Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

• Biomedicine: Mitochondrial transplants could cure diseases and prolong life.
• Global health: The need to reduce mortality from postpartum hemorrhage.
• International health policy: Trump’s executive order on tariffs. According to Section 3 (Implementation), b 4, medications (but not medical technologies) are excluded from the tariff.
• National health policy. The Ministry and communities reach an agreement on the 2025-2027 Mental Health Plan, which includes $39 million in funding with eight strategic lines.
• Companies: Keytruda, the drug that bills as much as Zara.

Biomedicine

• Mitochondrial transplants could cure diseases and prolong life. Although organ transplants are well known, transplants of cellular organelles, such as mitochondria, are much less so. James McCully of Harvard Medical School has published the results of premature infants who underwent this type of transplant, as their mitochondria were damaged. Other preliminary results have also been published. This approach is being tested for many other diseases, as well as as a way to prolong life.
• Vaccination against shingles may reduce the risk of dementia. A population-based study shows that the shingles vaccine reduces the chance of dementia by 20%.

Global Health

• Reduction in mortality from postpartum hemorrhage. Globally, there are more than 300,000 deaths among women due to pregnancy and childbirth. Bleeding due to postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of death, with 70,000 deaths each year, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This is an event that can be prevented with early diagnosis.

International Health Policy

• Medicines excluded from Trump’s tariffs. Trump’s trade war threatens to disrupt global distribution chains for medicines and healthcare products. We have already experienced the consequences of supply chain disruption during COVID-19, with limitations on obtaining protective equipment, vaccines, and medications. Many of the medications, drug ingredients, and medical devices used in the US are imported, mainly from China and India. Europe calls the tariff increase “chaos” and warns that it will “make medicines more expensive.”
• More Americans cannot afford healthcare, according to Gallup. Eleven percent of the population cannot afford access to medicines and healthcare.
• Only one in five UK citizens (21%) is satisfied with NHS services, according to a joint study by the King’s Fund and the Nuffield Trust.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• The Ministry and regional governments reach an agreement on the 2025-2027 Mental Health Plan, which entails funding of 39 million euros. Eight strategic lines: 1. Strengthening human resources in mental health; 2. Community mental health; 3. A human rights-oriented model; 4. Rational use of psychotropic drugs and improved prescribing; 5. Addressing the most vulnerable contexts and groups; 6. Perinatal, childhood, and adolescent mental health; 7. Strengthening mental health information systems; 8. Mental health and work.
• The draft of Cantabria’s Digital Health Law will be ready this month. Guaranteed access to data is announced as the law’s central focus.
• Catalonia creates a 30 million euro fund to attract scientists who emigrate due to Trump. The strategy already has a name: it will be called Catalonia Talent Bridge and seeks to “offer opportunities to researchers whose academic freedom and professional future may be threatened in the United States.”
• Doctors are mobilizing against the government’s drafting of the Framework Statute. The points of contention: a specific statute for doctors, whether on-call work is paid as overtime, and issues related to public/private exclusivity.
• Silicosis is resurfacing strongly, increasing by more than 1,400% between 2015 and 2019. This is an incurable respiratory disease caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust. Although historically considered a disease of the past associated with mining, cases have increased in recent decades, affecting new industrial sectors such as the handling of quartz agglomerates used in kitchen and bathroom countertops.
• Comments on the AIREF report. The report goes from detecting certain problems to directly eliminating them, by not hiring new employees, based on the “uniformity” of the model and the precedents in certain countries.

Companies

• International
  • Keytruda, the drug that bills as much as Zara. It is a monoclonal antibody from MSD, which is used against 15 types of cancer.

• National
  • Brookfield resumes contact with Grifols to launch another takeover bid for 7 billion.

Biomedicine

• Mitochondrial transplants could cure diseases and prolong life. Although organ transplants are well known, transplants of cellular organelles, such as mitochondria, are much less so. James McCully of Harvard Medical School has published the results of premature infants who underwent this type of transplant, as their mitochondria were damaged. Other preliminary results have also been published. This approach is being tested for many other diseases, as well as as a way to prolong life (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/03/31/mitochondria-transplants-could-cure-diseases-and-lengthen-lives)
• The harm of smartphones and social media. The Netflix series “Adolescence” has been widely disseminated. Many of us viewed smartphones and social media as forces for good. We believed the benefits outweighed the potential drawbacks. However, this access can cause harm, making mental illness more common in children and adolescents. Adults can control access, but children and adolescents are more exposed, with negative consequences (https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r658).
• Getting vaccinated against shingles may reduce the risk of dementia. A population study shows that the herpes vaccine reduces the risk of dementia by 20% (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-04-02/vacunarse-contra-el-herpes-zoster-podria-reducir-el-riesgo-de-sufrir-demencia.html). Access the original article in Nature: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08800-x
• A drug could revolutionize the treatment of cocaine addiction. It is a gene therapy developed by Novartis (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/farmaco-revolucionar-tratamiento-adiccion-cocaina-20250404102300-nt.html). Access the original article: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.adi4505
• The pacemaker of the future, as small as a grain of rice and activated by light (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/marcapasos-futuro-pequeno-grano-arroz-activado-luz-20250402170000-nt.html)

Global Health

• Reducing mortality from postpartum hemorrhage. Globally, there are more than 300,000 women who die from pregnancy and childbirth. Bleeding due to postpartum hemorrhage is the leading cause of death, accounting for 70,000 deaths each year, predominantly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This event can be prevented with early diagnosis (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00671-3/fulltext).

International Health Policy

• Trump’s trade war and its impact on healthcare
  • Trump’s executive order on tariffs. According to Section 3 (Implementation), b 4, medicines are excluded from the tariff (https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/04/regulating-imports-with-a-reciprocal-tariff-to-rectify-trade-practices-that-contribute-to-large-and-persistent-annual-united-states-goods-trade-deficits/)
  • Annex I of the executive order, which establishes tariffs for individual countries: European Union, 20%; Japan, 24%; China, 34%; etc. Russia, Cuba, and North Korea are not on the list (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Annex-I.pdf)
  • Trump’s trade war threatens to disrupt global supply chains for medicines and healthcare products. We have already experienced the consequences of supply chain disruption during COVID-19, with limitations on obtaining protective gear, vaccines, and medications. Many of the medications, drug ingredients, and medical devices used in the US are imported, primarily from China and India. Globalization has made China and India powerhouses in the production of APIs (raw materials for medicines) (https://www.bmj.com/content/389/bmj.r648)
  • For the industry, on edge due to Trump’s tariffs, the key lies in drug manufacturing. Although medicines and vaccines are explicitly excluded from the tariffs, it is unknown how this will impact other components necessary for drug manufacturing. Sources at Farmaindustria say that 24% of the inputs for drug production in Europe come from the USA (https://elglobalfarma.com/industria/la-industria-aranceles-trump-fabricacion-medicamentos/).
  • Europe describes the tariff increase as “chaos” and warns that it will “make medicines more expensive” (https://diariofarma.com/2025/04/03/europa-califica-de-caos-la-subida-arancelaria-y-advierte-que-encarecera-los-medicamentos).
  • FENIN requests that healthcare technologies be exempt from any tariffs. The announced tariffs could jeopardize patient access to healthcare technology. Medtech Europe and COCIR have also expressed their concern to the EU (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/fenin-pide-tecnologias-sanitarias-queden-exentas-arancel.html)

• USA
  • CDC cuts threaten US healthcare. The cuts will weaken the agency, which has been a model for the entire world (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/health/cdc-layoffs-kennedy.html)
  • FDA cuts threaten to raise drug costs and erode food safety. Initially, the cuts were intended to be administrative, but they also affect scientific staff (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/health/fda-layoffs-food-and-drug-safety-rfk-jr.html)
  • More Americans cannot afford healthcare, according to Gallup. 11% of the population cannot afford access to medications and healthcare (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/health/health-care-costs-gallup.html). Access the Gallup poll: https://news.gallup.com/poll/658148/inability-pay-care-medicine-hits-new-high.aspx

• UK and the National Health Service
  • King’s Fund comments on an NHS satisfaction survey: only 1 in 5 citizens (21%) say they are satisfied with the NHS: https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/insight-and-analysis/reports/public-satisfaction-nhs-social-care-in-2024-bsa, Nuffield Trust comments on the same survey: https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/research/public-satisfaction-with-the-NHS-and-social-care-in-2024-Results-from-the-British-Social-Attitudes-survey. Access to the original document: https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/2025-04/Public%20satisfaction%20with%20the%20NHS%20and%20social%20care%20in%202024_WEB%20%284%29.pdf

• OECD
  • OECD Diagnostic errors account for 17.5% of healthcare spending (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/sanidad-hoy/los-fallos-diagnosticos-suponen-un-17-5-del-gasto-sanitario-en-la-ocde-5009)

National Health Policy

• Central Administration Initiatives
  • The Ministry and the regional governments reach an agreement on the 2025-2027 Mental Health Plan, which entails funding of 39 million euros. Eight strategic lines: 1. Strengthening human resources in mental health; 2. Community mental health; 3. A human rights-oriented model; 4. Rational use of psychotropic drugs and improved prescribing; 5. Addressing the most vulnerable contexts and groups; 6. Perinatal, childhood, and adolescent mental health; 7. Strengthening mental health information systems; 8. Mental Health and Work (https://www.alimente.elconfidencial.com/bienestar/2025-04-04/aprueban-plan-salud-mental-sanidad-ccaa_4102136/)
  • The draft of the Medicines Law will go to the next Council of Ministers, then go to a public hearing, and is expected to reach Congress as a bill by the end of 2025 (https://diariofarma.com/2025/04/02/el-anteproyecto-de-ley-de-los-medicamentos-ira-al-proximo-consejo-de-ministros)
  • The government aims to turn Spain into a medicines hub through eight measures (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/hub-farmaceutico-gobierno-aemps-espana/)

• Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
  • The draft of the Digital Health Law Cantabria will be ready this month. Guaranteed access to data is announced as the cornerstone of the law (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/cantabria/anteproyecto-ley-salud-digital-cantabria-estara-listo-este-mismo-mes-abril_156580_102.html)
  • Galicia, the first region to purchase vaccines through risk-sharing agreements (https://diariofarma.com/2025/03/31/galicia-primera-comunidad-que-comprara-vacunas-con-de-acuerdos-de-riesgo-compartido)
  • The Community of Madrid will soon put out to tender the construction of the Ciudad de la Salud (Health City), comprising the La Paz Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine of the Autonomous University of Madrid. (https://www.eldebate.com/espana/madrid/20250403/madrid-licitara-proximamente-primeras-obras-ciudad-salud_285155.html)
  • Catalonia creates a 30 million fund to attract scientists who emigrate because of Trump. The strategy already has a name: it will be called Catalonia Talent Bridge and seeks to “offer opportunities to research staff whose academic freedom and professional future in the United States may be threatened” (https://www.expansion.com/catalunya/2025/03/31/67ea8400468aebc4488b4584.html)
  • Andalusians take to the streets for the sixth time over the deterioration of public healthcare under the Moreno government (https://elpais.com/espana/andalucia/2025-04-05/los-andaluces-salen-a-la-calle-por-sexta-vez-contra-el-deterioro-de-la-sanidad-pubica-por-el-gobierno-de-moreno.html)

• Problems with the Framework Statute and, specifically, with the inclusion of doctors continue
  • Doctors mobilize against the drafting of the Framework Statute The government is planning. The issues of contention: a specific statute for doctors, the requirement that on-call work be paid as overtime, and issues related to public/private exclusivity (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-04-05/los-medicos-se-movilizan-contra-la-reforma-de-su-estatuto-que-planea-el-gobino-la-indignacion-es-enorme.html)

• Silicosis
  • Silicosis is making a strong comeback, having increased by more than 1,400% between 2015 and 2019. This is an incurable respiratory disease caused by the inhalation of crystalline silica dust. Although historically considered a disease of the past associated with mining, cases have increased in recent decades, affecting new industrial sectors such as the handling of quartz agglomerates used in kitchen and bathroom countertops (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/04/03/67ee460ffdddff875f8b45a5.html). Ministry of Health report on the topic: https://www.sanidad.gob.es/fr/areas/saludLaboral/enfermedadesProf/docs/REMERGENCIA_SILICOSIS._Accesible.pdf

• MUFACE
  • Comments on the AIREF report. The report goes from detecting certain problems to outright discontinuation, by not hiring new employees, based on the “uniformity” of the model and the precedents in certain countries (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-04-04/las-seis-incognitas-sobre-muface-que-se-han-desvelado-despues-de-renovarse-el-convenio.html)
  • Private hospitals are threatening to abandon MUFACE due to low insurance rates. ASPE urges the government to intervene (https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sanidad/20250401/muface-hospitales-privados-barajan-abandonar-bajas-tarifas-nuevo-concierto-115923543)
  • MUFACE awards the agreement to Adeslas and Asisa, which is expected to be signed by the end of April (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-04-03/muface-adeslas-asisa-concierto-sanitario/)

Companies

• International News
  • Biotech M&A expected to return (https://www.ft.com/content/a4cad400-ae56-434a-94bd-080152263d90)
  • BectonDickinson in talks to divest from health sciences (https://www.ft.com/content/a5a94445-9185-4c26-be6a-ae3303838d81)
  • Drug discovery company Isomorphic Labs, a spin-off of Google’s DeepMind, raises $600 million (https://www.ft.com/content/14d93672-dce7-482d-9b32-fa3553b37273)
  • Keytruda, the drug with the same revenue as Zara. It is a monoclonal antibody from Merck, which is used against 15 types of cancer (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-04-02/keytruda-el-medicamento-que-factura-tanto-como-zara-y-genera-debate-sobre-la-duracion-de-las-patentes.html)

• National
  • Brookfield resumes contacts with Grifols to launch another takeover bid for 7 billion (https://www.elconfidencial.com/empresas/2025-04-02/brookfield-retoma-contactos-grifols-opa_4099616/)

Summary

The week’s most impactful health news stories were:

• Biomedicine: How to improve humans, an activity that should not be left to eccentrics.
• Global Health: A story of “geopolitical vandalism,” the freezing of USAID activities.
• International Health Policy: American universities warn of the danger to innovation in the US as a result of cuts.
• National Health Policy: The State Public Health Agency rejected by Congress.
• Business: Microsoft continues its efforts to have AI simulate brain reasoning.

Biomedicine

• How to improve humans. Finding ways to live longer should not be left to eccentrics. The idea that medicine should be involved in improving the body, not just curing diseases, is gaining ground. This requires regulatory changes to guide clinical trials in this direction.
• Do viruses trigger Alzheimer’s? Until now, it was believed that Alzheimer’s was caused by amyloid plaques in the brain. But several studies are demonstrating a possible relationship between Alzheimer’s and the herpes virus. The viral theory offers promise for treatment.
• Psychotropic drugs: 50 years of stagnation? While treatments for cancer and heart disease have advanced, psychiatry continues to use, with some variations, the same mechanisms of action discovered more than half a century ago with antipsychotics and antidepressants.

Global Healthecare

• The closure of USAID: “political vandalism.” After USAID, what will happen in Africa? The closure of this agency means the end of 90% of the 6,300 projects and can be considered a form of “geopolitical vandalism,” since the decision was made overnight and without consultation with African governments, non-governmental organizations, or the millions of people who depend on USAID. This forces Africa to take the lead in public health actions.
• Malaria mapping: progress and challenges. The recent WHO annual report on malaria estimates that there were 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths from malaria in 2023. Cases have increased by 11 million compared to 2022, but deaths have stabilized. Ninety-five percent of deaths occurred in the African region, and three-quarters of them were in children. The recent Global Burden of Malaria study analyzes the period from 2000 to 2022 and presents high-resolution maps on the evolution of malaria. Malaria remains a serious public health problem and is a preventable and avoidable morbidity and mortality issue.

International Health Policy

• Universities warn of the danger to innovation in the US as a result of cuts.. This threatens one of the US’s clearest competitive advantages: with 4% of the population, it has 25% of the world’s GDP and 62% of the most prestigious universities according to recognized rankings.
• Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE reform of the Veterans Administration have thrown the mental health system into chaos. A disastrous restructuring threatens to degrade services for veterans of wars such as Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
• Starmer unveils drastic cuts to benefits for the disabled, despite opposition from the Labour Party itself and economists. The measures could affect people who need help with personal hygiene, meal preparation, or who have forgotten how to use the toilet. The government doesn’t link this to the economic crisis, but rather says it’s a “moral obligation” to tweak these benefits.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• Congress rejects the State Agency for Public Health. Although the corresponding complaints and calls for responsibility have been heard in recent days, there are objective reasons that must be analyzed for the rejection of this law: the government’s lack of a stable parliamentary majority; the reluctance of the pro-independence parties, always opposed to a state structure of this nature; Minister Garcia’s regrettable and incendiary speech and the lack of trust in the government regarding respect for independent bodies. The minister’s actions with the former spokesperson during COVID, Fernando Simón, didn’t help either. Nothing irreparable, but the fact that five years after COVID and following the recommendations of the Opinion of the Commission for Social and Economic Reconstruction, we don’t have a prestigious and independent State Public Health Agency is a serious failure of the government.
• Catalonia: 27 primary care teams will be “Comprehensive Reference Health Centers” and will have greater autonomy and management capacity. These centers will be launched as a pilot project and participation will be voluntary.
• Catalonia plans its Secondary Data Access Office.

Companies

• International
  • Microsoft continues its efforts to enable AI to simulate brain reasoning, partnering with a Swiss startup with experience in research.

• National
  • Investment in nursing homes is increasing, reaching 317 million in 2024 and expected to exceed this figure in 2025.

Biomedicine

• How to enhance humans. Finding ways to live longer should not be left to the eccentric. The idea that medicine should be involved in improving the body, not just curing diseases, is gaining ground. This requires regulatory changes to guide clinical trials in this direction. https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/03/20/how-to-enhance-humans
• Do viruses trigger Alzheimer’s? Until now, it was believed that Alzheimer’s was caused by amyloid plaques in the brain. But several studies are demonstrating a possible relationship between Alzheimer’s and the herpes virus. Viral theory offers promise for treatment https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/03/17/do-viruses-trigger-alzheimers
• Vaccines save lives. Leaders must protect them. Measles had been declared extinct by the WHO in 82 countries. Now it is making a comeback and is on the rise worldwide. In 2023, 57 countries experienced outbreaks, coinciding with a decline in vaccination. These are why Robert J. Kennedy Jr.’s misleading messages are serious when he recommends cod liver oil or vitamin A as useful supplements to treat the disease, while hindering vaccine research. https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00789-7
• Type 2 diabetes increases the risk of liver and pancreatic cancer. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/22/type-2-diabetes-increases-risk-of-liver-and-pancreatic-cancers-study-shows
• Dementia may not have always been the great threat it is today. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/health/dementia-rates-elderly.html
• The polypill is back: could everyone over 50 be given a pill to prevent cardiovascular disease? Some recommend it for those over 50, saying it would save many lives and would be similar to vaccination, others are more skeptical https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-03-18/vuelve-la-polipildora-se-podria-dar-una-pastilla-a-todos-los-mayores-de-50-anos-para-prevenir-las-enfermedades-cardiovasculares.html, Access the BMJ article: https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r208
• Psychotropic drugs: 50 years of stagnation? While treatments for cancer and heart disease have advanced, the same mechanisms of action discovered more than half a century ago with antipsychotics and antidepressants continue to be used in psychiatry, with some variations. https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-03-21/psicofarmacos-cincuenta-anos-de-estancamiento.html, Original article in The Lancet Psychiatry: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39952266/

Global Health

• Malaria mapping: progress and challenges. The recent WHO annual report on malaria estimates that there were 263 million cases and 597,000 deaths from malaria in 2023. Cases have increased by 11 million compared to 2022, but deaths have stabilized. Ninety-five percent of deaths were in the African region, and three-quarters were in children. The recent Global Burden of Malaria study analyzes the period from 2000 to 2022 and presents high-resolution maps of the evolution of malaria. Malaria remains a serious public health problem and is a preventable and avoidable morbidity and mortality issue. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00418-0/abstract?rss=yes. Access the base article: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00038-8/fulltext?rss=yes
• After USAID, what will happen in Africa? The closure of this agency means the end of 90% of the 6,300 projects and can be considered a form of “geopolitical vandalism,” since the decision was made overnight and without consultation with African governments, non-governmental organizations, or the millions of people who depend on USAID. This forces Africa to take the lead in public health actions https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r479
• COP 30: Brazilian policies must change. The 30th United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in the Brazilian Amazon in November 2025. A success of this policy would be to curb deforestation and reduce fossil fuel consumption. However, all of Brazil’s policies currently aim to increase consumption of these fuels https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adu9113
• The WHO warns that “measles is back,” as the virus spreads in Europe, America, and Afghanistan https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r528

International Health Policy

• USA
  • Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE are throwing the Veterans Administration’s mental health system into chaos. A disastrous restructuring threatens to degrade services for veterans of wars like Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/us/politics/veterans-affairs-mental-health-doge.html
  • Universities warn of the danger to innovation in the US as a result of the cuts. This threatens one of the USA’s clearest competitive advantages: with 4% of the population, it has 25% of the world’s GDP and 62% of the most prestigious universities, according to renowned rankings. https://www.ft.com/content/e5ae9e28-3823-4429-a144-af70c38f4bcb
  • How hospitals inflate the already gigantic American healthcare bill. Although drug spending and insurance companies are often blamed for the high cost of American healthcare, a third of total healthcare spending is on hospitals, which is three times as much as spending on drugs. Poorly designed incentives are at the root of this. Most hospitals charge on a fee-for-service basis, with opaque rates, and consolidation has made the situation worse. The presence of private equity firms as hospital owners is also seen as negative. There are signs that the Trump administration wants to address this problem: https://www.economist.com/business/2025/03/20/how-hospitals-inflate-americas-giant-health-care-bill
  • Five reasons why Republicans won’t cut Medicaid (too much): Medicaid is popular; it’s efficient; it improves health; it’s relatively cheap; and it helps all kinds of people https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/five-reasons-republicans-won-t-cut-medicaid-much

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • The closure of NHS England, which is met with great skepticism, despite acknowledging that the NHS needed reforms. Let’s see what the “10-year plan” holds, which will appear in May. Analysis by The Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00550-1/abstract?rss=yes; analysis by the BMJ: https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r555;
  • The NHS finally agrees to share primary care clinical data for research. Clinical information will be placed on an OpenSAFELY platform, allowing researchers to analyze the data without seeing any patient-identifying information. https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r501
  • Research reveals UK dependence on doctors from “red list” countries, as well as drug shortages. https://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/research-reveals-nhs-overreliance-on-doctors-from-red-list-countries-and-renewed-signs-of-widespread-medicines-shortages
  • Brexit is a major factor driving drug shortages in the UK, according to a report by the Nuffield Trust, with drugs for epilepsy and cystic fibrosis among them. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/22/brexit-key-factor-worst-uk-drug-shortages-in-four-years
  • Starmer unveils drastic cuts to disability benefits, despite opposition from the Labour Party itself and economists. The measures could affect people who need help with personal hygiene, meal preparation, or who forget how to use the toilet. The government doesn’t link this to the economic crisis, but says it’s a moral obligation to tweak these benefits https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/17/keir-starmer-to-unveil-drastic-disability-benefit-cuts-despite-opposition
  • Post-Brexit dependence on “red list” countries is unethical, according to the British health secretary. 9% of doctors working in the NHS are from “red list” countries (classified by the WHO as having a shortage of professionals, such as Nigeria, https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/mar/21/post-brexit-reliance-on-nhs-staff-from-red-list-countries-is-unethical-streeting-says

• France
  • Five years after Covid-19, teleworking has become a common practice; one in five private sector employees in France were using teleworking in 2024, https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2025/03/20/cinq-ans-apres-le-covid-19-campings-locations-de-maisons-et-toujours-plus-de-touristes-etrangers-le-nouveau-visage-du-tourisme_6583823_3234.html

• Greece
  • Quality and Patient Safety Plan, 2025-2030, https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/updates/hspm/greece-2017/national-strategy-for-quality-of-care-and-patient-safety-2025-2030

• European Union
  • Europe urges countries to increase coverage after measles outbreaks, https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/03/22/67dd9e54e9cf4ac9558b4586.html
  • Europe in the fight against cancer: encouraging signs, but disparities between countries persist, https://diariofarma.com/2025/03/19/europa-ante-el-cancer-indicios-alentadores-pero-persiste-la-disparidad-entre-paises
  • The EU law on critical medicines focuses on shortages of essential drugs, https://www.consalud.es/industria/ley-medicamentos-criticos-ue-se-centra-en-desabastecimiento-farmacos-esenciales_155985_102.html

National health policy

• Central administration
  • State Agency for Public Health: García’s intervention and the government’s weak parliamentary support led to the rejection of this initiative, https://diariofarma.com/2025/03/20/aesap-garcia’s-intervention-led-the-pp-to-reject-the-dictamen-que-aprobo-en-comision
  • The government is considering ways to bring the AESP back to Congress, https://www.consalud.es/politica/volvera-llevar-sanidad-agencia-estatal-salud-publica-congreso_156187_102.html
  • The Commonwealth law is still pending; the delay is due to the non-submission of the 2024 Budget Law, https://www.consalud.es/politica/ley-ela-sigue-pendiente-incapacidad-gobierno-sacar-adelante-presupuestos_156174_102.html

• Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
  • Catalonia: 27 Primary Care teams will be “Comprehensive Reference Health Centers,” with greater autonomy and management capacity. These centers will be launched as a pilot experience in voluntarily participating centers. https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/cataluna-27-equipos-ap-seran-centros-salud-integral-referencia.html
  • Catalonia: The government begins updating the Health Plan, https://diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/gobierno-catalan-inicia-actualizacion-plan-salud.html
  • Catalonia plans its Secondary Use Data Access Office, https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/cataluna-proyecta-oficina-acceso-datos-secundario.html
  • The SERMAS OPE (Service for the Promotion of Primary Care) will have a total of 6,757 places. https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/madrid/la-ope-2025-del-sermas-contara-con-6-757-plazas-en-total-2046

• Private healthcare
  • Doctors are satisfied with their experience in private practice. 69% of doctors and 55% of nurses in private healthcare have rated their experience working in these centers with more than seven out of ten points. https://www.abc.es/salud/mayoria-medicos-valoran-positivamente-experiencia-trabajo-sanidad-20250320163351-nt.html. Access the original document from the IDIS Foundation: https://www.medicosypacientes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Informe_EX_profesional_sanitario-c.pdf

• Sick Leave
  • Spending on sick leave grows by 186% in a dark decade for absenteeism. https://www.abc.es/economia/gasto-bajas-crece-186-decada-negra-absentismo-20250317182259-nt.html

Companies

• International News
  • Abu Dhabi seeks to turn its DNA gold mine into a big business, https://www.ft.com/content/8eb374aa-1777-4940-a383-36de8dac7fd7
  • AstraZeneca to invest $2.5 billion in China, https://www.ft.com/content/3f1a9c29-2f69-4490-94d1-a990605a7b41
  • Microsoft continues its efforts to use AI to simulate brain reasoning, partnering with a Swiss startup with experience in neuroscience research https://www.ft.com/content/37e44758-04a6-450b-abe3-f51f1d7d972a
  • Temasek and Warburg Pincus intend to offer $5 billion for the healthcare company GHX, https://www.ft.com/content/2adc0736-98cc-4017-a870-83bcd9be63ab
  • These are the 10 best-sellers that will lose their American patent in 2025, https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/son-10-farmacos-superventas-pierden-patente-estadounidense-2025.html
  • Pfizer sells its stake in Haleon and ceases to be its main shareholder, https://www.consalud.es/salud35/internacional/pfizer-vende-su-participacion-en-haleon-por-2974-millones-deja-ser-su-mayor-accionista_156056_102.html

• National
  • The nursing home business, investment reached 317 million in 2024 and is expected to exceed this figure in 2025, https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250317/negocio-residencias-mayores-inversion-alcanzo-millones-preve-superar-cifra/931156972_0.html
  • DKV prepares its new strategy after the exit of the MUFACE insurance, which means the loss of 200,000 policyholders https://www.expansion.com/empresas/seguros/2025/03/21/67dc8a62e5fdea3a7e8b4595.html
  • Reig Jofré will launch its first biosimilar within two years, https://www.eleconomista.es/salud-bienestar/medicamentos/noticias/13272294/03/25/ignasi-biosca-reig-jofre-nuestro-primer-medicamento-biosimilar-aterrizara-en-el-mercado-dentro-de-dos-anos.html

Summary

The most impactful news in health this week were:

• Biomedicine: A new form of inheritance unrelated to DNA has been discovered.
• Global health: USAID memos show the tremendous human costs of Trump’s cuts.
• International health policy: Merz will have to face an unfinished health agenda in Germany.
• National health policy. The Congressional Health Commission will debate the Law of the State Public Health Agency.
• Companies: Clearlake wants to buy ModernizingMedicine, a health software company.

Biomedicine

• A new form of inheritance unrelated to DNA has been discovered, a mechanism of inheritance is discovered that does not depend on any nucleic acid, but on amyloid proteins.
• New anti-obesity drugs arrive, which already surpass Ozempic. There are already nearly 100 new candidates in testing, which aim to grab a slice of the market that is expected to reach $100 billion by 2030.

Global Health

• USAID memos demonstrate the human costs of foreign aid cuts. According to this NYT article, there will be millions of malaria infections and 200,000 cases of polio. According to experts, the difference between Trump’s first term and this one is that in the first he had no team, while in this one he has a young team that wants to change the system from top to bottom, and do it in the cruelest way possible. The withdrawal of international health aid to poor countries overnight is unspeakable.
• Predictions of the obesity pandemic on the horizon of 2050: The obesity pandemic began before World War II and has not stopped growing since then. So far, efforts to lower the prevalence have been ineffective. Although the pandemic is blamed on sedentary lifestyle and diet, there are doubts about its causes.
• 25 million people will be living with Parkinson’s by 2050. Projections of Parkinson’s prevalence and its driving factors in 195 countries by 2050: ageing the main cause of this growth.

International health policy

• Merz’s health agenda in Germany. The likely new chancellor inherits a series of reforms that were started but not completed, including hospital reform, which sought to reduce the number of hospitals. The new coalition will also have to deal with the financial situation of the system.
• Measles in the USA. As measles continues to spread in Texas, it jumps to New Mexico. There are reports of 200 cases in one district of Texas and 21 in New Mexico.
• Problems with maternal health in the UK. Maternity services in the UK have been the source of repeated national scandals, with reports of serious negligence and preventable deaths, despite which the situation has not improved. It is argued that this problem should be addressed in the 10-year plan that is being prepared.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• State Public Health Agency. The Health Commission will debate the law for the creation of this Agency next Thursday. This is the previous step before it is voted on in the Plenary Session of Congress. The chances that with the current parliamentary majority a law with the criteria of the SESPAS will be approved are close to zero. If it is approved, it will be a bit watered down.
• Discussion of the Framework Statute. Some 16 medical organisations are grouping together to demand that the Health Department have its own Statute.

Companies

• International
  • Clearlake wants to buy a majority of ModernizingMedicine, a software company, for 5.3 billion dollars. o
  • Hikma is preparing to launch generic versions of its obesity drugs. Both Wegovy and Ozempic will be off patent in a year. Time is running out for drugs, even the most innovative ones.

• National
  • CIMA in Navarra, an R&D ally for big pharma, through the association with Pfizer, Roche or AstraZeneca, has generated six “spinoffs” to advance new treatments.

Biomedicine

• The future of digital health. Financial Times supplement: virtual hospitals, the digital future for healthcare professionals; AI for health insurers and other topics (https://www.ft.com/reports/future-digital-healthcare)
• Fourteen people regain their sight after an experimental cell therapy. A new stem cell therapy shows its safety (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/catorce-personas-recuperan-vista-tras-terapia-celular-20250304112516-nt.html)
• A new form of inheritance unrelated to DNA has been discovered, a mechanism of inheritance is discovered that does not depend on any nucleic acid, but on amyloid proteins (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-03-05/descubierta-una-nueva-forma-de-herencia-alejada-del-adn.html). Access to the original article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41556-024-01494-9/metrics
• New anti-obesity drugs are coming, which already surpass Ozempic. There are already almost 100 new candidates in testing, which aim to take a slice of the market that is expected to reach 100,000 million dollars in 2030 (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-03-07/llegan-los-nuevos-farmacos-antiobesidad-que-ya-superan-al-ozempic.html)

Global Health

• Predictions of the obesity pandemic on the horizon 2050: The obesity pandemic began before World War II and has not stopped growing since then. So far, efforts to reduce prevalence have been ineffective. Although the pandemic is blamed on sedentary lifestyle and diet, there are doubts about its causes (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00260-0/abstract). Access to the article in The Lancet on adults: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00355-1/fulltext Access to the article on children and young people: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00397-6/fulltext
• Projections of Parkinson’s prevalence and its drivers in 195 countries by 2050: 25 million people will be living with Parkinson’s by 2050, with ageing the main cause of this growth https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj-2024-080952
• USAID memos demonstrate human costs of foreign aid cuts. According to this NYT article, there will be millions of malaria infections and 200,000 cases of polio (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/02/health/usaid-cuts-deaths-infections.html)
• Trump’s measures are already being felt in Africa, with clinics being closed and there being a lack of HIV treatment. In countries like Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Kenya and Uganda, more than 60% of the AIDS response was financed through US funds. The way these funds were cut has been deliberately brutal (https://www.elespanol.com/mundo/africa/20250309/medidas-trump-notan-africa-cierran-clinicas-falta-tratamiento-vih/929907001_0.html)
• To what extent do US foreign aid cuts affect disease outbreaks? This loss of control of outbreaks in many parts of the world may also affect the USA (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/health/usaid-funding-disease-outbreaks.html)

International health policy

• USA
  • As measles continues to spread in Texas, it jumps to New Mexico. There is talk of 200 cases in one district of Texas and 21 in New Mexico(https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/07/health/measles-texas-new-mexico.html)
  • $50,000 in tax deductions for donating a kidney, Trumpism reaches transplants. There has been a bill in Congress in this regard since August, which could be pushed by the Trumpist majority (https://www.alimente.elconfidencial.com/bienestar/2025-03-06/como-el-trumpismo-a-llegado-a-los-trasplantes_4079200/)

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • Maternal health in the NHS. Maternity services in the UK have been the subject of repeated national scandals, with reports of serious negligence and preventable deaths, yet the situation has not improved. It is argued that this problem should be addressed in the 10-year plan being prepared (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00446-5/fulltext)
  • Researchers will soon have access to data from primary care GPs. The information will be disseminated via the OpenSAFELY system to selected researchers (https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r375)

• Germany
  • Merz’s health agenda. The likely new chancellor inherits a series of reforms that have been started but not completed, including hospital reform, which sought to reduce the number of hospitals. The new coalition will also have to deal with the financial situation of the system (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00443-X/abstract)

National health policy

• Central administration
  • The Health Commission will debate the law for the creation of the Public Health Agency next Thursday. This is the previous step before it is voted on in the Plenary Session of Congress (https://diariofarma.com/2025/03/06/la-comision-de-sanidad-debate-el-proximo-jueves-la-ley-de-creacion-de-la-agencia-de-salud-publica)
  • The Ministry of Health links the consumption of 13 medicines with the risk of developing gambling addiction. Most of the drugs are for treating Parkinson’s disease (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-03-07/sanidad-relaciona-el-consumo-de-13-medicamentos-con-el-riesgo-de-desarrollar-ludopatia.html)
  • More transparency for the Interministerial Commission on Drug Prices: a report will be published for each drug financed. The aim is to enable citizens to better understand the system for incorporating drugs into public prescription (https://elglobalfarma.com/politica/transparencia-cipm-sanidad-informe-farmaco-financiado/)

• Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
  • Madrid demonises cannabis in its anti-drug plan, but does not contemplate measures against anxiolytics and antidepressants (https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2025-03-05/madrid-demoniza-el-cannabis-en-su-plan-antidroga-pero-no-contempla-medidas-contra-ansioliticos-y-antidepresivos.html)

• Framework Statute
  • Some 16 medical organisations join together to demand that the Ministry of Health issue its own Statute (https://www.lne.es/sociedad/2025/03/05/16-organizaciones-medicas-agrupan-reclamar-sanidad-estatuto-propio-114970649.html)

• MUFACE
  • Adeslas and ASISA are the only ones that are applying for the MUFACE civil servants insurance tender (https://www.eleconomista.es/banca-finanzas/noticias/13252566/03/25/adeslas-y-asisa-se-presentan-a-la-licitacion-del-seguro-de-los-funcionarios-de-muface.html)
  • Private doctors threaten to leave MUFACE if Asisa and Adeslas do not raise their rates by 150%. According to private doctors, under the current Muface system, general practitioners are paid between €7 and €9 per consultation, when it should be between €25 and €30 (https://www.vozpopuli.com/economia/los-medicos-amenazan-con-dejar-muface-si-asisa-y-adeslas-no-elevan-un-150-las-tarifas.html)

Companies

• International news
  • Bayer faces third year of falling profits with reform efforts. CEO sees hopes of recovery in 2026 (https://www.ft.com/content/38cddea7-47bc-4451-9cc7-51dca5108c35)
  • Clearlake wants to buy a majority of ModernizingMedicine, a software company, for $5.3 billion (https://www.ft.com/content/f79eccfb-b799-4b47-accd-8eb44371f57d)
  • Hikma prepares to launch generic versions of obesity drugs. Both Wegovy and Ozempic will be off patent within a year (https://www.ft.com/content/3f03b203-72a8-4921-9ecc-0c9ea9ec0f62)
  • Private equity group Sycamore aims to take over Walgreens with a deal worth up to $24 billion, in order to take it private (https://www.ft.com/content/722dfbf1-82a1-435d-9f6f-8586c4f0f038)
  • Patent dispute over RNA vaccine for Covid: US backs Pfizer, Europe backs Moderna. The US Patent Appeals Board rules in favor of Pfizer-BioNTech, while a Dusseldorf court confirms that Pfizer-BioNTech infringed a patent (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-03-09/patentes-vacuna-arn-covid-pfizer-moderna/)
  • Moderna and Pfizer’s covid vaccines remain bestsellers despite falling sales after the pandemic (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250309/vacunas-covid-pfizer-moderna-siguen-superventas-pesar-caer-ventas-pandemia/929407182_0.html)
  • Merck reports strong financial results in 2024 and expects continued growth in 2025 (https://www.consalud.es/salud35/internacional/merck-reporta-solidos-resultados-financieros-en-2024-preve-crecimiento-continuo-en-2025_155585_102.html)

• National
  • CIMA of Navarra, an ally in R&D for big pharma, through the association with Pfizer, Roche or AstraZeneca and has generated six “spinoffs” to advance in new treatments (https://www.expansion.com/directivos/2025/03/08/67cc998f468aeb5b1d8b4570.html)
  • The CNMV reveals that the top management of Grifols acted with continued deceit for 3 years. The commission accuses of systematic violation of financial reporting rules (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/cnmv-desvela-cupula-grifols-actuo-dolo-continuado-durante-tres-anos.html)
  • DomusVi straightens out its finances and will open four nursing homes in 2025 (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-03-04/domusvi-residencias-financias-abrira-geriatricos-2025/)

Summary

The most impactful news in health this week were:

• Biomedicine: RedETS puts a stop to enthusiasm for proton therapy
• Global health: The environment surpasses genetics in importance in predicting longevity
• International health policy: Agreement between the NHS and the independent sector to address the waiting list and give patients more choice.
• National health policy. Adeslas returns to MUFACE, saving the model.
• Companies: The drugs that will become stars in 2023: obesity, cancer, dermatitis.

Biomedicine

• Stop to enthusiasm for proton therapy. A report by RedETS, prepared by the Catalan Agency for Quality and Health Assessment (Aquas), concludes that the certainty of the evidence on the efficacy of proton therapy in cancer is low or very low, which prevents recommending its widespread use compared to conventional radiotherapy.
• Gene therapy in congenital blindness and deafness. Advances in this field published in The Lancet.

Global Health

• Environment and lifestyle are more important than genetics. Environment outweighs genetics in predicting longevity. The study highlights lifestyles as more closely related to premature death and disease than genetics.
• Life expectancy in Europeans is no longer growing as it used to. The increase in obesity and overweight and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco are among the factors that explain the trend.

International health policy

• The development of medicines in China is surprising. Its companies are at the forefront of cheaper and faster medicines. The Chinese government identified biotechnology as a priority twenty years ago.
• The British government signs an agreement with the independent health sector to address waiting lists. Agreement between the NHS and the independent sector to address the waiting list and give patients more choice. A similar agreement would be good for Spain, at a national level or in some autonomous community. National Health Policy (Spain)
• Adeslas will submit its bid for the MUFACE tender, thereby saving the model, thanks to the negotiating capacity of Adeslas and ASISA and the government’s desire to make the continuity of the model possible. The role of CSIF in the solution has been important.
• Catalonia wants to maintain preferential health agreement with consortia and the non-profit sector. This seems to be deduced from the unfortunate statements of the Minister when she says that in this way they will avoid “vulture funds”. She would have to explain to us what she means by “vulture funds”. The exclusion of the profit-making sector from health agreement in Catalonia is not new and is something of great tradition, which now seems to be reinforced.

Companies

• International
  • Star drugs in 2030: obesity, cancer, dermatitis

• National
  • ASISA, record billing for premiums in 2024. 4.3% more than the previous year.

Biomedicine

• Gene therapies in eyes and ears. Advances in gene therapy for congenital blindness and deafness (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)00339-3/fulltext)
• An AI is capable of diagnosing diseases of the immune system. According to a study published in Science, a tool is presented capable of accurately diagnosing immune disorders, viral infections and responses to vaccines (https://www.abc.es/salud/enfermedades/ia-capaz-diagnosticar-enfermedades-sistema-inmune-20250220133706-nt.html)
• Mariano Barbacid: Chemotherapy is a thing of the past, it has not advanced in years. Personalized medicine is the future (https://www.alimente.elconfidencial.com/bienestar/2025-02-19/podcast-farma-fin-cancer-quimioterapia_4066615/)
• What does DeepSeek mean for healthcare? (https://www.healthcare.digital/single-post/deepseek-what-does-deepseek-r1-mean-for-healthtech)
• The RedETS puts the brakes on enthusiasm for proton therapy. A report by the RedETS, prepared by the Agency for Quality and Health Assessment of Catalonia (Aquas), concludes that the certainty of the evidence on the efficacy of proton therapy in cancer is low or very low, which prevents its widespread use from being recommended compared to conventional radiotherapy, after analyzing 77 studies. Lack of double-blind studies, Most of the works are observational studies (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/17/la-redets-pone-freno-al-entusiasmo-por-la-protonterapia-la-evidencia-es-debil). Access to the original article: https://aquas.gencat.cat/web/.content/minisite/aquas/publicacions/2024/protonterapia-tratamiento-cancer-redets-aquas2024.pdf

Global Health

• The environment surpasses genetics in importance in predicting longevity. The study highlights lifestyles as more related to premature death and disease than genetic load (https://www.ft.com/content/5b5ed942-ff10-4fb9-adf7-f8f1e7d9a478). Access to the original article in Nature Medicine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-024-03483-9
• Life expectancy in Europeans is no longer increasing as it used to. The increase in obesity and overweight and the consumption of alcohol and tobacco are among the factors that explain the trend (https://elpais.com/ciencia/2025-02-18/la-esperanza-de-vida-de-los-europeos-ya-no-crece-como-antes.html). Access to the original article in The Lancet Public Health: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpub/article/PIIS2468-2667(25)00009-X/fulltext
• Who will fill the gap caused by the US’ withdrawal from international aid? In theory, China and Western countries, but this aid is also decreasing. Philanthropic organizations say they cannot fill that gap (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/22/health/usaid-who-trump-china.html)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • How the Trump Administration wants to remake American science. Cuts to all public research-related institutions are intense and will impact the entire world (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/02/19/how-the-trump-administration-wants-to-reshape-american-science)
  • Layoffs at the FDA decimated teams reviewing AI and food safety (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/21/health/fda-trump-layoffs-device-and-food-safety.html)

• China
  • Not just AI, Chinese drugs are taking the world by storm. Their firms are at the forefront of cheaper and faster drugs. The Chinese government identified biotechnology as a priority twenty years ago (https://www.economist.com/business/2025/02/16/its-not-just-ai-chinas-medicines-are-surprising-the-world-too)

• UK and the National Health Service
  • Deal between the NHS and the independent sector to tackle waiting lists and give patients more choice (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deal-between-nhs-and-independent-sector-to-cut-nhs-waiting-lists)
  • NHS document on waiting lists and elective surgery (https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/reforming-elective-care-for-patients.pdf)

• Denmark
  • Reform of community pharmacies in primary care in Denmark. The agreement is for 2025-2026, (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/updates/hspm/denmark-2024/new-agreement-on-strengthening-the-role-of-pharmacies-in-primary-healthcare)

• Russia
  • Branded copies are replacing Ozempic in Russia (https://www.ft.com/content/d939392a-173f-4976-9a6b-660a3425d3b2)

National health policy

• Central administration
  • The Public Health Agency is awaiting approval with its headquarters still up in the air (https://www.consalud.es/politica/agencia-estatal-salud-publica-aguarda-su-aprobacion-mantiene-incertidumbre-sobre-su-sede_155056_102.html)
  • The PSOE rescues the possibility of partial retirement up to 72 years of age in public health (https://www.consalud.es/politica/psoe-rescata-posibilidad-jubilacion-parcial-hasta-72-ano-en-sanidad-publica_155034_102.html)

• Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
  • The bioregion of Catalonia consolidates its strength in innovation and advanced therapies. According to the report, the Catalan health and innovation ecosystem reaches 44.8 billion euros in turnover and generates 17,500 new jobs. The report highlights its international appeal and the rise of advanced therapies. (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/17/bioregion-2024-cataluna-consolida-su-fortaleza-en-innovacion-y-terapias-avanzadas). Catalan Bioregion Report 2024 (https://report.biocat.cat)
  • Catalonia adapts the concerted health system to avoid vulture funds (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/autonomias/cataluna/cataluna-idea-una-sanidad-concertada-mas-agil-y-alejada-de-fondos-buitre–6882)
  • The Catalan government plans a health management law (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/gobierno-catalan-proyecta-ley-gestion-sanitaria.html)
  • The Canary Islands begin work to set up the Las Palmas Research Unit (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/canarias/canarias-inicia-trabajos-poner-marcha-unidad-investigacion-clinica-palmas_154924_102.html)
  • Madrid will collaborate with the NHS in digital transformation (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/politica/madrid-colaborara-nhs-transformacion-digital.html)

• MUFACE
  • Adeslas returns to MUFACE (https://elpais.com/economia/2025-02-20/adeslas-vuelve-a-muface-y-pone-asi-punto-final-al-culebron-de-la-mutualidad.html)

• Framework Statute
  • Reasons why doctors demand their own Statute (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/medicina/por-medicos-defienden-estatuto-marco-propio-estas-son-sus-razones_154894_102.html)

• Drug prospectus
  • Doctors, pharmacists and patients demand that the paper drug prospectus be maintained (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2025-02-19/medicos-farmaceuticos-consumidores-pacientes-y-mayores-exigen-que-se-mantenga-el-prospecto-en-papel-de-los-medicamentos.html)

Companies

• International news
  • GSK tries to convince the market that it can meet its pipeline plan (https://www.ft.com/content/67b15531-f7d3-4e60-b94d-80e9816a090b)
  • Star drugs Ozempic and Wegovy were responsible for 63.4% of NovoNordisk’s sales in 2024 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250218/medicamentos-estrella-ozempic-wegovy-responsables-ventas-novo-nordisk/923657931_0.html)
  • The drugs that will become stars in 2030, from obesity to cancer(https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20250223/medicamentos-convertiran-superventas-obesidad-cancer/925907479_0.html)

• National
  • Asisa recorded a record turnover for premiums in 2024, 4.3% more than the previous year(https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-02-18/asisa-registra-record-facturacion-primas/)
  • A large Spanish scientific consortium will investigate the molecular enigmas of ALS (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-02-19/un-gran-consorcio-cientifico-espanol-investigara-los-enigmas-moleculares-de-la-ela.html)
  • Cantabria Labs grows 11% in 2024 and prepares its strategic plan without ruling out acquisitions (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-02-22/cantabria-labs-crece-un-11-en-2024-y-prepara-su-plan-estrategico-sin-descartar-compras.html)

Summary

The most impactful news in health this week were:

• Biomedicine: FDA approves studies of pig organs for kidney transplants.
• Global health: Science editorial: A less safe world, after Trump’s decision to leave the WHO.
• International health policy: Trump blows up the system from within. Health care is especially threatened, both in the United States and global health.
• National health policy. The government launches a new MUFACE competition and gives a deadline until March 4.
• Companies: Spain is the eighth European country that produces the most medicines, with Catalonia and Madrid at the top.

Biomedicine

• The FDA approves studies of pig organs for kidney transplants. The trial offers hope to the tens of thousands of patients in the USA who are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant.
• American scientists must resist Trump’s efforts to destroy research. The president’s executive orders have plunged the American science system into chaos.

Global Health

• Science Editorial: A less secure world, after Trump’s decision to leave the WHO. The USA was key in the creation of the WHO in 1948 and its most influential member for 75 years. The withdrawal from the WHO will damage American Public Health Agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, which intervened in multiple humanitarian catastrophes.
• Nature Editorial: How the WHO can survive without the USA. Speech by the WHO Director General: the 193 countries that remain in the organization must find a formula to preserve the effectiveness of the WHO.
• Trump’s foreign aid freeze leaves millions without HIV treatment. This could harm the health of 20 million people, including 500,000 children.

International health policy

• Trump blows up the system from within. Health care is especially threatened: the NIH (National Health Institutes), USAaid; the Department of Health; and the Veterans Administration. A real chaos in the American health system. A system that needs deep reforms, but that are more along the lines of what Berwick proposed in the last issue of Health Affairs, not because of the improvisations of Trump and Musk.
• Article by Donald Berwick: From Laggard to Leader: Why the American Health System is Failing and How to Fix It. Although the American health system is among the most technologically advanced in the world, it is failing to respond to the needs of the nation. Obama’s law was an important step. However, Americans are faced with high and rising health costs; inadequate access; health inequities; and a lower life expectancy than in most developed countries. National objectives are proposed: accessible and equitable care for all; elimination of ethnic and racial disparities; substantial reduction in health costs; and, most importantly, better health outcomes. To achieve these objectives we propose: investing in Primary Care and social determinants of health; financing to incentivize the maintenance of health; and improving transparency and accountability.
• Brussels launches a public consultation to process the Law on Critical Medicines. The objective is to ensure the supply of key drugs.

National Health Policy (Spain)

• The first plan for suicide prevention will be presented at the Interterritorial Council on February 14. The document with six lines of action plans to improve the detection and monitoring of risk cases.
• Pedro Sánchez will meet with 16 CEOs of the pharmaceutical industry on February 12. It is not bad that the president understands the pharmaceutical industry and is a success for his employers’ association in Spain. But it would not be bad either for the president to meet with health professionals from time to time.
• The government launches a new MUFACE competition and gives a deadline until March 4. It represents a 41% increase in the premium. In addition, compensation is planned for insurers to reestablish the economic-budgetary balance. Without a doubt, a success for insurers, especially Adeslas and ASISA. The government, with many contradictions and delays, has realized what was coming.
• Pharmaceutical companies defend their strategic weight and warn that they contribute more than 27,000 million in turnover to the Spanish GDP.

Companies

• International
  • Merck shares fall 11% after halting shipments to China

• National
  • Spain is the eighth European country that produces the most medicines, with Catalonia and Madrid at the top

Biomedicine

• AI in health and healthcare. The National Academy of Medicine has outlined priorities for 2025 for the safe and effective use of AI in healthcare (https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01003)
• American scientists must resist Trump’s efforts to gut research. The president’s executive orders have thrown the American science system into chaos (https://www.ft.com/content/60673cbf-99d2-4428-8218-a75d2263cf5f)
• FDA approves studies of pig organs for kidney transplants. The trial offers hope to the tens of thousands of patients in the US who are on the waiting list for a kidney transplant (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/03/health/pig-kidney-transplants-clinical-trials.html)
• Do we have microbes in our brains? A theory that divides scientists. The possibility of a brain microbiome and its relationship with Alzheimer’s divides scientists (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2025-02-06/tenemos-microbios-en-el-cerebro-una-teoria-que-divide-a-los-cientificos.html)
• Promising results of a vaccine against kidney cancer (https://www.larazon.es/salud/resultados-prometedores-vacuna-cancer-rinon_2025020567a3907fe95c06000187fde4.html
• Global trends in incidence, death, and risk factors for early-onset cancer between 1990 and 2019. During this period, the incidence of cancer in young people increased by 79.1% and the number of deaths by 27.7% (https://bmjoncology.bmj.com/content/2/1/e000049)
• New genes identified that reduce the risk of depression (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/02/08/67a60be521efa01e2d8b459d.html)

Global Health

• Science Editorial: A less safe world, after Trump’s decision to leave the WHO. The USA was key in the creation of the WHO in 1948 and its most influential member for 75 years. The withdrawal from the WHO will harm American Public Health Agencies and the pharmaceutical industry, which intervened in multiple humanitarian catastrophes (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw1554)
• Nature Editorial: How the WHO can survive without the USA. WHO Director-General’s speech: 193 remaining countries must find a way to preserve WHO’s effectiveness (https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00283-0)
• Trump’s foreign aid freeze leaves millions without HIV treatment. This could harm the health of 20 million people, including 500,000 children (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/05/health/trump-usaid-pepfar.html)
• In South Africa, chaos at HIV clinics after Trump’s withdrawal announcements. The country has 14% HIV-positive people, one of the highest rates in the world (https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2025/02/04/en-afrique-du-sud-le-chaos-dans-les-dispensaires-vih-apres-les-annonces-de-donald-trump_6530912_3212.html)
• Javier Millei follows Trump’s lead and makes Argentina leave the WHO. The libertarian leader follows Trump (https://www.ft.com/content/05605adc-b972-444d-8848-f1b0bb7bfae4)

International Health Policy

• USA
  • Trump is blowing up the system from within. Health care is especially threatened: the NIH (National Health Institutes), USAaid; the Department of Health and the Veterans Administration (https://elpais.com/internacional/2025-02-09/donald-trump-y-los-cachorros-de-elon-musk-dinamitan-el-sistema-desde-dentro.html)
  • Article by Donald Berwick: From Laggard to Leader: Why the American Health System is Failing and How to Fix It. Although the American health system is among the most technologically advanced in the world, it is failing to respond to the needs of the nation. Obama’s law was an important step. However, Americans are faced with high and rising health care costs; inadequate access; health inequities; and a lower life expectancy than in most developed countries. We propose national objectives: accessible and equitable care for all; elimination of racial and ethnic disparities; substantial reduction in health costs; and, most importantly, improved health outcomes. To achieve these goals, we propose: investing in primary care and social determinants of health; financing to incentivize health maintenance; and improve transparency and accountability (https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.01007)
  • Scientists warn $4 billion cuts to NHIs jeopardize US scientific research (https://www.ft.com/content/028b2df3-2120-490c-a6a4-8af571305507)
  • USAid cuts (https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/health/trump-usaid-health-aid.html)
  • The American transplant system is inequitable (https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/organ-transplantation-system-inequitable-modernized-data-can-help-fix)
  • Changes in salary expenditures and changes in hospital utilization after hospitals are acquired by public entities private equity 2005-2019 (https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2024.00687)
  • New York temporarily closes live bird markets after detecting cases of bird flu (https://elpais.com/us/actualidad/2025-02-07/nueva-york-cierra-temporamente-todos-los-mercados-de-aves-vivas-tras-detectarse-varios-casos-de-gripe-aviar.html)

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • NHS England reduces targets to prioritise waiting lists. The number of overall targets is reduced from 32 to 18 in an attempt to reduce waiting lists (https://www.bmj.com/content/388/bmj.r235)
  • More than 500,000 people in England are waiting more than two months (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/feb/03/england-essential-cancer-treatment-wait-nhs)

• Canada
  • A plan to connect 2 million people to primary care. The plan aims to assign a primary care physician to 2.5 million Ontario citizens (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/updates/hspm/canada-2020/an-action-plan-to-connect-two-million-people-to-primary-care

• Italy
  • Health budget priorities in Italy. Priorities are waiting lists; staff; and mental health (https://eurohealthobservatory.who.int/monitors/health-systems-monitor/analyses/hspm/italy-2023/budget-law-2025-investments-in-health)

• EU
  • Brussels launches a public consultation to process the Critical Medicines Act. The objective is to ensure the supply of key drugs (https://diariofarma.com/2025/02/05/bruselas-lanza-una-consulta-publica-para-tramitar-la-ley-de-medicamentos-criticos)

National health policy

• Central administration
  • The first plan for suicide prevention will be presented at the Interterritorial Council on February 14. The document with six lines of action plans to improve the detection and monitoring of risk cases (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2025/02/05/67a260f221efa0a5758b45ab.html)
  • The Ministry is working to approve the Royal Decree on the evaluation of health technologies (https://www.consalud.es/politica/sanidad-trabaja-aprobar-real-decreto-evaluacion-tecnologias-sanitarias-antes-verano_154346_102.html)
  • Pedro Sánchez will meet with 16 CEOs of the pharmaceutical industry on February 12 (https://diariomedico.com/medicina/empresas/pedro-sanchez-reunira-16-ceo-industria-farmaceutica-proximo-12-febrero.html)

• Initiatives and news from the autonomous communities
  • Galician Health will define its goals and strategy until 2030. The Ministry establishes 10 indicators to measure the fulfillment of the objectives (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/galicia/galicia-evalua-cumplimiento-su-estrategia-salud-2030_154281_102.html)
  • The “Clinic Barcelona Comprehensive Cancer Center” is born (https://diariomedico.com/medicina/oncologia/nace-clinic-barcelona-comprehensive-cancer-center.html)
  • The University of Burgos will begin to teach the degree of medicine in 2026, with 72 students (https://www.consalud.es/autonomias/castilla-y-leon/universidad-burgos-comenzara-impartir-grado-medicina-en-2026-con-72-alumnos_154406_102.html)

• MUFACE
  • The government MUFACE launches a new competition and gives a deadline until March 4. This represents a 41% increase in the premium. In addition, compensation is expected for insurers to restore economic-budgetary balance (https://theobjective.com/economia/2025-02-07/gobierno-tercera-licitacion-muface-plazo-marzo/)
  • Self-employed doctors remember that insurers pay them a pittance (https://www.epe.es/es/sociedad/20250206/ultima-hora-muface-directo-112329871)
  • CSIF will sue ASISA, ADESLAS and DKV for not serving mutualists (https://elpais.com/economia/2025-02-07/csif-demandara-a-dkv-asisa-y-adeslas-ante-la-fiscalia-por-desatender-a-los-mutualistas-de-muface.html)

• Pharmaceutical sector
  • • Pharmaceutical companies defend their weight strategic and warn that they contribute to the Spanish GDP with more than 27,000 million in turnover (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-02-05/las-farmaceuticas-defienden-su-peso-estrategico-y-advierten-de-que-contribuyen-al-pib-espanol-con-mas-de-27000-millones.html). Access to the original AFI document: https://www.afi.es/publicaciones-e-informes/contribucion-socioeconomica-medicamentos-industria-farmaeutica-espana

Companies

• International news
  • Merck shares plunge 11% after halting shipments to China (https://www.ft.com/content/cf12024c-5dae-4561-8b2f-9e13f741c2a0)

• National
  • Spain is the eighth European country that produces the most medicines, with Catalonia and Madrid at the top (https://www.elperiodico.com/es/sociedad/20250205/espana-octavo-pais-europeo-productor-medicamentos-114028032)
  • Rovi plummets 16% on the stock market after anticipating lower-than-expected results at the end of 2024 (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2025-02-07/profit-warning-de-rovi-anticipa-un-ebitda-entre-un-10-y-un-15-inferior-al-consenso-del-mercado-en-2024.html)
  • Sanitas commissions ThorEU for its first residence in Malaga (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/seguros/2025/02/05/67a33092e5fdeab72f8b4598.html)