7 days in healthcare (March 2nd-8th, 2026)

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Summary

The most impactful health news stories of the week were:

  • Biomedicine: The immunotherapy that revolutionized cancer treatment has a dark side.
  • Global health: Gender equality and equity: essential for health and society.
  • International health policy: Growing control of private equity (PE) firms in American healthcare.
  • National health policy: Feijóo (PP) addresses a letter to doctors, following the conflict over the Framework Statute.
  • Companies: Novo Nordisk’s illness as a company.

Biomedicine

  • The immunotherapy that revolutionized cancer treatment has a dark side: 63 complications linked to high mortality. According to pharmacovigilance data from more than 290,000 patients in the USA and the WHO database.
  • Blood tests for cancer are proliferating. Do they really work? Their manufacturers say they can detect dozens of types of cancer. But many scientists say they may fail to diagnose some cancers or provide an incorrect diagnosis. There are more than 40 cancer screening tests in development, and some are already on the market.
  • The shingles vaccine: promising side effects against dementia. Immunization against the virus has been shown to delay Alzheimer’s.

Global Health

  • Gender equality and equity: essential for health and society. The term gender equality has been downplayed by the Trump Administration. A global study shows that 608 million girls over the age of 15 have been exposed to intimate partner violence, and more than 1 billion boys have experienced sexual violence during childhood. It remains a key issue, according to The Lancet.
  • Global warming has accelerated significantly. The latest data confirm the acceleration of warming.

International Health Policy

  • The transformation of American medicine by private equity (PE) firms. These companies have gained increasing control over healthcare infrastructure. PE investors promise to eliminate inefficiencies in America’s fragmented healthcare markets, increase investment, and exploit economies of scale. However, growing evidence shows that PE companies have created access difficulties for rural populations, the elderly, low-income communities, marginalized groups, and ethnic minorities.
  • Trends among primary care physicians in the USA: dissatisfaction, stress, and burnout. This is very prevalent in primary care, but the causes are poorly understood. In an international study, burnout among American primary care physicians was 42%, compared to only 18% in Switzerland and 12% in the Netherlands.
  • Monitoring pollution should be part of governments’ work in the fight against cancer, according to the new European Code Against Cancer.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • Countdown to the Digital Health Law, which aims to regulate interoperable and accessible digital health records throughout the country and the European Union.
  • Feijóo’s (PP) letter to doctors. It is extremely commendable that the PP President met with the Forum of the Medical Profession and with the strike committee regarding the Framework Statute. However, his advisors could surely have put more effort into the letter’s content, moving beyond the specific union demands and focusing their solution on a more defined and explicit healthcare policy, which is lacking in the letter.
  • The IDIS Foundation presents objections to the Draft Law on Public Management and Integrity of the National Health System and denounces it as a frontal attack on “public/private collaboration in healthcare.”

Companies

  • International
    • The decline of Novo Nordisk as a company offers painful lessons. It went from being the company with the largest market capitalization in Europe to suffering a collapse in its value, and in the field of obesity, it is now second only to Lilly.
  •  National
    • Aspirin, Frenadol, Ventolin, and Almax, top-selling drugs “made in Spain.” Spain is home to 111 pharmaceutical plants for human use. Bayer, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, Faes Farma, and Merck have strategic plants in the country that export worldwide.

Biomedicine

  • Blood tests for cancer are proliferating. Do they really work? Their manufacturers say they can detect dozens of types of cancer. But many scientists say they may miss some cancers or give a false positive. There are more than 40 cancer screening tests in development and some already on the market (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00661-2)
  • Stem cells offer a powerful treatment for frailty. Older people with frailty, which affects a quarter of those over 50, showed improved resilience after a single dose of stem cells (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00584-y)
  • Users of weight-loss injections have a lower risk of alcohol and drug addiction. Researchers find that GLP-1 users are less likely to develop substance use disorders (https://www.ft.com/content/899f2d49-af16-4b68-a33a-9edf294678c8)
  • The immunotherapy that revolutionized cancer treatment has a dark side: 63 complications linked to high mortality. This is according to pharmacovigilance data from more than 290,000 patients in the USA and the WHO database (https://www.elconfidencial.com/salud/2026-03-02/la-inmunoterapia-que-revoluciono-el-cancer_4312734/). Access the original article: https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2427234123
  • Gene therapy shows very promising results against Dravet syndrome: it reduces epileptic seizures by 91%. The treatment is still experimental (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/03/05/69a82917e4d4d8c0378b456e.html). Access the original article: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2506295
  • Scientists decode the “brain’s pipes”: cerebrospinal fluid, key to understanding and fighting tumors. The results of a study led by the National Center for Genomic Analysis (CNAG) open new avenues for developing personalized therapies for patients with central nervous system tumors (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/03/06/69aaf8e3fc6c8357058b4570.html)
  • Immunotherapy, which is curing cancer, is now targeting Alzheimer’s. A study in ‘Science’ transfers the promising anti-cancer technology to astrocytes, enabling them to act as a precision cleaning service in the brain (https://www.abc.es/salud/cancer-alzheimer-inmunoterapia-nueva-arma-20260305200540-nt.html)
  • The shingles vaccine: promising side effects against dementia. Immunization against the virus has been shown to delay Alzheimer’s (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2026-03-02/la-vacuna-del-herpes-zoster-prometedores-efectos-secundarios-contra-la-demencia.html)

Global Health

  • Gender equality and equity: essential for health and society. The term gender equality has been downplayed by the Trump Administration. A global study shows that 608 million girls over the age of 15 have been exposed to intimate partner violence and more than 1 billion boys have experienced sexual violence during childhood (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00456-3/fulltext)
  • Bangladesh’s ambitious health plan. The new government has promised to prioritize health in its policies (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(26)00458-7/fulltext)
  • Botswana’s fight against HIV. With cuts in international aid, Botswana has been left without HIV control programs (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)02585-1/fulltext)
  • Global warming has accelerated significantly. The latest data confirm the acceleration of warming (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1029/2025GL118804)

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • The transformation of American medicine by private equity (PE) firms. These firms have gained increasing control over healthcare infrastructure. PE investors promise to eliminate inefficiencies in fragmented American healthcare markets, increase investment, and exploit economies of scale. However, growing evidence shows that PE firms have resulted in access difficulties for rural populations, the elderly, low-income communities, marginalized groups, and ethnic minorities (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2415615).
    • Trends among primary care physicians in the USA: dissatisfaction, stress, and burnout. This is very prevalent in primary care, but the causes are poorly understood. In an international study, burnout among US primary care physicians was 42%, compared to only 18% in Switzerland and 12% in the Netherlands (https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2025.00880)
  • China
    • China hopes IVF can improve its birth rates. The number of IVF treatment cycles in China grew from 236,000 in 2013 to more than 1.1 million in 2019 (https://www.economist.com/china/2026/03/01/china-hopes-ivf-can-slow-its-baby-bust)
  • United Kingdom
    • How GPs (primary care physicians) are using AI. In a survey of 2,108 British GPs, 598 (28%) say they use AI in their clinical practice (https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/research/how-are-gps-using-ai-insights-from-the-front-line)
    • Why does England have GPs without jobs, while people can’t get an appointment? The article analyzes how many doctors may not be able to find positions in Primary Care, while unmet demand increases (https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/resource/why-does-england-have-unemployed-gps-when-patients-can-t-get-gp-appointments)
  • France
    • France authorizes an injectable preventive treatment for HIV, a move welcomed by numerous experts and associations (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2026/02/26/vih-la-france-autorise-enfin-un-traitement-preventif-injectable_6668379_3224.html)
  • European Union
    • Monitoring pollution should be part of governments’ work in the fight against cancer (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/06/tackle-air-pollution-cut-cancer-rates-scientists). Access the European Code Against Cancer: https://cancer-code-europe.iarc.who.int

National Health Policy

  • Central Administration
    • Countdown to the Digital Health Law, which aims to regulate interoperable and accessible digital health records throughout the country and the European Union (EU) (https://www.consalud.es/politica/ministerio-sanidad/cuenta-atras-para-la-ley-de-salud-digital-sanidad-espera-su-aprobacion-definitiva-este-mismo-ano.html)
    • The Ministry of Health expects the Royal Decree on Health Technology Assessment to be approved before April, designed to lay the foundations for a new regulatory framework for the assessment of these technologies in Spain (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/sanidad-rd-evaluacion-tecnologias-sanitarias-aprobacion-abril/)
  • Regional Administrations
    • The Catalan budget proposal increases investment in health. The government’s forecasts propose allocating €13.84 billion to healthcare, with Primary Care accounting for 31% of the spending (https://diariofarma.com/2026/03/01/el-proyecto-de-presupuestos-catalanes-elevan-la-inversion-en-salud-en-2-428-millones)
    • The Balearic Islands health service is joining the EU-Patient Summary to improve emergency care in Europe. Healthcare professionals in other European countries will be able to access data such as allergies, active medications, and relevant pathologies (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/baleares/el-servicio-de-salud-de-baleares-se-integra-en-eu-patient-sumary-para-mejorar-la-atencion-de-urgencia-en-europa.html)
    • Madrid pharmacies strengthen their healthcare role (https://diariofarma.com/2026/02/27/la-farmacia-madrilena-impulsa-su-rol-sanitario-con-un-nuevo-modelo-modelo-de-gestion-de-servicios)
    • A virtual assistant in Asturias will now be available for scheduling medical appointments at health centers. The ordeal of constantly busy health center phones in Asturias is over. For now, however, this service is only available to residents of the Nalón Valley. They will be the privileged few who will no longer have to wait for someone to answer the phone to schedule an appointment with their doctor. “Noa” arrives, a virtual assistant that never communicates and will answer calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (https://www.lne.es/cuencas/2026/03/02/calvario-contactar-telefono-centros-salud-127451276.html)
  • Negotiations on the Framework Statute
    • Feijóo’s letter to doctors (https://www.cesm.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/CARTA-PRESIDENTE-FEIJOO-A-LOS-MEDICOS-1.pdf)
    • The Ministry of Health and the Forum of the Medical Profession reach an agreement to try to avoid the strike. The Forum includes union representatives (CESM) and professional associations and scientific societies. Mónica García’s Ministry seeks to smooth things over with this rapprochement, but the Strike Committee has not called off the strikes (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/03/05/69a98bf7e9cf4a054d8b458f.html)
    • The medical unions CESM and Amyts temper optimism in the healthcare sector: “There is no agreement” (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/03/06/69aaedb0e85ece60688b45b3.html)
  • Public Management Law
    • The IDIS Foundation presents objections to the Draft Law on Public Management and Integrity of the National Health System and denounces it as a frontal attack on “public/private collaboration in healthcare” (https://isanidad.com/363189/idis-lamenta-que-el-anteproyecto-de-ley-de-gestion-publica-supone-un-ataque-frontal-a-la-colaboracion-publica-privada/)
  • MIR Exam
    • The government will reform the MIR exam after the exam with the most “errors”: a record number of annulled questions, resignations, suspicions of fraud, and delays in procedures (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/03/07/69ac4d4a21efa0ec6e8b456d.html)
    • 99.19% of applicants who took the Specialized Health Training exams passed. (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2026/02/27/69a1ff2de85ece005b8b4589.html)

Companies

  • International
    • Bayer suffers multimillion-dollar losses due to lawsuits related to glyphosate (https://elpais.com/economia/2026-03-04/bayer-sufre-perdidas-millonarias-por-las-demandas-relacionadas-con-el-glifosato.html)
    • Permira freezes the sale of Neuraxpharm as it seeks a valuation exceeding €3.5 billion (https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2026-03-05/permira-enfria-venta-neuraxpharm-ofertas-inferiores_4314494/)
    • The Novo Nordisk crisis as a company offers painful lessons. It went from being the company with the largest market capitalization in Europe to suffering a collapse in its value, and in the field of obesity, it’s second only to Lilly (https://cincodias.elpais.com/opinion/2026-03-04/la-enfermedad-de-novo-nordisk-ofrece-dolorosas-lecciones.html)
  • National
    • Miranza increases its revenue by 16% in 2025 and accelerates its expansion in Portugal. The ophthalmology group surpasses €128 million in revenue, increases its surgical activity, and invests in AI and R&D (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/nacional/miranza-eleva-un-16-su-facturacion-en-2025-y-acelera-su-expansion-a-portugal.html)
    • Novo Nordisk announces price reductions for “Ozempic” and “Wegovy” in Spain. The price will decrease by up to 17.6% for the highest dose of “Wegovy,” to €223.64. Ozempic and Rybelsus, with very restrictive NHS funding, also see price drops (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/novo-nordisk-anuncia-bajada-precios-ozempic-wegovy-espana.html)
    • Oximesa acquires Esteve Teijin Healthcare and strengthens its home respiratory therapy services, following approval by the CNMC (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/nacional/oximesa-adquiere-esteve-tejin-healthcare-y-refuerza-sus-servicios-de-terapias-respiratorias-domiciliarias-en-la-peninsula.html)
    • The General Council of Dentists demands answers regarding the reasons for the €40 million bailout of Vivanta. The General Council of Dentists demands transparency regarding the €40 million public bailout granted to Vivanta, while thousands of iDental patients remain without treatment solutions or reimbursement of their payments (https://www.consalud.es/dentalia/clinicas/el-consejo-de-dentistas-reclama-las-razones-del-rescate-a-vivanta-costo-40-millones-de-dinero-publico.html)
    • Aspirin, Frenadol, Ventolin, and Almax, best-selling drugs “made in Spain.” Spain is home to 111 pharmaceutical plants for human use. Bayer, GSK, Pfizer, Novartis, Lilly, Almirall, Faes Farma, and Merck have strategic plants in the country that export worldwide (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/industria/2026/03/06/69a49877468aeb955f8b457e.html)
    • The dental business accelerates its digitalization with the arrival of AI and 3D printers (https://cincodias.elpais.com/extras/2026-03-04/el-negocio-dental-acelera-su-digitalizacion-con-la-llegada-de-la-ia-y-las-impresoras-3d.html)
    • Grifols acquires Canadian Plasma Resources and takes a key step in its diversification. As part of its strategy to diversify plasma sources, Grifols is moving forward with its growth plans in Canada, one of the group’s strategic markets (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13811727/03/26/grifols-compra-canadian-plasma-resources-y-da-un-paso-clave-en-su-diversificacion.html)