Summary

The most impactful health news of the week were:

• Biomedicine: Race to discover new life-saving drugs through the sequencing of new genomes.
• Global health: The US and Argentina agree to work on creating a replacement for the WHO.
• International health policy: Editorial in The Economist: How Labour should save the NHS.
• National health policy: The Spanish Global Health Strategy 2025-2030 is presented.
• Business: The US government cancels a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop a vaccine against avian flu.

Biomedicine

• Race to discover new life-saving drugs through the sequencing of new genomes, as it is estimated that the discovery of DNA in the 1970s does not explain the sequence of 99.9% of living beings on Earth. It is believed that the discovery of these keys will allow the identification of new drugs.
• Prediction and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. With all the advances in the science of aging and AI, we will be able to determine who is at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s, years before any cognitive symptoms appear.

Global Health

• The US and Argentina agree to work on creating a replacement for the WHO. Kennedy agrees with Milei to create a new organization and compete in medicines with China and India.
• ​​The danger of the WHO becoming China’s playground. The key is to ensure that the WHO does not become China’s playground to promote its interests rather than the interests of global health.

International Health Policy

• The Economist editorial: How Labour should save the NHS. Labour has two major incentives to improve the NHS. The first is political, as its voters value the NHS above all else. The second is practical: if things don’t improve, they will get worse. A 10-year plan is being developed to achieve this goal, which will be published in June. Of the three goals set: from hospitals to community, from illness to health, from analog to digital, The Economist editorial believes above all in digitalization as a potential for transformation.
• Trump’s “big and beautiful” tax law will leave millions of Latino children without care. Minors who are US citizens and have an undocumented parent will lose healthcare and food assistance.
• Tobacco sales have fallen 11.5% in 2024 in France, reaching a historically low level.
• An “obesity plan” for France is planned soon. The government is working on a plan that takes into account all approaches to this problem: education, healthcare, sports, and medicine.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• The Spanish Global Health Strategy 2025-2030 is presented, which emphasizes emergency prevention and management.
• Spain is accelerating its funding of drugs for rare diseases, with 14 so far this year, more than double the amount achieved in 2024.
• The AEMPS (Spanish Agency for Medical Research) increased the number of approved drugs by 30% in 2024, reaching 1,253 new drugs.
• The “white tides” (kind of health workers association) have been revitalized, as evidenced in the report on Andalusian healthcare (the unions and the Andalusian white tide coordinator) and the demonstration in Madrid.
• The measures in the new draft Statute are deeply disappointing among medical unions. Exclusive dedication is maintained for heads of Service and Section.

Companies

• International
  • The US government cancels a $600 million contract with Moderna to develop an avian flu vaccine. Robert Kennedy has repeatedly questioned the safety of the mRNA technology used by Moderna. No comments.
  • Why NovoNordisk has gone from heaven to hell in just one year. It has gone from skyrocketing on the stock market and being worth as much as Denmark’s GDP to plummeting share prices and the dismissal of its CEO, a visionary in anti-obesity drugs who has failed to manage success and diversify.

• National
  • The owner of Quirónsalud (Fresenius) plans to expand private healthcare in Spain and launch a round of acquisitions.

Biomedicine

• The race to discover new life-saving medicines by sequencing new genomes is on, as it is estimated that the discovery of DNA in the 1970s does not explain the sequence of 99.9% of living beings on Earth. It is believed that the discovery of these keys will allow the identification of new medicines (https://www.ft.com/content/9765ab86-0156-4901-b6ec-fbee465ab819)
• Can personalized CRISPR therapies transform the treatment of genetic diseases? (https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r1028)
• Prediction and prevention of Alzheimer’s disease. With all the advances in the science of aging and AI, we will be able to determine who is at risk of developing Alzheimer’s years before any cognitive symptoms appear (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ady3217)
• Working with robots often leads to mental strain. Some studies show that working with robots leads to better physical health, but worse mental health (https://www.ft.com/content/528e3c25-22c7-4c83-b80a-dd07dae92c5d)
• The most deadly bacteria in history has reduced its virulence so it can continue killing millions of people. The evolution of a bubonic plague gene means the disease persists to this day (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-05-29/la-bacteria-mas-asesina-de-la-historia-redujo-su-virulencia-para-poder-seguir-matando-a-millones-de-personas.html)

Global Health

• The US and Argentina agree to work on creating a replacement for the WHO. Kennedy agrees with Milei to create a new organization and compete in medicines with China and India (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/05/30/683992c0e4d4d8772a8b4590.html)
• The danger of the WHO becoming China’s playground. The key is that the WHO does not become China’s playground for promoting its interests rather than those of global health (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/oms-china-presupuesto-agencia-sanitaria/)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • Drug-related mortality in the US falls for the first time in five years, a sign that the country is moving away from the major problems of fentanyl (https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r1014)
  • Robots are performing some of the work in US hospitals. Although robots had long been used in surgery, the trend now is to perform other tasks, replacing staff, which is in short supply (https://www.ft.com/content/aabb7d4b-1e2d-47b9-97f4-c3fc96448aa7)
  • Robert Kennedy is in a battle with the big food companies. Under the slogan “sugar is poison,” Kennedy is against ultra-processed foods and the large industries that promote them (https://www.ft.com/content/7520dfbf-49b2-4d9b-8247-a0b80c5f1314)
  •  US does not recommend COVID vaccine boosters for children and pregnant women (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/health/covid-vaccines-children-pregnant-women-rfk-jr.html)
  • An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine: Primary Care: From a Common Good to a Market Product. More than 30% of Americans lack access to formal primary care. Primary care physicians are older than specialists; less than a third of those who complete residency want to go into primary care. Furthermore, a private market for primary care is emerging as a “commodity.” Traditional Primary Care needs to be strengthened (https://www.nejm.org/doi/abs/10.1056/NEJMp2501717)
  • Trump’s “big and beautiful” tax law will leave millions of Latino children without care. Minors who are US citizens and have an undocumented parent will lose healthcare and food assistance (https://elpais.com/us/migracion/2025-05-28/la-gran-y-hermosa-ley-fiscal-de-trump-dejara-sin-atencion-medica-a-millones-de-ninos-latinos.html)
  • The CDC contradicts Kennedy and says children should receive COVID vaccine boosters (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/health/cdc-covid-vaccines-children-pregnant-women.html)
  • The Trump Administration ends a critical program to develop an HIV vaccine (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/30/health/trump-hiv-cuts.html)

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • The Economist editorial: How Labour should save the NHS. Labour has two major incentives to improve the NHS. The first is political, as its voters value the NHS above all else. The second is practical: if things don’t improve, they will get worse. To this end, a 10-year plan is being developed, which will be published in June. Of the three goals set: from hospitals to community, from disease to health, from analog to digital, The Economist editorial believes above all in digitalization as a transformative potential (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/05/29/how-labour-should-save-the-nhs)
  • The Economist article: what’s next for the fractured NHS. The NHS is broken and needs “fixing.” This is what the 10-year plan aims to do, the success of which will not be the announcements of measures, but their actual implementation. One of the challenges is that money is being spent where it shouldn’t be (hospital spending has risen sharply in recent years) and, above all, the major challenge of implementing reform without much more money (https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/05/29/where-next-for-britains-broken-national-health-service)
  • Drug-related mortality in the UK is higher than in other developed countries, according to a report by the Health Foundation. Jennifer Dixon, director of this Foundation, said that the UK is becoming the sick man of the developed world (https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r1046). Access the Health Foundation article: https://www.health.org.uk/press-office/press-releases/dramatic-rise-in-drug-related-deaths-fuels-worsening-uk-health-compared-to-other-nations

• France
  • Tobacco sales have fallen by 11.5% in 2024 in France, reaching an all-time low (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2025/05/30/les-ventes-de-tabac-ont-chute-de-11.5-en-2024-en-france-ou-le-tabagisme-s-etablit-a-un-niveau-historiquement-bas_6609320_3224.html)
  • An “obesity plan” for France is planned soon. The government is working on a plan that takes into account all approaches to this problem: education, health, sports, and medicine (https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2025/05/26/un-plan-obesite-pour-la-france-prevu-par-le-gouvernement-a-la-rentree_6608636_3224.html)

• Brazil
  • Public aid prevented more than 700,000 deaths and 8.2 million hospitalizations among the poorest in Brazil (https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2025-05-30/las-ayudas-publicas-evitaron-mas-de-700000-muertes-y-82-millones-de-hospitalizaciones-entre-los-mas-pobres-en-brasil.html)

• Israel
  • Israel worsens the dismantling of the Healthcare in Gaza by forcing the closure of the last hospital in the North (https://elpais.com/internacional/2025-05-31/israel-agrava-el-desmantelamiento-de-la-sanidad-de-gaza-al-forzar-el-cierre-del-ultimo-hospital-del-norte.html)

• Europe
  • Article in Nature: Europe can capture the brain drain from the US if it acts quickly. European countries must work together to become a global destination for scientific talent (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01567-1)

• WHO
  • The WHO takes a key step to ensure that skin diseases cease to be an “aesthetic” problem and become a “global priority” (https://elpais.com/planeta-futuro/2025-05-31/la-oms-da-un-paso-clave-para-que-las-enfermedades-de-la-piel-dejan-de-ser-un-problema-estetico-y-se-convierten-en-una-prioridad-mundial.html)

National Health Policy

• Central Government Initiatives
  • The Global Health Strategy 2025-2030 is presented, which emphasizes emergency prevention and management (https://www.consalud.es/politica/objetivos-clave-de-la-estrategia-de-salud-global-2025-2030-prevencion-fortalecimiento-y-gestion-de-emergencias.html). Access the document Spanish Global Health Strategy: 2025-2030: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/areas/calidadAsistencial/estrategias/saludMental/docs/Estrategia_de_Salud_Global_2025-2030.pdf
  • Spain is accelerating its funding of drugs for rare diseases, with 14 so far this year, more than double the amount achieved in 2024 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250528/espana-acelera-financiacion-medicamentos-enfermedades-raras-va-ano/1003743776202_0.html)
  • Family medicine positions in the MIR (Mediterranean Residents’ Internship) are filled for the first time in four years (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-05-28/las-plazas-de-medicina-de-familia-se-agotan-en-el-mir-por-primera-vez-en-cuatro-anos.html)
  • The government aims to modify the reference price system upon approval of the Public Health Agency Law. The idea is to exempt medications with a “strategic advantage” from the reference pricing system (https://www.consalud.es/politica/gobierno-modificar-sistema-precios-referencia-medicamentos-tramitacion-agencia-salud-publica.html)
  • The AEMPS (Spanish Agency for Public Health) increased the number of medications authorized in 2024 by 30%, reaching 1,253 new drugs (https://diariofarma.com/2025/05/26/la-ameps-incremento-en-un-30-el-numero-de-medicamentos-autorizados-en-2024)
  • Sánchez announces aid of up to 100 euros for children under 16 years of age to purchase glasses and contact lenses (https://diariofarma.com/2025/05/26/sanchez-anuncia-una-ayuda-de-100-euros-a-menores-de-16-anos-para-la-compra-de-gafas-o-lentillas
  • The Ministry intends to introduce smoke-free spaces/terraces, educational centers, or nightclubs into the new Anti-Tobacco Law. The law still has to pass the Council of Ministers and Parliament (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-05-29/sanidad-quiere-prohibir-fumar-en-terrazas-vehiculos-comerciales-campus-universitarios-y-discotecas-al-aire-libre.html)
  • The Ministry intends to include plain packaging in the reform of the Anti-Tobacco Law and is turning a deaf ear to the tobacco companies. This is a measure repeatedly requested by SEPAR (Spanish Society of Pathology). Respiratory) and FENAER (Spanish Federation of Allergy Patients and Respiratory Diseases) (https://www.consalud.es/politica/sanidad-incluira-el-empaquetado-generico-en-la-reforma-de-la-ley-antitabaco-y-hace-oidos-sordos-a-las-tabacaleras.html)

• Initiatives by autonomous communities
  • The unions (CCOO, UGT, CSIF, SATSE) together with the Andalusian Coordinator of White Tides warn of the critical state of the Andalusian healthcare system (https://elpais.com/espana/andalucia/2025-05-26/los-sindicatos-advierten-en-un-informe-del-estado-critico-del-sistema-sanitario-andaluz.html). Access the report: https://sanidad.ccoo.es/3488d2522950fc27de7fc9b0edacb8b2000057.pdf
  • The defense of public healthcare once again fills the streets of Madrid (https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2025-05-25/la-defensa-de-la-sanidad-publica-vuelve-a-llenar-las-calles-de-madrid-veo-cada-vez-mas-deterioro-y-mas-seguros-privados.html)
  • Evaluation of public healthcare spending in Murcia, carried out by AIREF. This organization sees opportunities for improvement in three areas: pharmaceutical spending, investments, and personnel (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/murcia/la-airef-ve-margenes-de-ganancia-de-eficiencia-en-la-sanidad-murciana-7975). To access the report, AIREF: https://www.airef.es/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Murcia/Plan_Accion_Region_Murcia_2025.pdf
  • Catalan pharmacies advocate for the Pharmaceutical Law to integrate the sector into the system (https://diariofarma.com/2025/05/29/la-farmacia-catalana-defiende-que-la-ley-farmaceutica-integre-al-sector-en-el-sistema)
  • Vigo joins A Coruña and demands its own Faculty of Medicine (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/galicia/vigo-se-suma-a-a-coruna-y-reclama-su-propia-facultad-de-medicina-9277)
  • This is the precision medicine plan that places Castilla y León at the forefront of Europe (https://gacetamedica.com/profesion/asi-es-plan-medicina-precision-coloca-castilla-y-leon-vanguardia-europa/)

• Framework Statute
  • The measures in the new draft Statute are deeply disappointing among medical unions. Exclusive dedication is maintained for heads of departments and sections (https://gacetamedica.com/profesion/estatuto-marco-medidas-nuevo-borrador-estatuto-marco-depecion-sinidcatos-medicos/)

• Sick Leave
  • The cost of sick leave has skyrocketed by almost 80% and is approaching 20 billion euros (https://www.larazon.es/economia/coste-bajas-laborales-dispara-casi-80-acerca-20000-millones-anuales_202505266833bcc33407f96812ae2b71.html)

• Private healthcare spending
  • Families spend 50% more on healthcare than they did two decades ago. Inequality in access to certain services not funded by the public sector is denounced (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-05-28/las-familias-gastan-un-50-mas-en-sanidad-que-hace-dos-decadas.html)

• Clinical practice guidelines
  • The IDIS publishes a report denouncing the failure to update clinical practice guidelines. Access the report: https://www.fundacionidis.com/informes/otros-informes/el-camino-a-la-innovacion-tecnologica-cartera-de-servicios-y-guias-de-practica-clinica

Companies

• International
  • Lilly crowned as the pharmaceutical company with the highest revenue in the first quarter of 2025 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250528/lilly-corona-farmaceutica-mayores-ingresos-primer-trimestre/1003743778081_0.html)
  • Roche extended a promising trial of an antibiotic effective against resistant bacteria (https://www.ft.com/content/1f9476b7-2f63-4169-a7eb-de2ad12c0bef)
  • The US government cancels a contract with Moderna $600 million to develop a bird flu vaccine. Robert Kennedy has repeatedly questioned the safety of the mRNA technology used by Moderna (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/29/health/moderna-trump-bird-flu-vaccine-contract.html)
  • Why NovoNordisk has gone from heaven to hell in just one year. It has gone from skyrocketing on the stock market and being worth as much as Denmark’s GDP to plummeting share price and the dismissal of its CEO, a visionary in anti-obesity drugs who has failed to manage success and diversify (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/05/28/68372bad468aeb851d8b4575.html)

• National
  • AMA’s gross profit grows 42.9% in 2024 (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/beneficio-bruto-ama-crece-492-2024.html)
  • The owner of Quirónsalud (Fresenius) foresees an expansion of private healthcare in Spain and a round of acquisitions (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-05-29/el-dueno-de-quironsalud-preve-una-expansion-de-la-sanidad-privada-en-espana-y-una-ronda-de-compras.html)

This post is also available in: Spanish