7 days in healthcare (June 5th-11th, 2023)

 

Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, to point out a new drug that gives hope to patients with certain brain tumors (low-grade gliomas). The amino acid taurine, related to the delay of aging. Biological drugs enter the treatment of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease).

As regards Global Health, the journal Nature publishes a set of articles on the effects of tobacco on health. Although the percentage of smokers has gone down from 1990 to 2019 (not the total number of smokers which has gone up, due to population growth), the battle against tobacco is not won. 14% of deaths globally in 2019 were due to tobacco. Whether nicotine is harmful to health is still being investigated. What is clear is that it is addictive, that is why it is said that you smoke because of the nicotine, but you die because of the tar. Difficult regulations against tobacco in Africa, due to the pressures of the industry and the lack of means. In Malaysia, suicide is going to be decriminalized, which is considered a good strategy for its prevention.

Regarding International Health Policy, regarding the covid, the weekly WHO report published on June 8 speaks of a decrease in new cases and mortality globally in the last 28 days, compared to the 28 days previous. The Lancet warns that this is not the time for complacency about the covid in Europe, since mortality continues to be unacceptably high. Interesting article from the New England Journal of Medicine on the origins of the covid, and the reasons that make it convenient to clarify that origin. In the United States, the debate on the negotiation of the price of medicines by Medicare continues, surely the most important health measure taken in the United States in recent years and which will have an impact not only in that country, but also in the pharmaceutical market, globally. Shortage of many medicines, some oncological in the USA. In the UK the difficult work continues for the report on the management of covid. The EU is discussing legislation to protect the health of sex workers.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), the Ministry of Health submits the emergency MIR to public consultation, a long-standing promise, which surprisingly is launched almost during the electoral period. Psychiatrists denounce the need for these professionals, as Spain is one of the countries in Europe with fewer psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants, which contrasts with the increase in demand for mental health. Dentists, on the other hand, denounce from their Professional College, the growth in the number of dentists (26% growth in the last 10 years), having a high number of graduates, due to the proliferation of Dentistry Schools. In this case, on the other hand, it coincides with low dental care activity in Spain, in relative terms with other countries. Oncologists warn of an explosion of cancer cases by 2040, both globally and in Spain.

In the field of Companies, at the international level, Pfizer proposes a change in the payment model for antibiotics, proposing a kind of “subscription payment”, separating the volume from the value. Regarding the national situation, CASER announces growth in dental clinics and Hospitén a considerable investment in the Dominican Republic, where this company of Canary origin is very active.

Biomedicine

• Vorasidenib, a new drug developed by the pharmaceutical company Servier, gives hope to low-grade gliomas, in the sense of a slower evolution (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2023-06-06/un-nuevo-farmaco-da-esperanza-a-las-personas-con-el-cancer-que-mato-a-severiano-ballesteros.html), original article in the NEJM: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2304194
• The taurine molecule, an amino acid, key against aging. Its deficiency promotes aging and leads to a shorter life (https://www.elconfidencial.com/tecnologia/ciencia/2023-06-08/molecula-vida-saludable-taurina-envejecimiento_3662136/), original article in Science: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adi3025
• Biologics enter COPD: a biologic demonstrates high efficacy in phase III COPD (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/neumologia/la-terapia-biologica-irrumpe-lo-grande-en-epoc-al-reduce-exacerbations-by-30.html). Original article in the NEJM: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2303951

Global Health

• Set of articles in Nature on tobacco
  • Smoking, an preventable health disaster, explained. The percentage of smokers has gone from 27.8% of the world population in 1990 to 19.6% in 2019. (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01837-w);
  • The battle against tobacco, not yet won. In 2019, 14% of all deaths worldwide were due to tobacco. A colossal waste (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01836-x);
  • Is nicotine bad for health? It is clearly addictive, but the harmful health effects are unclear. It is said that one smokes for nicotine addiction, but dies from tar (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01840-1);
  • African countries fight against tobacco. Tobacco industry interference and lack of resources make anti-tobacco regulations difficult (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-01838-9)

• Malaysia
  • Malaysia is going to decriminalize suicide, which is considered a good strategy to prevent suicides (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01176-5/fulltext#:~:text=On%20May%2022%2C%20the%20Dewan,2018%2C%20according%20to%20media%20reports.)

International Health Policy

• COVID 19
  • WHO weekly report on covid, published on June 8, with data up to June 4. Worldwide, there have been 1.7 million cases and some 10,000 deaths in the last 28 days, a decrease of 38% and 47% respectively, compared to the previous 28 days (https://reliefweb.int/report/world/covid-19-weekly-epidemiological-update-edition-146-published-8-june-2023)
  • The Lancet article: No time for complacency on covid in Europe. Mortality remains unacceptably high, almost half a million people in 2022, hospital admissions continue. Persistent symptoms of long-covid affect 3-20% of those who suffered from disease (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01012-7/fulltext#:~:text =The%20European%20region%20cannot%20afford,on%20public%20health%20in%20Europe.)
  • NEJM article: The origins of covid. Why it is important to know your origin (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2305081)

• USA
  • Negotiating the price of drugs in Medicare is and will be for years the great issue of American health policy. The 10 drugs whose price will be negotiated in 2023 represent 10% of Medicare drug spending. The measure is expected to generate significant savings (https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/medicare-drug-price-negotiation-few-drugs-big-impact)
  • Shortages of certain cancer drugs are forcing some doctors to ration life-saving treatments. There are 14 cancer drugs with problems. At the end of March, 301 medicines were declared in shortage. Health groups call for a reform of drug supply chains, as the problem may affect half a million patients (https://www.ft.com/content/9225ccd6-df7f-4221-99eb-7ff7142e89f1)

• United Kingdom and National Health Service
  • The difficulties of the national report on covid. These types of investigations pursue three things: establish the facts, compensation for the victims and prevent repetition. Everything is very difficult in the case of covid (https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/06/08/the-difficulties-facing-britains-covid-19-inquiry)
  • The NHS performance monitor, according to the Nuffield Trust. Waiting lists for elective surgery exceeded 7.4 million in April; the objective of eliminating waits of more than 78 weeks was not achieved; In the emergency room, one in four patients waits more than 4 hours before being seen (https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/qualitywatch/nhs-performance-summary)
  • Government launches £40m funded pilot program to enable greater access to weight loss injections (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/jun/06/ministers-to-launch-40m-pilot-scheme-to-trial-wider-access-to-wegovy#:~:text=Ministers%20launch%20£40m%20pilot%20scheme%20to%20trial%20wider%20access%20to%20slimming%20jab,-Less% 20regulation%20of&text=Minist)

• France
  • Biosimilars, a good way of savings for Social Security. The State wants to extend their use, since biosimilars are 30% cheaper than reference biologics (https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2023/06/08/les-biosimilaires-vivier-d-economies-pour-la-securite-sociale_6176695_3234.html#:~:text=La%20généralisation%20de%20ces%20alternatives,cherche%20à%20étendre%20leur%20usage.)

• European Union
  • The EU is discussing legislation to protect the health of sex workers, which will be voted on at the end of June, before consideration by the European Parliament on September 23 (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)01179-0/fulltext)

National health policy

• Health professions
  • Health submits the new MIR for emergencies to public consultation. A promise of years that seems to be reactivated in an almost electoral period (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/sanidad-somete-consulta-publica-nuevo-mir-urgencias-emergencias_130758_102.html)
  • Psychiatrists warn that 1,500 more professionals are needed in the coming years to meet the growing demand for mental health. 9.27 psychiatrists per 100,000 inhabitants in Spain, far from the 28 in Germany, 26 in Norway, 23 in France or 22 in Austria and Sweden. We are behind Portugal, which has 14 (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2023/06/07/64806b71e4d4d807318b45d3.html). Access to the original text: https://sepsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Libro-Blanco-de-la-Psiquiatria-en-Espana_SEPSM-ok.pdf
  • The number of registered dentists increased by 26% in a decade, to 40,9698 professionals. High number of graduates, due to the proliferation of Dentistry Schools. Since there is low dental care, these professionals are condemned to emigration or unemployment. Only 960 dentists working in public health (https://amp.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/otras-profesiones/espana-roza-los-41-000-dentistas-en-activo-y-mas-del-58-ya-are-women-5481). Report of the Council of Dentists: https://consejodentistas.es/item/2221-el-numero-de-dentistas-colegiados-se-dispara-en-espana-hasta-los-40-968-profesionales-un-26-more-than-ten-years-ago.html

• Oncology
  • Oncologists warn at the American Society of Clinical Oncology congress of a tsunami of cases: 55% more cases in 2040 worldwide. In Spain, 31.1% more. A process linked to aging (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20230607/oncologos-alertan-tsunami-cancer-mayores-espana-casos/769423390_0.html)

• Princess of Asturias Award for Research
  • The biologists Gordon, Greenberg and Bassler, Princess of Asturias Award for Research, for their contributions on the essential role of microorganism communities in life on the planet and in that of human beings (https://www.elconfidencial.com/technology/science/2023-06-07/princess-of-asturias-award-investigacion_3660886/)

Companies

• International News
  • Pfizer proposes specific payment schemes for antibiotics, such as subscription ones, separating value volume (https://diariofarma.com/2023/06/06/pfizer-propone-esquemas-de-pago-especificos-para-antibioticos)
  • BioNTech faces hundreds of lawsuits in Germany over its vaccine (https://www.ft.com/content/9b4e8497-65ad-4cbc-81d7-3ef7c9d322cb)

• National News
  • Hospitén invests 12 million dollars in a new building in the Dominican Republic (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/hospiten-invierte-12-millones-de-dolares-en-un-nuevo-edificio-en-republica-dominican.html)
  • CASER expects to reach 30 dental clinics this year (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/caser-amplia-el-capital-de-su-filial-dental-y-preve-alcanzar-treinta-clinicas-este-ano.html#:~:text=2023%20—%2017%3A53-,Caser%20increases%20the%20capital%20of%20its%20subsidiary%20dental%20and%20anticipates,before%20%20end%20of%20year.)
  • Ballesol will invest 60 million euros in six new residences (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/ballesol-invertira-60-millones-de-euros-en-seis-nuevas-residencias.html#:~:text=Ballesol%20destines%20sixty%20million%20of,with%20the%20six%20new%20establishments.)
  • Pharmaceutical companies suffer cost overruns of 1,500 million euros due to inflation (https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2023/06/05/647caaf1e5fdea131f8b45cd.html)
  • ISDIN closes to 450 million sales and opens a subsidiary in China (https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2023/06/05/647ca824e5fdea1e708b45c3.html)