Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, the largest research project in the world is taking place in the United Kingdom. It is about collecting information of all kinds from 5 million Britons, to then put that information to work in the preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, Public Health field, etc. A milestone where the great contribution of AI to health and healthcare will be seen.

In terms of Global Health, The Lancet analyzes the problem of deadly gun violence and the intended approach in the United States, under the leadership of Vice President Kamala Harris. Although we tend to believe that this is a typical and especially acute problem in North American society, the truth is that in many Latin American countries the situation is much more serious: Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, Venezuela, El Salvador,…

In terms of International Health Policy, a novel approach to smoking in the United Kingdom, where it is being proposed to address this problem from the beginning, slowing down the age of starting to smoke. A report by European pharmacists confirms that the shortage of certain medicines is a problem throughout Europe.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), it is worth highlighting that the Generalitat Valenciana intends to recover the public management of the Manises and Denia hospitals, managed by concession by Sanitas and Ribera, respectively, while at the same time it proposes to continue with the concession of Vinalopó, which ends in 2025, also managed by Ribera. A priori, it seems like a judicious and non-sectarian approach from the Valencian government. The government’s Budget Plan foresees a percentage of GDP for health in 2024 of 6.7%, which contrasts with the results of the latest report of the Health Accounts System (July, 2023), which shows a public health expenditure of 7 .8% of GDP in 2021. Given that, as in the 2010 crisis, measures to reduce health spending (such as lowering staff salaries, freezing substitutions or reducing the price of medicines) are not announced, it is difficult to believe that this objective of 6.7% in public health in 2024 will be met, especially when some communities, such as the Basque Country, are announcing increases in health spending. The Andalusian Health Institute is created, the result of the merger of the Andalusian School of Public Health and the Progreso y Salud Foundation, which lose their status as public companies and, therefore, a certain autonomy. Given the history of the current Andalusian government with public hospital companies, we fear that it is another step towards the “administrativeization” of the public health system. Time will tell if this is progress or setback, but they do not seem to bode well, given the poor results of the operation in the hospital setting.

In the field of Companies, on an international level, the purchase by MSD from Daiichi of several cancer drugs is worth highlighting. At the national level, OHLA is awarded the construction of the new Vithas hospital in Turia. Important commitment of venture capital (Advent) in the field of dental care (Vitaldent), which contrasts with the low commitment of the government in this field, which distances us from Europe, being one of the countries with the least public financing in dental care.

Biomedicine

• The Economist: The world’s largest biomedical research project takes place in the United Kingdom. The goal is to get 5 million Britons – the same population as Norway – weighed, measured, subjected to genomic, phenotypic and other analyses, and then put that data to work. (https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/10/18/the-worlds-largest-health-research-study-is-under-way-in-britain#). The project is called “Our Future Health” and is explained in this government document: https://ourfuturehealth.org.uk
• Wearables track Parkinson’s better than human observation (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/15/health/wearables-parkinsons-technology.html#:~:text=An%20Oxford%20University%20researcher%20and,to%20a%20newly%20published%20paper.)
• Scientists offer new explanation for “long covid” (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/16/health/long-covid-serotonin.html#:~:text=A%20team%20of%20scientists%20is,people%20with%20the%20complex%20condition.)
• A novel therapy manages to extend life in cerebral glioblastoma multiforme (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20231018/novedosa-terapia-consigue-alargar-vida-paciente-cancer-severiano-ballesteros/802669847_0.html). Access to the original Nature article: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-023-06623-2

Global Health

• The Lancet Editorial: Global gun violence. Although it is generally believed that the United States has a high rate of violent deaths from firearms (4 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants) and is high compared to European countries, however, Central and South America have much higher ratios: Brazil, Mexico , Guatemala, Venezuela, El Salvador,… (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02347-4/fulltext)
• How to save the lives of 200,000 women a year, who die every year in sub-Saharan Africa in the process of giving birth. Better maternity care would improve this figure (https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/10/19/how-to-save-the-lives-of-200000-women-a-year)
• Israeli and Palestinian doctors speak out (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02345-0/fulltext)
• The epicenter of deadly bird flu may be shifting from Asia to Europe and Africa (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/oct/19/epicentre-of-deadly-bird-flu-outbreaks-shifts-from-asia-to-europe-and-africa#:~:text=For%2025%20years%2C%20bird%20flu,2022%20in%20European%20wild%20birds.)

International health policy

• USA
  • American states struggle to treat severe mental illness (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/10/19/american-states-wrestle-with-how-to-treat-severe-mental-illness)

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • The Economist Editorial: How to make the NHS ready for Artificial Intelligence. On the need to put multiple NHS data to work with AI (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/10/19/how-to-make-britains-health-service-ai-ready#)
  • “Stopping the start”: new approach to anti-smoking measures in the United Kingdom (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation/stopping-the-start-our-new-plan-to-create-a-smokefree-generation#:~:text=Legislating%20to%20create%20a%20smokefree%20generation&text=In%20effect%2C)
  • GPs can refer patients with back pain to an app, according to NICE (https://www.bmj.com/content/383/bmj.p2380#:~:text=The%20draft%20guidance%20says%20that,lasted%20more%20than%20three%20months.)

• European Union
  • EU plans to share medicines in case of shortages (https://www.ft.com/content/dda073e4-1f00-4b25-88ad-8199642c81d5)
  • The European Medicines Agency warns about counterfeits of Ozempic, Novonordisk’s weight loss drug (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-10-18/la-agencia-europea-del-medicamento-alerta-de-forgeries-of-ozempic.html)
  • 95% of European pharmacists report that medication shortages are a common problem (https://www.diariomedico.com/farmacia/hospitalaria/europa-un-95-de-los-farmaceuticos-de-hospital-senala-that-mistakes-are-a-common-problem.html)

National health policy

• Valencian Generalitat
  • The Generalitat Valenciana will assume the management of the Manises and Denia hospitals, currently managed under concession by Sanitas and Ribera, respectively. On the other hand, it is proposed to continue with the concession in the case of Vinalopó, which expires on June 1, 2025, if the current quality satisfaction indices are maintained (https://elpais.com/sociedad/2023-10-20/the-generalitat-will-assume-the-direct-management-of-the-hospitals-of-manises-and-denia-que-el-pp-privatizo.html)

• MUFACE
  • Financial insufficiency suffocates the MUFACE model (https://www.larazon.es/sociedad/insuficiencia-financiera-asfixia-modelo-muface_20231016652c8c0d90d39d0001fb6b61.html)

• Spain Neurotech
  • The opening of Spain Neurotech, National Center of Neurology, increasingly closer (https://medicinaresponsable.com/investigacion/ayuso-yuste-nueva-york-neurociencia-neurología-spain-neurotech)

• Heat deaths
  • Excessive heat caused the deaths of 2,155 people this summer (https://www.elmundo.es/ciencia-y-salud/salud/2023/10/18/652ebe66fdddffe5ad8b459b.html#)

• Budget Plan 2024
  • According to this plan, public spending on health will be 6.7% of GDP. However, the latest report on the health accounts system accounts for public health spending equivalent to 7,8% of GDP in 2021 (https://www.hacienda.gob.es/CDI/EstrategiaPoliticaFiscal/2024/Plan-Presupuestario-2024-ES.pdf)

• Andalusian Health Institute
  • Green light for the Andalusian Health Institute, removing the autonomy as a public company from the Andalusian School of Public Health (https://www.plantadoce.com/publico/luz-verde-al-instituto-de-salud-de-andalucia.html)

• State Public Health Agency
  • Granada takes steps to host the State Public Health Agency (https://diariofarma.com/2023/10/20/granada-da-pasos-para-albergar-la-aesp)

• Residents in private healthcare
  • Private healthcare will be able to choose its residents again (https://www.consalud.es/formacion/sanidad-privada-mir-supremo_135919_102.html)

• CIS survey results
  • Health is losing weight among the concerns of Spaniards (https://diariofarma.com/2023/10/18/la-sanidad-pierde-peso-entre-las-preseguraciones-de-los-espanoles). To access the latest CIS Barometer (October 23): https://www.cis.es/cis/export/sites/default/-Archivos/Estudios/Avances/3423/Es3423mar_A.pdf

• Healthcare Data Lake
  • These are the steps that have been taken for its creation (https://www.consalud.es/politica/data-lake-sanitario-estos-son-pasos-se-han-dado-hasta-momento-su-creacion_135938_102.html)

Companies

• International News
  • BioNTech provides 900 million euros for the covid vaccine (https://www.ft.com/content/777c63f9-807a-412b-93b4-8ec164a8e77f)
  • MSD will pay up to 20,830 million euros to Daiichi for three anti-cancer drugs (https://www.expansion.com/empresas/2023/10/20/6532a5d3468aebf97d8b45b9.html#)

• National
  • OHLA is awarded the construction of the Vithas hospital in Turia for 30 million euros (https://www.expansion.com/valencia/2023/10/18/653002d4468aeb98638b464e.html#)
  • The HLA group opens a new medical center in Elche (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/el-grupo-hla-abre-un-nuevo-centro-medico-en-elche.html)
  • Advent negotiates a loan of 70 million euros to promote Vitaldent (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/advent-international-ultima-finacion-por-70-millones-de-euros-para-donte-group.html#:~:text=Advent%20International%2C%20owner%20of%20la,in%20Spain%2C%20accordingto%20avanza%20Expansión.)