7 days in healthcare (September 15th-21st, 2025)

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Summary

The most impactful health news of the week were:

  • Biomedicine: A new AI model predicts susceptibility to more than 1,000 diseases.
  • Global health: Bill Gates, despite cuts, remains optimistic about global health.
  • International health policy: Under the “10-year Health Plan for England,” the best- and worst-performing NHS trusts are made public.
  • National health policy: Pedro Sánchez brings waiting lists into the electoral debate.
  • Business: Apple enters the patient monitoring market.

Biomedicine

  • A new AI model predicts susceptibility to more than 1,000 diseases. European scientists have developed a new AI model, trained by analyzing multiple medical records, that can predict susceptibility to more than 1,000 diseases in the future. The generative AI system, called Delphi-2M, was developed in Cambridge, analyzing the medical records of 400,000 participants in the UK Biobank. Developing a tool based on this experience that is useful for clinical routines can take between 5 and 10 years.
  • Childhood obesity, a global health crisis. For the first time, the global prevalence of obesity among children (aged 5-19) exceeds malnutrition, according to UNICEF. This increase is particularly worrying for children under 5, since at this age, obesity can affect the development of all organs. Globally, in 2024, there were 35.5 million children under 5 years of age who were obese. If current trends continue, one-third of children and adolescents will be obese by 2050.
  • A blood test can predict the progression of Alzheimer’s. This prognostic test accurately predicts which people with mild cognitive impairment will progress to dementia. The results have been published in iScience, and the test now has the CE mark, allowing its use in the EU.

Global Health

  • Bill Gates remains optimistic about global health. Although the money dedicated to global health is dwindling, science is advancing by leaps and bounds, and many people are determined to ensure that innovations reach children.
  • Reducing tobacco use globally (a new NEJM series). Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year, including 1.3 million from secondhand smoke. It is a cause of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory diseases. Today, the highest mortality rates from tobacco are in low- and middle-income countries, where 80% of consumers live and where the tobacco industry’s efforts have been concentrated over the last 20 years.

International Health Policy

  • Under the “10-Year Health Plan for England,” the best- and worst-performing NHS trusts are made public. The tables for hospital trusts, non-acute trusts, and ambulance services are now publicly available on the NHS website. A remarkable example of transparency.
  • How RFK Jr. could eliminate vaccines without banning them. The vaccine business was predictable and growing. Since RFK Jr.’s arrival, it has become clear that the American government is no longer a reliable partner in the vaccine business, leading to investment being withdrawn.
  • The EU is failing to solve the problem of chronic drug shortages. The EU Court of Auditors warns that the European bloc “still lacks a well-oiled system to address serious drug shortages.” Part of the cause lies in supply chain vulnerabilities, due to the outsourcing of much of the production, especially of antibiotics and painkillers, to Asian countries. Another obstacle is the fragmentation of the EU’s single market for medicines.

National Health Policy (Spain)

  • Pedro Sánchez brings waiting lists into the electoral debate by bringing them up in last Tuesday’s parliamentary debate, accusing the PP-led regions of having long waiting lists. It could perhaps be assumed that waiting lists only occur in PP-led regions and that the Ministry of Health has nothing to do with the problem.
  • Numerous legislative delays in the Ministry of Health, as in the entire government. Mónica García’s portfolio has eight royal decrees pending, on topics as diverse as cannabis and subsidies for eyeglasses.
  • Madrid aims to promote pharmaceutical innovation, in collaboration with Farmaindustria. The aim is to strengthen the region’s leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation and boost both employment and investment.
  • Spain offers health insurance that is 79% cheaper than Europe. Premiums are well below those of Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, which is considered a threat to its sustainability, according to ASPE. It seems that the sector has focused more on quantity than quality.
  • The arrival of foreign doctors to Spain is growing every year, especially from Latin America. The main countries of origin include Colombia, Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, and Bolivia. In the case of Spain, the arrival of foreign doctors has continued to grow from 2012 to 2023. The emigration of Spanish doctors remains stable, with a downward trend. Spain is the third largest importer of doctors, after the United Kingdom and Germany.

Companies

  • International
    • Apple enters the patient monitoring market, which will reach 11.5 billion by 2033. The FDA has authorized Apple for hypertension monitoring. The company intends to implement this feature in more than 150 countries. However, for now, it will not be available in Europe. This is because the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet authorized this feature on Apple smartwatches.
  • National
    • The new Vithas Hospital in Barcelona will have 160 rooms, 14 operating rooms, and 1,800 professionals. It is located in the municipality of Esplugues de Llobregat.

Biomedicine

  • The Lancet Editorial: Childhood obesity, a global health crisis. For the first time, the global prevalence of obesity among children (aged 5-19) exceeds malnutrition, according to UNICEF. This increase is particularly worrying for children under 5, since obesity at this age can affect the development of all organs. Globally, in 2024, there were 35.5 million obese children under 5. If current trends continue, one-third of children and adolescents will be obese by 2050 (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01906-3/fulltext?rss=yes)
  • A new AI model predicts susceptibility to more than 1,000 diseases. European scientists have developed a new AI model, trained by analyzing multiple medical records, that can predict susceptibility to more than 1,000 future diseases. The generative AI system, called Delphi-2M, was developed in Cambridge, analyzing the medical records of 400,000 participants in the UK Biobank. Developing a tool based on this experience that can be useful for clinical routines could take between 5 and 10 years (https://www.ft.com/content/598e07ec-954f-49b7-9bc5-ce77f9fff934). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09529-3/metrics
  • Orgorglipron, a novel GLP-1 small molecule for the oral treatment of obesity. This issue of the NEJM presents the results of the clinical trial with this Lilly drug (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2511774).
  • What does nicotine do to your brain? More and more nicotine is being consumed on its own. The global vaping market is expected to reach $47.5 billion in 2028, up from $22.5 billion in 2023. Nicotine does not cause lung cancer or emphysema. Several studies show that nicotine has positive effects on the brain, such as attention and memory (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/09/12/what-nicotine-does-to-your-brain).
  • A blood test can predict the progression of Alzheimer’s. This prognostic test accurately predicts which people with mild cognitive impairment will progress to dementia. The results have been published in iScience, and the test now has the CE mark, allowing its use in the EU (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/biomarcador-sangre-permite-anticipar-progresion-alzheimer-20250919060000-nt.html)
  • Biogen’s Tofersen opens a new era of precision medicine in ALS. The Biogen drug targets the 2% of patients with a mutation in the SOD1 gene. It is the first therapy in 30 years. (https://www.diariomedico.com/farmacia/industria/tofersen-llega-espana-abre-nueva-medicina-precision-ela.html)

Global Health

  • Article by Bill Gates: Why I’m still optimistic about global health. Although the money dedicated to global health is dwindling, science is advancing by leaps and bounds, and many people are determined to ensure that innovations reach children. That’s why I’m optimistic (https://elpais.com/opinion/2025-09-19/por-que-sigo-siendo-optimista-sobre-la-salud-mundial.html)
  • Reducing tobacco use globally (a new NEJM series). Tobacco kills more than 7 million people each year, including 1.3 million from secondhand smoke. It is a cause of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and chronic respiratory illnesses. Today, the highest mortality rate from tobacco is in low- and middle-income countries, where 80% of tobacco users live and where the tobacco industry’s efforts have been concentrated over the past 20 years (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMe2510566?af=R&rss=currentIssue)
  • Gaza and the collapse of public health. Various institutions committed to health equity address the world’s public opinion regarding the devastation of civilians in Gaza since October 2023 (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01690-3/fulltext?rss=yes)
  • In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, vaccination against a new Ebola epidemic has begun. Since the detection of the first case on August 20, there have been 28 deaths and 81 cases in Kasaï province (https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/09/15/en-rdc-la-vaccination-a-commence-face-a-la-nouvelle-epidemie-d-ebola_6641237_3212.html)

International Health Policy

  • USA
    • How RFK, Jr. could eliminate vaccines without banning them. The vaccine business was predictable and growing. Since RFK, Jr.’s arrival, it has become clear that the American government is no longer a reliable partner in the vaccine business, leading to investment withdrawal (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/09/vaccine-business-industry-kennedy-trump/684252/)
    • RFK, Jr.’s MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) Plan spares fatty, salty, and sugary foods, ubiquitous in the USA. While the Trump administration (RFK, Jr.) is raging against vaccines, no plan is expected regarding these products that are so harmful to health (https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2025/09/12/le-plan-de-robert-kennedy-jr-pour-rendre-sa-sante-a-l-amerique-epargne-les-aliments-gras-sales-et-sucres-omnipresents-aux-etats-unis_6640614_3244.html)
    • The United States is on the verge of having a dual and unequal vaccination system. This means threats to the “Vaccines for Children” program (https://www.theatlantic.com/health/2025/09/acip-vaccine-for-kids-rfk-jr/684284/)
    • Kennedy’s vaccine panel voted to limit access to COVID vaccines (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/19/health/cdc-vaccines-mmrv-hepatitis-b.html)
  • United Kingdom
    • In the implementation of the 10-Year Health Plan for England, the best and worst performing NHS trusts are made public (https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cq8eqxlypv7o). To access the table of acute trusts: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/acute-trust-league-table/; To access the non-acute hospital table: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/non-acute-hospital-trust-league-table/; to access the ambulance company table: https://www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/ambulance-trust-league-table/)
    • The Royal College of Psychiatrists calls for greater access to psychedelic treatments (https://www.ft.com/content/47d1b980-1bfe-4d17-80e0-3f80d45cf597)
    • The United Kingdom, victim of Trump’s threats: AstraZeneca and MSD halt their investments in the country. Meanwhile, both companies have announced new investments in the USA (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250916/reino-unido-victima-amenazas-trump-astrazeneca-msd-paralizan-inversiones-pais/1003743925279_0.html)
  • France
    • Sharp rise in Chikungunya cases in the French metropolis (https://www.lemonde.fr/planete/article/2025/09/17/chikungunya-forte-hausse-des-cas-autochtones-en-metropole-sante-publique-france-appelle-a-la-vigilance-face-aux-moustiques-tigres_6641594_3244.html)
  • Colombia
    • The Petro government continues its confrontation with the EPS (https://elpais.com/america-colombia/2025-09-16/el-gobierno-de-petro-choca-con-la-contraloria-por-la-crisis-de-la-nueva-eps.html)
  • European Union
    • The EU is failing to solve the problem of chronic medicine shortages. The EU Court of Auditors warns that the European bloc “still lacks a well-oiled system to address serious medicine shortages.” Part of the cause lies in the vulnerabilities of the supply chain, due to the outsourcing of much of the production, especially of antibiotics and painkillers, to Asian countries. Another obstacle is the fragmentation of the EU single medicines market (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-09-17/la-ue-no-logra-resolver-su-problema-de-escasez-cronica-de-medicamentos.html?event_log=oklogin)
    • The WHO warns Europe about its dependence on foreign-trained doctors and nurses. Between 2014 and 2023, the number of foreign-trained doctors practicing in the European Region increased by 58%, while the number of nurses increased by 67%. (https://www.elconfidencial.com/salud/2025-09-17/dependencia-medicos-enfermeras-extranjeros_4210597/)

National Health Policy

  • Central Administration Initiatives
    • Pedro Sánchez brings waiting lists into the electoral debate, bringing it up in last Tuesday’s parliamentary debate, accusing the PP-run regions of having long waiting lists (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/parlamentarios/pedro-sanchez-pone-las-listas-de-espera-sanitarias-en-el-debate-electoral-5045)
    • Numerous legislative delays in the Ministry of Health, as in the entire government. Mónica García’s ministry has eight royal decrees pending, on topics as diverse as cannabis and subsidies for eyeglasses:
      • Royal Decree (RD) establishing the regulatory standards for the provision of visual aids to minors up to sixteen years of age.
      • Royal Decree establishing the conditions for the preparation and dispensing of master formulas based on standardized cannabis preparations
      • Royal Decree regulating the assessment of health technologies
      • Royal Decree regulating the selective financing procedure for medical devices charged to the pharmaceutical provision of the National Health System for non-hospitalized patients and determining the margins corresponding to their distribution and dispensing
      • Royal Decree regulating the direct granting of subsidies to public universities to finance the increase and maintenance of places for Medicine degrees in the 2025-2026 academic year
      • Royal Decree regulating medical devices for in vitro diagnostics
      • Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 579/2017, of June 9, regulating certain aspects related to the manufacture, presentation, and marketing of tobacco products and related products
      • Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 1277/2003, of October 10, establishing the general bases for the authorization of healthcare centers, services, and establishments.

Along with these initiatives, Mónica García has her bill on the universality of the National Health System, the bill on the prevention of underage drinking, and the bill on medicines and medical devices pending before the Health Committee of Congress. Regarding the latter, sources from the Ministry acknowledge that there are more doubts about whether it can be processed soon. (https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2025-09-21/sanchez-tapar-paralisis-legislativa-propaganda-ministerial_4212730/)

    • New Advanced Therapies Plan. An opportunity to extend a model, until now focused on CAR-T, which is now being expanded to include the set of advanced therapy medicines (ATM) (https://diariofarma.com/2025/09/16/el-nuevo-plan-de-terapias-avanzadas-abre-un-horizonte-de-oportunidades-y-retos). Access the Plan: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/ca/areas/farmacia/infoMedicamentos/terapiasAvanzadas/docs/AFTerapiasAvan2025.pdf
    • The Ministry says it has already finalized the Royal Decree on Health Technology Assessment (https://diariofarma.com/2025/09/18/sanidad-asegura-que-tiene-ya-ultimado-el-rd-de-evaluacion-de-tecnologias-sanitarias)
    • The Ministry is making progress on the State Plan for health crises (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/sanidad-avanza-plan-estatal-afrontar-futuras-crisis-sanitarias.html)
    • The Ministry expects to approve the AI ​​Strategy in the NHS “soon” (https://www.consalud.es/politica/ministerio-sanidad/sanidad-espera-aprobar-proximamente-la-estrategia-de-ia-en-el-sistema-nacional-de-salud.html)
    • The Ministry of Health hopes to reinstate plain tobacco packaging during the legislative process (https://cincodias.elpais.com/legal/2025-09-19/sanidad-recuperara-el-empaquetado-neutro-del-tabaco-en-el-tramite-legislativo-asi-es-la-guerra-entre-la-industria-y-las-organizaciones-sanitarias.html)
    • The race for the headquarters of the State Public Health Agency is in its final sprint. Zaragoza, Barcelona, ​​Granada, Oviedo, León, and Lugo can all apply for the selection process, which is apparently about to begin. (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/bisturi/la-carrera-de-la-agencia-de-salud-publica-encara-su-sprint-final-4792)
  • Initiatives from the Autonomous Communities
    • The measures proposed by the Basque Health Pact for Primary Care. Changes are planned in the governance and comprehensive care model, incorporating new professional profiles (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/medidas-pacto-salud-vasco-atencion-primaria/#:~:text=El%20Pacto%20plantea%20garantizar%20una,las%20áreas%20rurales%20y%20vulnerables.)
    • Madrid aims to promote pharmaceutical innovation, in collaboration with Farmaindustria. The aim is to strengthen the region’s leadership in biopharmaceutical innovation and boost both employment and investment (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/c-madrid/madrid-presenta-una-estrategia-pionera-para-consolidarse-como-referente-mundial-en-innovacion-biofarmaceutica.html).
    • The Asturian Ministry of Health is preparing to merge the departments (https://www.elcomercio.es/asturias/salud-prepara-gran-cambio-estructura-directiva-ante-20250919225400-nt.html)
    • Catalonia is moving toward a more efficient laboratory network (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/analisis-clinicos/cataluna-avanza-red-laboratorios-mas-eficiente.html)
  • Health Insurance
    • Spain offers health insurance that is 79% cheaper than Europe, threatening its viability. Premiums are well below those of Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland, which is considered a threat to its sustainability, according to ASPE. It seems that the sector has opted more for quantity than quality (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-09-17/espana-seguros-salud-baratos-europa-amenaza-viabilidad/). Access the document: https://www.aspesanidad.es/categorias-informes/catedra-ucm/
    • Spain, leader in company health insurance. 51% of policies are group policies, which are usually cheaper than individual policies (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-09-21/espana-liderseguros-salud-empresa-51-polizas-colectivas/)
  • Workplace absenteeism in the Spanish healthcare system
    • Workplace absenteeism in the Spanish healthcare system is more than four percentage points above the national average. 10.3% of healthcare professionals do not go to work every day, according to the Randstad Research report (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250917/absentismo-laboral-sanidad-espanola-puntos-encima-media-nacional/1003743928816_0.html#:~:text=Aunque%20no%20es%20nada%20nuevo,encima%20de%20la%20media%20nacional.)

Companies

  • International
    • Swiss company Roche reaches a $3.5 billion deal to acquire American drugmaker 89bio (https://www.ft.com/content/bdcd53d5-047b-48a8-94c6-2c2311a1453a)
    • Apple enters the patient monitoring market, which will reach $11.5 billion by 2033. The FDA has authorized Apple for hypertension monitoring. The company intends to implement this feature in more than 150 countries. However, it will not currently be available in Europe. This is because the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has not yet authorized this feature on Apple smartwatches. (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250919/apple-entra-mercado-monitorizacion-pacientes-alcanzara-millones/1003743930629_0.html#:~:text=De%20esta%20manera%2C%20Apple%20entra,de%20hipertensión%20de%20forma%20remota.)
    • Trump’s drug tariffs bear new fruit: GSK and Lilly will invest 29.532 billion in the USA (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250917/aranceles-trump-medicamentos-dan-nuevos-frutos-gsk-lilly-invertiran-millones-eeuu/1003743929464_0.html)
    • Biogen presents the first approved treatment in decades for a genetic form of ALS (https://www.consalud.es/industria/biogen-presenta-tofersen-el-primer-tratamiento-aprobado-en-decadas-para-un-forma-genetica-de-ela.html)
    • Novo Nordisk flexes its muscles against Lilly with a clinical trial in the midst of its search for a new weight-loss drug (https://www.eleconomista.es/mercados-cotizaciones/noticias/13548247/09/25/novo-nordisk-saca-musculo-frente-a-eli-lilly-con-un-ensayo-clinico-en-plena-busqueda-de-un-nuevo-farmaco-adelgazante.html)
    • Orforglipron, Lilly’s weapon to beat Novo Nordisk and its Ozempic pill on the stock market (https://cincodias.elpais.com/mercados-financieros/2025-09-19/orforglipron-el-arma-de-eli-lilly-para-batir-en-bolsa-a-novo-nordisk-y-su-ozempic-en-pildora.html)
  • National
    • The new Vithas hospital in Barcelona will have 160 rooms and 14 operating rooms and 1,800 professionals. It is located in the municipality of Esplugues de Llobregat (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/nacional/vithas-inaugura-en-barcelona-su-hospital-mas-grande-160-camas-14-quirofanos-y-1800-profesionales.html)
    • Olympia Centro Médico Pozuelo, owned by Quirón, offers 27 specialties (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/nacional/abre-sus-puertas-el-olympia-centro-medico-pozuelo.html)
    • HIPRA inaugurates its new campus in Girona with a planned investment of 500 million euros (https://elglobalfarma.com/industria/hipra-inaugura-campus-girona-inversion-500-millones-reforzar-autonomia-estrategica/)
    • New Zealand commissions ACS to build its largest hospital. New Zealand’s coalition government has approved the construction of Dunedin’s new hospital, with a budget of 900 million euros (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/09/20/68cd9117e5fdeaeb3c8b45c6.html)