Summary

From the point of view of Biomedicine, 2023 definitely seems to be the year where the great impact of artificial intelligence on health has become completely clear. The example of a stethoscope that incorporates AI and substantially modifies the one invented 200 years ago is nothing more than an example of this great change. Scientific journals explore what 2023 has represented (anti-obesity medications and awareness of the impact of climate change on health, among others), as well as analyze the advances that are foreseen for 2024 (surely the HIV vaccine and the cure cholesterol, among many others).

Regarding Global Health, The Lancet dedicates its last issue of 2023 to exposing a series of photos related to health experiences in Nigeria.

Regarding International Health Policy, an interesting article in JAMA magazine that will cause controversy: it relates the increase in medical errors in American hospitals to their acquisition by private equity companies. It is one year since the end of the covid-zero policy in China and the Financial Times analyzes how that experience is remembered in that society.

If we talk about National Health Policy (Spain), our country says goodbye to 2023 with the experience of three different Ministers of Health (Darias, Miñones and now García). It is evident that this dance of ministers (in 45 years there have been 28 Ministers of Health) can guarantee, in the best of cases, the continuity of the “ordinary administration”, but not the promotion of large renewing projects of change. SESPAS asks the Ministry to launch the Public Health Agency in 2024. The Ministry of Health of the Regional Government of Andalusia has experienced a serious crisis that led to the resignation of both the Vice-Minister and the Manager of the SAS. It seems that the underlying issue was the approach to addressing the waiting list and the involvement or not of the private sector in that resolution. If so, regardless of the anecdote of this moment, what it reflects is a very deep problem: the absence of a clear policy towards the private health sector on the part of the Popular Party. Madrid wants to promote a pharmaceutical hub, an issue in which Catalonia is by far in the lead.

In the field of Companies, on an international level, the great growth of the hair transplant market stands out, which already moves 8.7 billion euros annually. It seems that it is a nascent industry, but on the rise. The fever of anti-obesity drugs has meant that there are now 188 candidates, of which 25 are in advanced phase (III or IV). When it comes to national news, the fever of corporate operations in hospitals continues. Ribera, Quirón, Viamed and Vithas, the great protagonists.

Biomedicine

• Artificial intelligence promises to transform the diagnosis of heart disease, through a stethoscope similar to the traditional one designed 200 years ago, but that incorporates AI, allowing heart disease to be diagnosed instantly. The device is being introduced into the NHS (https://www.ft.com/content/a7b87a58-0b0d-41f0-912c-f8c778c83059)
• 5 health lessons we learned in 2023: Ozempic, Covid isn’t really over, the health impact of climate change, the harms of alcohol (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/22/well/live/health-2023-ozempic-covid.html)
• From the cholesterol cure to the HIV vaccine, the scientific milestones for 2024 (https://www.larazon.es/sociedad/cura-colesterol-vacuna-vih-hitos-cientificos-2024_20231228658cd45cc46cc700010d15f9.html)
• Artificial intelligence, the most important technological advance of 2023. The use of AI in health is aimed at the diagnosis, treatment, monitoring or monitoring of patients. The greatest progress is made in the development of remote monitoring devices that integrate hardware and software based on AI (https://www.consalud.es/industria/inteligencia-artificial-avance-tecnologico-mas-destacado-industria-sanitaria- en-2023_138241_102.html)

Global Health

• See humanity in health. Although The Lancet is a review of “words”, in the latest edition it presents an article with graphic experiences in health in this case in Nigeria. The photos range from the birth of a child to the fear of losing it (https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(23)02837-4/fulltext)

International health policy

• USA
  • The USA begins a data sharing program that forces researchers to share information, when the research is supported by the National Institutes of Health (https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp2308792)
  • Article in The New York Times: serious medical errors grow after the purchase of hospitals by several private equity firms. (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/26/upshot/hospitals-medical-errors.html). The original report was published in JAMA magazine: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2813379

• United Kingdom and the National Health Service
  • Resolving waiting lists in both hospitals and courts will take more than ten years, according to a report by the think tank The Progressive Policy Think Tank. It says the future government will inherit the situation with more challenges in these public services (https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/29/backlog-in-nhs-and-courts-will-take-10-years-to-clear-says-thinktank)

• China
  • One year after the forgotten covid-zero policy, which ended on January 8, 2023 (https://www.ft.com/content/930318b8-65f3-4c66-9dd6-44249adea584)

National health policy

• Ministry of Health 2023
  • Health in one year: three ministers, a European presidency and the end of the pandemic (https://www.consalud.es/politica/sanidad-en-ano-tres-ministros-presidencia-europea-final-pandemia-coronavirus_138386_102.html)

• Resurgence of flu and covid-19
  • The Ministry of Health disseminates 7 preventive measures in the face of this rebound, including using disposable tissues, hand hygiene, wearing a mask and vaccination (https://www.eldiario.es/sociedad/sanidad-difunde-siete-medidas-preventivas-rebound-flu-covid-19_1_10794696.html#:~:text=Ante%20this%20repunte%2C%20Health%20ha,more%20close%3B%20perform%20hygiene%20de)

• Public Health Agency
  • SESPAS demands the creation of the National Public Health Agency (https://diariofarma.com/2023/12/26/sespas-reclama-la-creacion-de-la-agencia-estatal-de-salud-publica-as-challenge-for-2024#:~:text=The%20Society%20Spanish%20of%20Health%20Public%20and%20Administration%20Health%20(Sespas,its%20ministerial%20agenda%20for%20)

• Andalusia
  • Crisis in the Ministry of Health, the vice-counselor and the manager of the SAS resign, apparently due to problems in relation to the approach to waiting lists and the possible use of the private sector (https://www.diariodesevilla.es/andalucia/Crisis-Consejeria-Salud-viceconsejero-SAS_0_1861014238.html)

• Rare diseases
  • The La Caixa Foundation allocates 7.5 million to study rare diseases at the Sant Joan de Deu hospital (https://elpais.com/espana/catalunya/2023-12-28/fundacion-la-caixa-destina-75- million-to-study-rare-diseases-at-the-hospital-sant-joan-de-deu.html#:~:text=The%20Fundación%20la%20Caixa%20ha,matter%20of%20minority%20pediatric%20diseases.)

• Pharmaceutical hub
  • Madrid creates a pharmaceutical hub in Alcobendas. 30 pharmaceutical companies are linked to the Net Pharma Hub (https://www.plantadoce.com/entorno/madrid-se-lanza-a-por-el-sector-farma-con-un-hub-en-alcobendas#:~ :text=in%20Alcobendas%20%7C%20PlantaDoce-,Madrid%20se%20launches%20a%20by%20the%20sector%20%27pharma%27%20with%20un,arbitrary%20own%20of%20the%20politics”.)

• Vaping
  • The Ministry of Health wants to regulate “vaping”, upon learning that 25% of children between 12 and 13 years old have tried it (https://diariofarma.com/2023/12/28/uno-de-cada-four-children-from-12-to-13-years-old-acknowledge-having-tried-electronic-cigarettes)

• Tobacco
  • Tobacco in Spain, one of the cheapest in the EU (https://www.consalud.es/profesionales/precio-tabaco-espana_138337_102.html)

• Disease prevention programs
  • Spain spends 62% less than the EU on disease prevention programs (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20231227/espana-gasta-ue-programas-prevencion-enfermedades/820168049_0.html )

• Medicine shortage
  • The AEMPS will introduce plans in 2024 to avoid drug shortages. It wants to move towards a system that classifies drug shortages into four degrees, according to their impact (https://www.consalud.es/industria/medicamentos-criticos-aemps-introducara-nuevos-planes-prevencion-escasez-2024_138217_102.html )

Companies

• International News
  • Being bald will be a choice. The hair transplant market moves 8.7 billion euros annually in an incipient industry (https://elpais.com/salud-y-bienestar/2023-12-28/ser-calvo-sera-una-eleccion-una-operacion-and-two-pills-change-the-fight-against-alopecia.html)
  • AstraZeneca closes its first purchase in China, Gracell Biotechnologies (https://www.ft.com/content/42ab62e9-f9b7-48f0-ac72-a9caf925a65d)
  • How anti-obesity drugs launched the largest charitable foundation, NovoNordisk Foundation, the controlling shareholder of NovoNordisk (https://www.ft.com/content/69324884-a626-4787-a4ce-aece410d1dcc)
  • Given the rush for anti-obesity drugs, the industry is testing 188 candidates, according to Airfinity data. Of them, 25 are in the last stages (Phases III and IV) (https://www.elespanol.com/invertia/observatorios/sanidad/20231228/fiebre-medicamentos-obesidad-industria-probando-candidatos/820418013_0.html#:~:text=The%20pharmaceutical%20industry%20has%20found,drugs%20in%20different%20clinical%20phases.)
  • Eli Lilly completes the purchase of Point Biopharma for 1.4 billion dollars (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/eli-lilly-complete-la-compra-de-point-biopharma-por-1400-millones)

• National
  • Grifols reduces its debt with the sale of 20% of its Chinese business (https://cincodias.elpais.com/companias/2023-12-30/grifols-enfila-la-reduccion-de-deuda-con-la-selling-a-20-of-your-chinese-business.html)
  • Hipra’s milestone in 2023, the year of Bivermax (https://www.elespanol.com/ciencia/salud/20231225/hito-hipra-ano-bivermax-primera-vacuna-comercial-made-in-spain-historia/816668774_0.html)
  • Atryx announces the issuance of convertible bonds for 13.3 million euros (https://www.europapress.es/economia/noticia-atrys-anuncia-emision-bonos-convertibles-133-millones-euros-20231228191147.html)
  • The hospital sector continued its corporate operations rally in 2023. The main actors are Ribera (which was awarded the Cascais hospital in Portugal); Quirón (new hospital in Badalona); Viamed (acquisition of the Fátima hospital, in Seville); and, Vithas (acquisition of the Barén Clinic, in Las Palmas) (https://www.plantadoce.com/empresa/el-sector-hospitalario-continua-su-rally-de-operaciones-corporativas)