policy is replaced by threats.
  • National health policy: The Minister of Health says that “not bringing the Framework Statute to the Council of Ministers in the fall would be condemning it to being shelved,” which, given the circumstances, might not be the worst thing. The negotiation of the Statute lacks a high-level strategic design.
  • Business: NovoNordisk lost its lead in the race for weight-loss drugs.

Biomedicine

  • Smart antibiotics: Can AI end antimicrobial resistance? This is one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. Infections increase every year and become increasingly difficult to treat. If we fail to act effectively, it could be the leading cause of death worldwide by 2050. Alternatives to antibiotics, drug repurposing, and AI simulations that save time and resources are among the possible solutions.
  • A study of more than one million people reveals the genetic basis of stuttering. 48 genes related to this condition have been identified. The research may lead to therapeutic advances for this problem.
  • Genetic viruses such as influenza promote cancer metastasis. Research led by Spanish researcher Mercedes Rincón at the University of Colorado

Global Health

  • Liver cancer will double by 2050, according to The Lancet.
  • Sudan: an ignored health catastrophe. The children and women of Sudan are paying the highest price for a war the world is ignoring.

International Health Policy

  • Trump asks pharmaceutical companies to lower prices by the end of September. Last Thursday, AstraZeneca, Merck, Regeneron, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and GSK received letters from the president urging them to lower their prices. Surprisingly, neither Roche nor Takeda, based in Switzerland and Japan, respectively, were on the list, although Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, was. This, logically, has activated the pharmaceutical lobby. The Trump administration has replaced the Biden administration’s gradualist and guarantee-based policies with threats and vagueness, if not bullying. Furthermore, the whole problem has a very old origin: the refusal to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, something that doesn’t happen in other parts of the world, particularly in Europe.
  • Van der Leyden gets the United States to give in and impose a “flat” 15% tariff on pharmaceutical products. The technical details of the agreement will be revealed in the coming days.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • The Minister of Health says that “not bringing the Framework Statute to the Council of Ministers in the fall would be condemning them to a shelf.” Involving the medical profession in the management of the system and the patient experience is one of the major challenges that the Statute negotiations, lacking a general strategic design and filled with minor quirks, were failing to address. Surely, under these circumstances, it is best to leave the Statute negotiations for another occasion.
  • Crisis proves MIR. The PP accuses the Ministry of dismantling a system that had been in place for decades.

Companies

  • International
    • How NovoNordisk lost its leadership in the race for weight-loss drugs. One explanation is that a competitor, Lilly, appeared with a better product: pills instead of injectables.
  • National
    • Esteve strengthens its presence in the United States with the acquisition of Regis Technologies, a company dedicated to contract manufacturing of pharmaceutical products.

Biomedicine

  • New implants offer hope for improving rheumatoid arthritis. The FDA approved this new device last Wednesday, offering opportunities to 1.5 million Americans, until now treated with medication (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/health/arthritis-implant-vagus-setpoint.html)
  • Smart antibiotics: can AI end antimicrobial resistance? This is one of the greatest challenges of modern medicine. Infections increase every year and become increasingly difficult to treat. If we fail to act effectively, it could be the leading cause of death worldwide by 2050. Alternatives to antibiotics, drug repurposing, and AI simulations that save time and resources are among the possible solutions (https://theconversation.com/smart-antibiotics-can-kill-ai-with-antimicrobial-resistance-260112)
  • A study of more than one million people reveals the genetic basis of stuttering. Forty-eight genes related to this condition have been identified. The research may lead to therapeutic advances for this problem (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/estudio-gran-escala-revela-arquitectura-genetica-tartamudez-20250728142129-nt.html). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-025-02267-2
  • A single injection at birth can protect children from HIV for years, provided the treatment is administered close to birth (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/sola-inyeccion-nacer-puede-proteger-ninos-vih-20250730121328-nt.html). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-02439-4
  • Genetic viruses like influenza promote cancer metastasis. Research led by Spanish researcher Mercedes Rincón at the University of Colorado (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-07-30/virus-respiratorios-como-la-gripe-promueven-la-metastasis-del-cancer.html). Original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09332-0
  • Artificial intelligence to create new medicines (https://www.expansion.com/directivos/2025/07/31/688a4cc3e5fdea2a748b459b.html)

Global Health

  • Liver cancer will double by 2050, according to The Lancet (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medicina-interna/casos-cancer-higado-duplicaran-2050-segun-lancet.html)
  • A continental call to action to end cholera by 2030 (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01426-6/fulltext)
  • Future trajectories for One Health. A new report establishes seven criteria for implementing One Health (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01453-9/abstract?rss=yes)
  • Sudan: An ignored health catastrophe. Sudan’s children and women are paying the highest price for a war the world is ignoring (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01563-6/fulltext)
  • The science of famine (https://www.ft.com/content/fb0a5096-d24d-4dce-9e98-8ec1406b64ba)
  • Raising taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and sugary drinks in Africa: a triple lifeline in times of development aid cuts (https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2025-07-30/subir-los-impuestos-al-tabaco-el-alcohol-y-las-bebidas-azucaradas-en-africa-un-triple-salvavidas-en-tiempos-de-recortes-a-la-ayuda-al-desarrollo.html). Access to the document The Future of Health Financing in Africa: The Role of Health Taxes: https://www.vitalstrategies.org/resources/the-future-of-health-financing-in-africa-the-role-of-health-taxes/

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • The CDC says childhood vaccination rates have fallen again (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/31/health/child-vaccinations-decline-cdc.html)
    • Trump announces a Health Record system for consumers. The Administration is working with several technology providers to make clinical information more shareable, regardless of the provider (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/us/politics/trump-health-records-system.html)
    • Trump asks pharmaceutical companies to lower prices by the end of September. Last Thursday, AstraZeneca, Merck, Regeneron, Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Pfizer, and GSK received letters from the president asking them to lower their prices. Surprisingly, neither Roche nor Takeda, based in Switzerland and Japan, respectively, were on the list, although Genentech, a Roche subsidiary, was. This has, logically, activated the pharmaceutical lobby (https://www.com/content/5e935b63-5a58-4feb-859b-e50cbfddc194)
  • United Kingdom
    • Three million NHS England patients on waiting lists for further care after GP referral (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/aug/01/three-million-on-nhs-england-waiting-lists-have-had-no-care-since-gp-referral)
  • European Union
    • Van der Leyden gets the United States to give in and impose a “flat” 15% tariff on pharmaceutical products. The technical details of the agreement will be revealed in the coming days (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/von-del-leyen-estados-unidos-arancel-productos-farmaceuticos/).
    • Europe is preparing for the next health crisis with an arsenal of measures incorporated into its new E4Health 2025 program. €88 million is allocated to nine specific actions (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/europa-crisis-sanitaria-medidas-e4health-2025/).

National Health Policy

  • Central Government Initiatives
    • The Ministry of Health sets a busy regulatory calendar for after the summer. The Drug Law, the State Public Health Agency, tobacco, alcohol use in minors, and health technologies are the focus of some of the Ministry’s main regulatory milestones (https://diariofarma.com/2025/07/27/sanidad-fija-un-intenso-calendario-normativo-para-despues-del-verano)
    • The Royal Decree for the other diseases included in the ALS Law is moving forward. The draft Royal Decree implementing the ALS Law is open to public hearing (https://www.consalud.es/politica/sanidad-publica-el-proyecto-de-real-decreto-para-ampliar-la-cobertura-de-la-ley-ela-a-otras-enfermedades.html)
  • Autonomous Community Initiatives
    • The Xunta (Xunta) is committed to the decentralization of medical teaching in A Coruña and Vigo. It seems the plan is to decentralize for the 4th and 5th grades, which already exists in the 6th grade (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/galicia/xunta-descentralizacion-grado-medicina-vigo-a-coruna.html)
    • Illa expands the large Catalan pharmaceutical industry to China. China is a potential pharmaceutical export market from the perspective of Catalonia, where the majority of the national industry in this sector is concentrated, and from Spain. According to the market study on this area conducted by ICEX Spain Export and Investment in 2024, Spain was the sixth largest exporter of pharmaceuticals to China in the world. (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/industria/illa-expande-la-industria-pharma-catalana-a-asia-para-sortear-a-trump-8723)
    • Castilla y León approves the 2025-2032 Health Plan, with 40 objectives and 169 measures (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/castilla-y-leon/castilla-y-leon-aprueba-nuevo-plan-de-salud-objetivos-medidas.html)
  • MIR Test
    • Crisis MIR test. The PP accuses the Ministry of dismantling a system that had been in place for decades (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-07-31/el-recorte-en-la-retribucion-de-los-expertos-que-disenan-los-examenes-mir-desata-una-crisis-con-sanidad.html)
  • Framework Statute
    • Medical movements and discontent with the Statute continue (https://gacetamedica.com/profesion/estatuto-marco-reuniones-protestas-ultimatum-ultimos-movimientos/)
    • The Minister of Health says that “not bringing the Framework Statute to the Council of Ministers in the fall would condemn them to putting them in a drawer” (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/profesion/monica-garcia-llevar-estatuto-marco-consejo-ministros-otono-seria-condenarlo-meterlo-cajon.html)
  • Hospital facilities
    • New wave of public hospitals. Gran Montecelo Hospital in Pontevedra; Sierra Norte Hospital for Care and Functional Recovery in Madrid; Aranda de Duero Hospital in Burgos; Campanar Acute Care Hospital, which will replace Arnau de Vilanova in Valencia; the new General Hospital of Castellón; Campus Clínic on Diagonal in Barcelona; the future Maternal and Child Hospital in Huelva; the second phase of the University Hospital of Cáceres; the expansion of the University Hospital of Móstoles; Expansion of the Cabueñes University Hospital in Gijón (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/estos-son-los-nuevos-hospitales-publicos-que-llegaran-a-la-sanidad-espanola.html)
  • NHS Situation
    • The NHS in Figures (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/el-sns-en-cifras-esta-es-la-radiografia-del-sistema-sanitario-espanol-en-2025.html)
  • Pharmaceutical Purchases in Hospitals
    • Report from the Court of Auditors. The report indicates differences of up to 97% in the price paid for the same medication in the four hospitals analyzed (Valdecilla, Complejo Badajoz, Arrixaca, and San Pedro, La Rioja) (https://diariofarma.com/2025/07/29/el-tc-senala-deficiencias-en-la-gestion-del-gasto-farmaceutico-hospitalario-en-cuatro-cc-aa)
  • State Public Health Agency
    • Debate on the location. Zaragoza, Granada, Oviedo, and León are candidates. Other cities, such as Valencia, Lugo, A Coruña, Salamanca, and even Barcelona, could join the process (https://www.consalud.es/politica/cuenta-atras-para-elegir-la-sede-de-la-aesap-estos-son-los-plazos-y-posibles-candidatas.html)

Companies

  • International
    • European pharmaceutical companies suffer on the stock market after Trump’s challenge (https://cincodias.elpais.com/mercados-financieros/2025-08-01/castigo-en-bolsa-a-las-farmaceuticas-europeas-tras-el-pulso-lanzado-por-trump.html)
    • How NovoNordisk lost its lead in the race for weight-loss drugs (https://www.ft.com/content/410f474a-41e7-4f12-bee9-098478bb7136)
    • UnitedHealth grew to a leviathan, then came the setback (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/28/health/unitedhealth-backlash.html)
    • Moderna lost €1.573 billion in the first half of 2025 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250801/moderna-perdio-millones-euros-primer-semestre/1003743871761_0.html#:~:text=Moderna%20ha%20presentado%20este%20viernes,ejercicio%2C%20although%20sí%20los%20mejora.)

This post is also available in: Spanish