Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

• Biomedicine: An experimental gene therapy cures bubble boy syndrome.
• Global health: The WHO warns of an increase in bacterial resistance.
• International health policy: Health Affairs publishes a report on the impact of Trump’s executive orders on drug prices.
• National health policy: The government wants to accelerate constitutional reform to protect abortion.
• Business: Spain faces the challenge of becoming a global hub for drug production and exports.

Biomedicine

• An experimental gene therapy cures bubble boy syndrome. A major advance, since until now these children had to remain completely isolated due to a lack of healthy white blood cells to fight infections.
• From analog mammography to AI: this is how breast cancer screening has evolved. Breast cancer detection is moving toward more personalized screenings, which integrate breast density and advanced imaging for early diagnosis.

Global Health

• The WHO warns of an increase in bacterial resistance, as one in six bacterial infections are resistant to common antibiotics.
• Health progress in a post-COVID world. COVID went from being the leading cause of death in 2021 to the 20th in 2023. The good news is that global health has improved. These findings and others are presented in three articles in The Lancet.
• The specter of malnutrition returns and must be followed. No one should be hungry in the 21st century, but the truth is, according to the article published in Nature, malnutrition is on the rise.

International Health Policy

• Health Affairs publishes a paper on the impact of Trump’s executive orders on drug prices. The article carefully analyzes the content of Trump’s two executive orders on the topic. There is no doubt that lowering drug prices in the US is a true obsession for the president. Some of the provisions are based on regulations already implemented by the Biden Administration.
• The worrying state of NHS facilities. A report on the state of NHS buildings and facilities is published annually. The latest report presents a very negative outcome.
• Europe is running out of drugs: why there is a shortage of paracetamol in France, amoxicillin in Bulgaria, and antidepressants in Spain. Critical drug shortages have become a frequent threat to public health in the European Union, according to a new report by the European Court of Auditors.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• The government wants to accelerate constitutional reform to protect abortion. It intends to add an addition to Article 43.3 to guarantee the right to abortion. There is no doubt that this is an attempt to regain the female vote and engage in political confrontation with the opposition, since abortion in Spain, under current practice, is not a problem. Even the much-touted claim that few abortions are performed in public centers is not a problem, as long as health standards are met. Privacy and comfort are surely more assured in private centers.
• Four days of strikes in the Health Department: unions are raising the bar in their demands to achieve their own Statute. CESM and SMA are expanding their schedule of mobilizations against the draft and calling for new demonstrations, along with four consecutive days of strikes. The Ministry has gotten itself into serious trouble with the attempt to reform the Framework Statute. Although this Statute needs reform, if the proposals are those of the Ministry, it is better to leave it as it is.
• Andalusia hires more than 700 professionals for screening. It is opting for self-contracting with incentives for the activity. There is no doubt that political fear is at the root of this massive hiring of professionals and the commitment to self-contracting, to avoid accusations that the Andalusian government is “privatizing” if it resorts to contracting with the private sector. All of this without prejudice to the fact that the issue is serious and deserves the utmost attention, as the Andalusian government is doing.

Companies

• International
  • Novo Nordisk may have won the lottery if it is confirmed that obesity drugs can also treat Alzheimer’s. The trials are already in Phase 3 and will be presented shortly.

• National
  • Spain faces the challenge of becoming a global hub for drug production and export. Farmaindustria sees this as an opportunity and proposes seven measures to accelerate production and innovation. A very important issue. Not everything will be tourism in economic development.

Biomedicine

• Scientists from Cambridge (United Kingdom) are developing laboratory embryo models that produce blood cells or “hematoids.” They have used stem cells to produce a new embryo model and structures similar to blood cells. This is not a viable embryo, as it lacks several structures. “The possibility of producing human blood cells in the laboratory marks a step toward future regenerative therapies,” says one of the authors (https://www.elconfidencial.com/salud/2025-10-13/logran-fabricar-sangre-humana-en-un-laboratorio_4227317/). Access the original article published in Cell Reports: https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(25)01144-1?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2211124725011441%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
• An experimental gene therapy cures bubble boy syndrome. A major advance, since until now these children had to remain completely isolated due to a lack of healthy white blood cells to fight infections (https://www.expansion.com/directivos/estilo-vida/salud/2025/10/15/68ef728a468aeb39738b457a.html). Original article in the NEJM: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2502754
• From analog mammography to AI: how breast cancer screening has evolved. Breast cancer detection is moving toward more personalized screenings, integrating breast density and advanced imaging for early diagnosis (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicinaa/oncologia/mamografo-analogico-ia-asi-evolucionado-cribado-cancer-mama.html)

Global Health

• The WHO warns of an increase in bacterial resistance, as one in six bacterial infections are resistant to common antibiotics. (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/13/health/who-antibiotic-drug-resistance.html)
• Health progress in a post-COVID world. COVID-19 went from being the leading cause of death in 2021 to the 20th in 2023. The good news is that global health has improved. These findings and others are presented in three articles in The Lancet (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01947-6/fulltext).
• The specter of malnutrition returns and must be followed. No one should be hungry in the 21st century, but the truth is that, according to the article published in Nature, malnutrition is on the rise (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03305-z).
• The withdrawal of American aid is devastating Somali healthcare. The situation described in the NYT article was not seen six months ago (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/health/somalia-children-malnutrition-usaid.html)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • Health Affairs publishes an article on the impact of Trump’s executive orders on drug prices. The article carefully analyzes the content of Trump’s two executive orders on the topic. There is no doubt that lowering drug prices in the US is a real obsession for the president. Some of the provisions are based on regulations already implemented by the Biden Administration (https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20251003.79577/full/)
  • Trump calls for an agreement to lower in vitro fertilization (IVF) prices. He aims to lower the price of a standard cycle by 73%. The first agreement was with Serono, owned by Merck (https://www.ft.com/content/a6247824-4957-4804-93d7-634ea7e1530d)
  • Higher Obamacare prices made public in twelve states. Consumers will face higher prices for ACA coverage in 2026, while Congress discusses subsidies to maintain coverage (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/17/health/aca-health-insurance-costs.html)
  • Home hospital care, collateral damage of the US federal government shutdown. The budget disruption is forcing many hospitals to eliminate this home coverage, which is helpful for many patients (https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/14/hospital-at-home-program-collateral-damage-of-the-shutdown-00602997)
  • Novo Nordisk is bowing to Trump, lowering the price of Ozempic. The Danish group cut the price in half for people without insurance coverage, from a previous price of $499 at the beginning of the year (https://www.ft.com/content/ff2ca783-fbf8-4cae-8be3-53a4a91200b8)
  • The US is heavily dependent on China for raw materials for medicines. A new analysis shows that nearly 700 drugs approved for use in the US depend on raw materials produced only in China (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/health/us-drugs-china-production.html). Access the original document: https://qualitymatters.usp.org/concentrated-origins-widespread-risk-new-usp-insights-key-starting-materials

• United Kingdom
  • The worrying state of NHS facilities. A report is published annually on the state of NHS buildings and facilities, the results of which are very worrying (https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/blogs/deteriorating-nhs-estate-feature-national-policy)
  • Experts call for the elimination of cigarette filters to protect health and the environment. The argument is that filters do not reduce exposure to the toxic substance and contribute to the plastic waste crisis (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/oct/16/experts-urge-uk-to-ban-cigarette-filters-to-protect-health-and-environment)

• France
  • The government proposes to revive the debate on the end of life, following the budget debate. The idea is for this issue to be resolved before the 2027 presidential elections (https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2025/10/18/fin-de-vie-le-gouvernement-propose-au-senat-d-examiner-les-deux-textes-apres-le-projet-de-budget_6648043_823448.html)

• WHO
  • A new report highlights the WHO’s roadmap for preparing for a future pandemic. The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board (GPMB) published its new 2025 report. It warns that the world is still not prepared for the next pandemic and emphasizes primary care, monitoring, and global cooperation (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/informe-revela-hoja-ruta-oms-futura-pandemia/).

• European Union
  • Europe is running out of drugs: why there is a shortage of paracetamol in France, amoxicillin in Bulgaria, and antidepressants in Spain. Critical drug shortages have become a frequent threat to public health in the European Union, according to a new report from the European Court of Auditors (https://www.elconfidencial.com/salud/2025-10-15/europa-se-queda-sin-farmacos-paracetamol-francia-espana-medicinas_4228586/).
  • Europe is driving health innovation with artificial intelligence and two new strategies. A strategy for the application of AI in key sectors and another for its application in Science (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/pacientes-avances/inteligencia-artificial-y-salud-europa-refuerza-su-apuesta-la-innovacion-con-dos-nuevas-estrategias.html)
  • The European Union is intensifying its strategy against cancer with key goals for 2040, which will be made public at the meeting in Copenhagen in December (https://www.consalud.es/politica/la-union-europea-refuerza-su-lucha-contra-el-cancer-nuevos-pasos-y-previsiones-para-2040.html)

National Health Policy

• General Policy related to Health
  • The government wants to accelerate constitutional reform to protect abortion. It intends to add to Article 43.3 to guarantee the right to abortion (https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/gobierno-quiere-blindar-aborto-constitucion-reforma-no-implique-disolucion-cortes_1_12679524.html)
  • Legal experts warn that the government’s proposed reform reduces abortion protections. They understand that the reform adds no advantages over the rulings of the Constitutional Court and could even place abortion in a constitutional area with lesser protection (https://www.elconfidencial.com/espana/2025-10-15/juristas-avisan-reforma-aborto-rebaja-proteccion_4228158/)

• Central Administration Initiatives
  • The Ministry of Health admits the blocking of the specialty of Infectious Diseases after two years of procedures. The problem is the rejection of Internal Medicine specialists and the division between the regional governments (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-10-16/sanidad-admite-el-bloqueo-de-enfermedades-infecciosas-tras-dos-anos-de-tramites-en-un-tema-tan-relevante-deberiamos-llegar-a-un-consenso.html)
  • The Ministry of Health lowers the price of 17,385 medications to save more than €287 million. This is done in the new reference price order (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20251013/sanidad-baja-precio-medicamentos-ahorrar-millones-euros/1003743966666_0.html)

• Autonomous community initiatives
  • Fewer excellent doctors are choosing to do their residencies in Catalan hospitals since the October 1 referendum. It seems that political polarization is affecting some regions more in terms of talent distribution (https://www.elmundo.es/espana/2025/10/13/68eb8b54fdddff18528b458c.html)
  • The Basque Country is intensifying tensions with the government to achieve greater healthcare autonomy. The Basque Country is reporting economic and regulatory grievances, the resolution of which makes its participation in the Interterritorial Council contingent (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/pais-vasco/el-pais-vasco-acentua-sus-desencuentros-con-el-ejecutivo-en-busca-de-mas-autogobino-sanitario.html)
  • Prevention, early detection, and equitable, personalized, and ongoing care, the pillars of the Basque Country’s oncology plan. The plan was presented and is stated to be aligned with Europe and the Basque Health Pact (https://gacetamedica.com/politica/plan-oncologico-euskadi/). Access the original text of the Plan: https://www.euskadi.eus/contenidos/informacion/plan_oncologico_2025_30/es_def/adjuntos/Plan-Oncologico-2025-2030.pdf
  • Catalonia sets 7 innovation priorities to transform its healthcare. 288 unresolved needs and challenges were identified, which were considered improvable through innovation processes, 169 of which were from citizens and 119 from healthcare professionals (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/cataluna/cataluna-fija-siete-prioridades-de-innovacion-para-transformar-su-sanidad-6832)
  • Catalonia requests a quota in Medicine due to the exodus of foreign doctors. The initiative comes from the president of the Barcelona Medical Association (https://www.consalud.es/formacion/cataluna-pide-un-cupo-autonomico-de-plazas-de-medicina-el-40-son-de-fuera-y-luego-no-se-quedan.html)
  • The Aragon Data Office unifies healthcare and research data for a single governance framework (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/aragon/oficina-del-dato-en-aragon-unifica-los-datos-asistenciales-e-investigadores-bajo-una-misma-gobernanza.html)

• Framework Statute: new medical strike
  • Four days of strikes in the Healthcare sector: unions raise the bar in their demands to achieve their own Statute. CESM and SMA expand their schedule of mobilizations against the draft and call for new demonstrations, along with four consecutive days of strikes (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/10/16/68f0d835e4d4d87b378b45d9.html)

• Controversy over abortions
  • Abortion intensifies the decisive battle for women’s suffrage. All of this is part of the recovery of the female vote (https://elpais.com/espana/2025-10-19/el-aborto-recrudece-la-decisiva-batalla-por-el-voto-de-las-mujeres.html)
  • Ayuso against the “blacklists” of doctors, citing constitutional rights and international treaties (https://www.larazon.es/salud/ayuso-listas-negras-medicos_2025101968f42a0ddc27b32ca38bc8cd.html)

• The controversy over breast cancer screening in Andalusia
  • The cancer screening crisis has sparked controversy among radiologists, who point out that there are 20% fewer specialists in Spain than in Europe. In recent years, the involvement of these specialists in oncological diagnoses has increased (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20251014/crisis-cribados-cancer-levanta-radiologos-espana-especialistas-europa/1003743966866_0.html)
  • Andalusia hires more than 700 professionals for screening. Support for drive-through concerts with incentives for the activity (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/andalucia/sanz-debuta-como-consejero-con-mas-de-700-contrataciones-para-los-cribados-2863)

• Public/private collaboration
  • Public/private healthcare collaboration has decreased by 13% in 10 years. According to ASPE, greater investment in this area would have allowed for a better approach to waiting lists (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/privada/la-colaboracion-sanitaria-publico-privada-pierde-9-300-millones-en-10-anos-8948)

• Number of places in nursing homes
  • Spain is losing nursing home places; in 2023, it lost 3,263 places, according to a report by the IDIS Foundation (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20251016/espana-perdio-plazas-residencias-mayores/1003743970232_0.html)

Companies

• International
  • Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” model is shaking up global pharmaceutical prices and R&D. This strategy seeks to reduce drug prices in the US to the lowest prices in OECD countries. It also seeks to force domestic production while reducing research funding (https://www.consalud.es/industria/el-modelo-most-favored-nation-de-trump-amenaza-con-desestabilizar-los-precios-y-el-i-d-farmaceutico-global.html)
  • The WHO and the World Bank launch a coalition to boost investments in global health. This initiative is not a funding mechanism, but rather a group formed by these institutions, ministers, companies, and other stakeholders, with the aim of coordinating actions (https://www.consalud.es/politica/la-oms-y-el-banco-mundial-ponen-en-marcha-una-coalicion-de-lideres-para-promover-inversiones-en-sistemas-sanitarios.html)
  • J&J sued for £1 billion over talc complaints (https://www.ft.com/content/46a20912-6f84-48f2-b232-8b0a95882bcf)
  • Novo Nordisk may have won the lottery if it is confirmed that obesity drugs can also treat Alzheimer’s. The trials are already in Phase 3 and will be presented shortly (https://www.ft.com/content/87a8d95b-4c86-42f7-831e-8da7b8c2c9f6)
  • KKR reduces losses in its assisted reproduction business by €100 million and forecasts profits in 2025 (https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2025-10-14/kkr-reduce-perdidas-negocio-reproduccion-asistida_4225830/)
  • Chinese obesity therapies are attracting interest in the sector: the agreements will generate €11.15 billion in 2025 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20251017/terapias-chinas-frente-obesidad-acaparan-interes-sector-acuerdos-moveran-millones/1003743971870_0.html)
  • Asian investors want to be part of the game: their interest in the European healthcare sector is increasing (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20251012/inversores-asiaticos-quieren-parte-tablero-juego-aumenta-interes-sector-sanitario-europeo/1003743962424_0.html)

• National
  • 89% of national pharmaceutical production is sold in foreign markets. The pharmaceutical industry has become the fifth largest exporter in the country (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-10-13/produccion-nacional-farmacos-vende-mercados-exteriores/)
  • Spain, facing the challenge of becoming a global hub for pharmaceutical production. Farmaindustria sees this as an opportunity and proposes seven measures to accelerate production and innovation (https://diariofarma.com/2025/10/14/espana-ante-el-reto-de-convertirse-en-un-hub-mundial-de-produccion-de-farmacos)
  • Gedeon Richter will expand its portfolio in Spain with four therapies over the next year (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13597397/10/25/gedeon-richter-ampliara-con-cuatro-terapias-su-cartera-en-espana-durante-el-proximo-ano.html)
  • Magnum Capital is finalizing the acquisition of the Pedro Jaén clinics, the most prestigious group of dermatology clinics in Spain. (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2025/10/13/68ec10d2468aeb353d8b4577.html)
  • Novo Nordisk increases its revenue by 33% in Spain thanks to its drugs for obesity and diabetes (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-10-16/novo-nordisk-eleva-sus-ingresos-un-33-en-espana-por-sus-medicamentos-contra-la-obesidad-y-diabetes.html)
  • Rovi will be responsible for the production of Novo Nordisk’s drugs starting in 2026 (https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/noticias/13589628/10/25/rovi-se-encargara-de-la-produccion-de-farmacos-de-novo-nordisk-desde-2026.html)

This post is also available in: Spanish