Posts

7 days in healthcare (April 18-24, 2022)

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Summary

From the point of view of biomedicine, to highlight the new devices that read the brain (brain-reading-devices) and allow movement, touch and speech to be recovered. Also the great future of liquid biopsy in the early diagnosis of cancer.

As far as Global Health is concerned, there is no choice but to quote Bill Gates’ new TED video discussing how to avoid a new pandemic, which follows his previously celebrated video from 2015, five years before COVID-19. . Also the devastating effects of covid on the evolution of tuberculosis. It is highly worrying that in Africa there is a large backlog of vaccines, after multiple donations, which speaks of serious logistical problems. More than 100 confirmed cases in a dozen countries of the new acute childhood hepatitis of unknown origin.

Regarding international health policy, it should be noted that, according to the WHO, the incidence and mortality of COVID is falling globally. The United States will host the second global conference on COVID on May 12, 2022. Serious problems continue to arise in China, particularly in Shanghai, where respect for the most minimal freedoms collides with certain public health measures that are intended to be imposed. The new outbreak of covid in Beijing highlights the difficulty of following the “zero-covid” policy without many deaths, due to the low percentage of vaccination among the elderly in China and the less efficacy of the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, compared to that of Pfizer-Biontech.

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), although the incidence of COVID continues to grow, the mandatory use of the mask indoors has been abolished, which for some is premature. From the regulatory point of view, the Health Advertising Law and the Pharmacy Law of the Community of Madrid are announced, both with controversial components. The CNI warns of the large number of cyberattacks in health so far in 2022. The “Vanguard Health” Alliance is created to coordinate the health PERTE. Great media impact of the publication “Private healthcare, adding value” by the IDIS Foundation.

In the field of companies, from the international point of view, it is worth noting the movements of KKR to buy the largest hospital company in Australia (Ramsay). In our country, the position of the AESEG on the need to establish differential prices between generics and brands is important. Also the five-year agreement between the Junta de Andalucía and the Pascual Hospital Group.

Biomedicine

Global health

News international health policy

  • COVID-19

o According to the WHO, both the number of cases and mortality fell in the last week, following a decline from the end of March (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/new-covid- cases-globally-down-by-nearly-a-quarter-last-week)

o The United States will host the second global summit on COVID. It will be online on May 12, 2022 (https://www.consalud.es/politica/eeuu-cumbre-mundial-pandemia-covid-19_113280_102.html)

o Shanghai wants to open factories with employees living in them (https://www.lavanguardia.com/internacional/20220418/8203602/shanghai-covid-china-pandemia-empresas-impacto.html)

o New COVID outbreak in Beijing. The Chinese authorities do not want the situation in Shanghai to be reproduced (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-04-24/pekin-toma-medidas-de-contencion-tras-detectar-un-subito-aumento-de -cases-of-covid.html)

  • Other themes

o The questioning of the authorization of abortion in the USA (Roe v Wade ruling), can cause serious health problems. It can increase the mortality of women in relation to pregnancy by 21% and 33% in black women (https://www.bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o1019). Many media worldwide denounce the toxicity of these restrictive laws (https://www.ft.com/content/a2b0d282-9baa-40ed-9a2c-64bbeaa5e375)

o New incentives are needed to fight antibiotic resistance, a pioneering subscription system in the UK can help improve the situation (https://www.ft.com/content/954d5e13-884e-4090-afca- 378993510558)

o Europe will not approve Biogen’s aducanumab for Alzheimer’s for now, approved in the USA by the FDA, amid great controversy (https://www.diariomedico.com/farmacia/industria/empresas/europa-no-aprobara-por-ahora- aducanumab-for-alzheimer.html)

News national health policy (Spain)

  • COVID

o The incidence of COVID continues to rise: 555.47 cases on Friday, April 22, in people over 60 years of age per 100,000 in the last 14 days, compared to 505.86 on Tuesday, April 19 (https://www.elconfidencial .com/espana/2022-04-22/espana-suma-49-143-cases-and-187-deaths-and-the-incidence-in-over-60s-up-50-points_3412937/)

o After 700 days, the Council of Ministers approves the no obligation to wear a mask indoors, with some exceptions (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2022/04/19/625e955c21efa04b4d8b45d0.html)

o The majority of Spaniards believe that it is soon to remove the mask indoors (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-04-20/la-mayoria-de-los-espanoles-cree-que-es-pronto -to-remove-the-masks-indoors-and-continue-wearing-it.html)

o The XE variant of covid is already beginning to circulate in Spain (https://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-variante-coronavirus-empuerta-circular-espana-202204202033_noticia.html)

o Great controversy over the distribution of antivirals (https://www.larazon.es/sociedad/20220421/yda2ugjo3rcszl56bzcp75rvvm.html)

  • Regulatory announcements

o The health advertising law, presented by the PP, to be examined in Congress. It is promoted by the Council of Dentists and also by the OMC (Doctors Order) (https://www.consalud.es/politica/parlamentos/ley-publicidad-sanitaria-pp-examen-congreso-semana_113468_102.html)

o Madrid approves the Pharmacy Law, among the novelties, it develops home distribution (closing the door to the delivery of medicines from entities outside pharmacies) and makes schedules more flexible (https://www.diariomedico.com/farmacia/politica/ madrid-approves-the-new-pharmacy-law-in-its-government-council.html). The Spanish Society of Hospital Pharmacy opposes this bill, for not contemplating hospital pharmacy in the regulations (https://www.diariofarma.com/2022/04/22/la-sefh-rechaza-la-loaf- Madrid)

  • Other themes

o Public healthcare spending skyrockets in 2020 due to the pandemic (https://www.plantadoce.com/entorno/el-sns-pisa-el-acelerador-tras-la-pandemia-y-dispara-el-gasto-sanitario -up-to-83811-million-euros.html)

o CNI alert: large number of cyberattacks in healthcare in 2022 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20220422/alerta-cni-sanidad-publica-espanola-ciberataques-peligrosidad/666683412_0.html)

o The Fundación Instituto Roche addresses the involvement of the microbiome in maintaining health (https://www.actasanitaria.com/tecnologia/fundacion-instituto-roche-aborda-implicacion-microbioma_2002274_102.html). To access the full document: https://www.institutoroche.es/recursos/publicaciones/202/Hablando_sobre_microbioma

o The Ministry of Health reports eight cases of severe childhood hepatitis of unknown origin (https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/sanidad-notifica-ocho-casos-hepatitis-aguda-infantil-origen-desconocido_1_8935838.html)

o The investigations for the purchase of masks already exceed ten (https://www.elperiodico.com/es/politica/20220423/investigaciones-contratos-mascarillas-covid-superan-decena-13553701)

o The “Salud de Vanguardia” Alliance is born to coordinate the health PERTE (https://www.diariofarma.com/2022/04/20/nace-la-alianza-salud-de-vanguardia-para-coordinar-el-perte -sanitary)

o Great impact of the document “Private healthcare, adding value” from the IDIS Foundation: https://www.fundacionidis.com/uploads/informes/informe_sanidad_privada_aportando_valor_2022.pdf.

Companies

  • International News

o The private equity firm KKR launches an offer for the largest Australian private hospital group, Ramsay (https://www.ft.com/content/ee5553e3-5d5c-4fbb-af4b-72dd9be0ef0a)

o GBL (Group Bruxelles Lambert) acquires the diagnostic imaging company Affidea, which at the time had acquired some assets in Spain (Q Diagnóstica) (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/gbl-adquiere-la-compania -of-medical-diagnostic-services-affidea.html)

o GSK, Sanofi and J&J accelerate spin offs in the pharmaceutical business (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2022/04/19/625de599e5fdea36148b4677.html)

  • National News

o Generics: AESEG rejects the current plan for generics and biosimilars (made public, but not yet implemented due to the pandemic) if there is no price differential with brands (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/industria/el -generic-reformulates-the-national-plan-with-the-price-difference-as-axis-1032)

o The Junta de Andalucía signs a five-year agreement with the Pascual hospitals for an amount of 771 million euros (https://sevilla.abc.es/andalucia/sevi-junta-andalucia-firma-contrato-clinicas-pascual-cinco -hospitals-until-2027-771-millions-202203291523_noticia.html)

o DKV skyrockets its profits, largely due to the extraordinary results of the sale of its stake in the Denia hospital, acquired by Ribera (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/04/20/companias/1650456633_959356 .html)

o Sacyr will build a pediatric center in Canada for more than 60 million euros (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/sacyr-construira-un-centro-pediatrico-en-canada-por-mas-de-60- million-euros.html)

o Atrys Health sprints on the Stock Market and targets revenues of 200 million in 2022 (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/atrys-health-sprints-on-the-continuo-y-apunta-a-incomes- of-220-million-euros-in-2022.html)

 

 

7 days in healthcare (April 11-17, 2022)

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SUMMARY

From the point of view of biomedicine, it is important to highlight the fact that greater access to antibiotics (reduced in many countries) is a basic element to overcome the pandemic of resistance to these drugs. Cases of acute hepatitis in children, detected in the United Kingdom and also in Spain, have been the subject of an alert by the WHO and the ECDC. Some of them require liver transplantation.

With regard to Global Health, the financing of the WHO is one of the great issues of global health, since this organization has always had a financing well below its challenges.

As for international health policy, President Biden’s Memorandum on “long covid” should be noted. Also the important article published in The Lancet that analyzes the circumstances surrounding the incidence of covid and its mortality in 177 countries, with some interesting conclusions. The “zero-covid” policy in China and, specifically, the confinement of Shanghai, continues to occupy the international front pages and is a policy that is beginning to be highly questioned, despite its successes so far in both the number of cases and in mortality, as in economic impact, if we believe the official figures from China. Great expectations regarding the new agency created by the Biden Administration: the ARPS-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health)

If we talk about national health policy (Spain), 50,000 doses of covid have finally been distributed, albeit with great delay compared to the initial promises, although without having agreed on criteria regarding their use. Interesting proposal to the Ministry of Health of the Medical Collegiate Organization (OMC) on medical recertification, which includes a supervisory agency OMC-FACME, similar to a British one.

In the field of companies, from the international point of view, to highlight the declines in sales of covid vaccines. Regarding national news, the announcement of the forthcoming arrival of the HIPRA vaccine should be highlighted.

 BIOMEDICINE

GLOBAL HEALTH

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

  • COVID

o President Biden’s memorandum on addressing the “long COVID” (https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2022/04/05/memorandum-on-addressing-the-long-term- effects-of-covid-19/). Article on the subject in JAMA magazine: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2791210

o Preparedness for the pandemic and covid, an analysis of 177 countries. The relationship between various circumstances and the incidence of covid, as well as mortality, are analyzed (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00172-6/fulltext). Comments on this article, the WHO and health systems remain unprepared to deal with a pandemic like covid, which caused 494 million cases and more than 6 million deaths, as of April 5, 2022: https://www. thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)00425-1/fulltext

o Shanghai lockdown shows signs of desperation among the population and lack of food (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/17/shanghai-lockdown-desperation-rises-food-runs-low-china )

o The mystery of China with “ómicron”: 280,000 infections and zero deaths (https://www.abc.es/sociedad/abci-misterio-china-omicron-280000-contagios-y-cero-muertes-202204150122_noticia.html)

o The WHO confirms a decrease in new covid cases worldwide, for the third consecutive week (https://www.diariofarma.com/2022/04/13/la-oms-confirma-la-disminucion-de-nuevos -covid-cases-around-the-world)

o Covid infections start to fall in the UK (https://www.ft.com/content/0c2fc3ce-be3f-41b1-8b1f-e1b729882720)

o Valneva, the Franco-Austrian vaccine against covid, is the sixth approved in the United Kingdom (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/14/valneva-approved-to-be-uks-sixth -covid-vaccine)

o The FDA authorizes the first breath-based covid test that produces results in less than three minutes (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/15/us/the-fda-authorizes-the- first-covid-19-breath-test.html)

  • Other themes

o Expectations about the new health agency created by Biden, called ARPA-H (Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health). Editorial in Science magazine (https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abq4814)

o The number of people on the NHS waiting list at record high (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/14/number-of-people-on-nhs-waiting-lists-in-england -at-record-high)

o The number of primary care physicians (GPs) in the UK, down every year since 2015. Organizations representing doctors say the heavy workload, high expectations of patients, difficulties recruiting non-medical staff and the fear of errors due to overload, at the base of this situation (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/11/gp-numbers-in-england-down-every-year-since-2015 -pledge-to-raise-them)

o A lawsuit by Cuban doctors has been accepted by the US justice system, accusing the PAHO (WHO organization for Latin America) of collaborating in the “forced labor” of Cuban doctors sent to Brazil (https://www. .bmj.com/content/377/bmj.o962)

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY (SPAIN)

  • COVID

o Spain, the rich country where life expectancy fell the most due to the pandemic, after the United States (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20220414/espana-pais-rico-cayo-esperanza-pandemia-unidos /664683895_0.html)

o The covid increased health spending in 2020 by 10.9%, a record figure (https://www.diariofarma.com/2022/04/06/la-covid-incremento-el-gasto-sanitario-en-2020 -a-109-a-figure-record)

o The Ministry of Health has already distributed 50,000 doses of Paxlovid in Spain (https://www.consalud.es/politica/ministerio-sanidad/sanidad-distribuido-espana-50000-dosis-farmaco-covid-19-paxlovid_113219_102.html)

  • Other themes

o Three cases of childhood hepatitis of unknown origin detected in Spain, following an international alert from the WHO and the ECDC, originating in the United Kingdom (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-04-13/detectado- in-spain-the-first-case-of-an-infantile-hepatitis-of-unknown-origin.html)

o Spain, at the tail of the large European markets in access to cancer and orphan drugs (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/medicina-preventiva/politica/espana-la-cola-de-los-grandes-mercados -europeans-in-access-oncology-drugs-and-orphans.html)

o The Government wants to reduce tobacco consumption, without prohibiting smoking (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2022-04-10/espana-quiere-desatascar-la-caida-de-fumadores-sin-recurr-a-la- prohibition.html)

o The Collegiate Medical Organization (OMC) makes a proposal to the Ministry of Health on medical recertification according to the English model with three measures. It proposes that the OMC-FACME could be the supervisory agency, similar to the “Professionals Standards Authority for Health and Social Care”, of the United Kingdom (https://www.redaccionmedica.com/secciones/medicina/- English-model-of -medical-recertification-with-3-measures-of-competence-6828)

o The Spanish transplant model triumphs in Latin America, where organ donation grew by 100% between 2005 and 2019 (https://www.consalud.es/politica/donacion-organos-iberoamerica-programa-espanol_112999_102.html)

o Harassment of women who go to abortion clinics is declared a crime, through a modification of the Penal Code (https://www.consalud.es/pacientes/acoso-mujeres-acudan-clinicas-abortar-delito-jueves_113177_102. html)

o Family Medicine, Anesthesiology, Psychiatry and Radiodiagnosis, among the specialties that will have to increase their MIR offer to alleviate the deficit, according to a recent report (https://www.diariomedico.com/medicina/profesion/espana-pagara-en -five-years-the-lack-of-planning-in-medical-templates.html)

COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS AND OTHER AGENTS IN THE SECTOR

  • International News

o Walgreens, the American pharmacy chain, flooded the market with opiates and is accused of creating addicts (https://www.consalud.es/ecsalud/internacional/walgreens-farmaceutica-opiaceos-mercado-crear-adictos_113123_102.html)

o GSK, about to buy Sierra Oncology for 1,500 million pounds to boost its oncology offer (https://www.ft.com/content/d26ea24f-1ea9-4b09-842d-4708090bfe42)

o The vaccine business drops, with a 21% drop in sales (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20220412/business-vacunas-anticovid-cae-prevision-ventas-demanda/ 664183929_0.html)

  • National News

o Farmaindustria pays 452 million to the State for excess public spending on medicines in 2018 and 2019 (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20220411/farmaindustria-abona-millones-exceso-gasto-publico- medications/663433943_0.html)

o The HIPRA vaccine will arrive between May and June, according to Minister Morant (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20220411/vacuna-espanola-hipra-covid-llegara-ministra-morant/664183699_0.html)

o Boehringer Ingelheim reinforces its commitment to Spain with an investment in R&D of 42 million in 2021, 23% more than in the previous period (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/boehringer-ingelheim-refuerza-su -bet-on-spain-with-an-investment-of-42-million-in-2021.html)

o Lácer launches its sale process for more than 500 million euros (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/04/08/companias/1649439648_227115.html)

o Insparya, the hair business that Cristiano Ronaldo is in, will take its clinics to Milan, Paris and Dubai and will continue to open in Spain (https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2022/04/08/companias/1649440871_986204. html)