Posts

7 days in healthcare (January 31-February 6, 2022)

/in /by

 

SUMMARY

As far as biomedicine is concerned, the report on the value of death by The Lancet stands out; also the development of the nasal vaccine against COVID; the new horizon of transplants, derived from the possibilities of genetic editing of animal organs; and, the revolution that the new cancer vaccines based on mRNA technology may entail.

In terms of global health, the AstraZeneca vaccine is the most widely used worldwide, due to its contribution to COVAX. More than 2,500 million doses have been placed globally.

In international health policy, the most striking is the study by Johns Hopkins University, which minimizes the effectiveness of confinement, which contrasts with previous studies; the 900,000 deaths from COVID in the United States and the 500,000 in India; the WTO continues to request the release of vaccine patents. In Europe, it is worth highlighting the new clinical trial system approved by the European Union and its new approach to cancer.

National health policy continues to be dominated by COVID. The numbers of cases are decreasing, which speaks of the decline of the “sixth wave”. However, deaths are still very high. The announcement that oncological biomarkers will be included in the portfolio of the National Health System is very important. Cancer mapping in Spain presents very striking results, with a high concentration of cancer incidence in certain geographical areas. Subject to study and act.

In company news, the leading role of venture capital companies is notable, with the large operations underway by Sandoz (a generic and biosimilar branch of Novartis) and IVI (a Spanish fertility company). The interest of private equity companies is concentrated around these companies. Also the acquisition of MIR Asturias by CVC and the Alfonso X University. The attempt by Correos to enter pharmaceutical distribution will bring a tail.

BIOMEDICINE

  • Report on the value of death: while in developed countries there is hypertreatment around death, in most countries death occurs without access to basic pain treatment (The Lancet, January 31, 22)
  • The nasal vaccine may be better for successive doses. There are a dozen such vaccines in development in phase 3 trials (NYT, February 2, 22)
  • The “stealth” variant (stealth) does not generate alarm, but it can slow down the decline in the number of cases (NYT, January 31, 22)
  • The sub-variant “ómicron” BA.2, more contagious than the original (FT, 31 January 22)
  • The new variant BA.2, already present in 57 countries, according to the WHO (FT, February 3, 22)
  • New variant of the HIV virus, discovered in the Netherlands (FT, February 3, 22)
  • Genetic editing of pig hearts: a new horizon for transplants (FT, February 2, 22)
  • Cancer vaccines: the new mRNA revolution (El País, Vozpópuli, February 4, 22)
  • Amidst the wide debate on abortion, a simple pill seems the most viable option (The Economist, 5 February 22)

GLOBAL HEALTH

  • AstraZeneca, the most distributed vaccine through COVAX, has already given 2,500 million doses worldwide (ConSalud, January 31, 22)
  • Humanitarian groups denounce that sanctions against Mali may have very adverse health consequences (The Lancet, February 5, 22)

INTERNATIONAL HEALTH POLICY

  • COVID

o A study by Johns Hopkins University (Applied Economics Studies magazine) questions the effectiveness of confinement in reducing mortality, which contrasts with the analysis published in Nature in June 2020, which estimates that three million deaths have been prevented in Europe by confinement, 450,000 in Spain (El Independiente, February 3, 22)

o The UK approves the Novavax vaccine (FT, 3 February 22)

o The American army begins to fire its members who refuse the vaccine (The Guardian, February 2, 22)

o The New Zealand border will be reopened in phases from the end of February, the Prime Minister announces (The Guardian, 2 February 22)

o The United States reaches 900,000 deaths from COVID (The Guardian, February 4, 22)

o India exceeds 500,000 deaths from COVID (The Guardian, February 4, 22)

o Europe facing a “long period of tranquility” in the pandemic, says the WHO, due to the lesser severity of the “ómicron” variant, the high percentages of immunization and the good weather (The Guardian, February 3, 22)

o The WTO (World Trade Organization) wants an agreement to release vaccine patents this month (El Español, February 1, 22)

o The German Vaccine Commission recommends the fourth dose for vulnerable and health groups (El País, February 3, 22)

o Beijing seals off several communities for two cases of COVID (The Guardian, January 31, 22)

o The COVID vaccine is already mandatory in Austria, with a great social fracture (Expansión, February 5, 22)

  • Other issues

o New clinical trial system in Europe, which Farmaindustria sees as an opportunity (diariofarma, February 1, 22)

o The EU will act against inequalities against cancer (ConSalud, February 3, 22)

NATIONAL HEALTH POLICY (SPAIN)

  • COVID

o The sixth wave is being left behind, the cases and hospitalizations are slowing down, although not the deaths that already exceed 6,000 since November (El País, February 5, 22)

o The mask outdoors will no longer be mandatory from next Thursday (El País, February 4, 22)

o Health has not yet closed the purchase of 344,000 doses of Paxlovid (El Español, February 3, 22)

o The AEM authorizes the HIPRA vaccine to go to phase 3 of clinical trials (The Objective, February 1, 22)

  • Political ads

o The new public health center, affected by the decentralization of public offices (diariofarma, February 1, 22)

o The approval of oncological biomarkers, announced as a pending objective of the expansion of the NHS portfolio (diariofarma, February 1, 22)

o The Minister of Health says that the Anti-Tobacco Law needs to be updated (ConSalud, February 4, 22)

  • Other issues

o 27% of pharmaceutical innovations approved in 2021, subject to special financing conditions (diariofarma, February 1, 22)

o Access to new cancer drugs takes more than 19 months in Spain, while in Germany it takes two months, according to doctors and patients (La Vanguardia, February 2, 22)

o Health plan to make rural pharmacies more viable (ConSalud, January 28, 2022)

o The private e-prescription is consolidated (diariofarma, February 2, 22)

o The cartography of cancer in Spain has been published, with very striking results, according to the “Atlas of Cancer Mortality in Portugal and Spain” (El Periódico de España, February 5, 22)

COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS AND OTHER AGENTS IN THE SECTOR

  • American pharmaceutical companies (J&J and three of the largest drug distributors in the United States) agree to pay 590 million dollars to Native Americans for the opioid crisis (El País, February 1, 22)
  • Pharmaceutical cold distribution, new Correos service (Redacción Médica, February 2, 22)
  • Pfizer-Biontech requests authorization from the FDA for the approval of the vaccine for children under 5 years of age (El País, February 1, 22)
  • Private equity companies consider offers of more than 25,000 million dollars for the generics unit of Novartis, Sandoz, Blackstone, Carlyle and EQT, among the most interested (FT, February 1, 22)
  • KKR, CVC, Permira, Bain, Carlyle and PAI outline their bids to take over the fertility company of Valencian origin IVI, the bids range from 1,500 million euros (CincoDías, January 31, 22)
  • Atrys enters the continuous market, as of February 7 (PlantaDoce, February 3, 22)
  • Sanitas gains ground and plans to open 7 rehabilitation centers in 2022 (PlantaDoce, February 1, 22)
  • Adeslas and Caixabank extend their agreement in the Bankia network for 650 million euros (CincoDías, January 27, 22)
  • MIR Asturias acquired by CVC and Alfonso X University (La Nueva España, February 3, 22)
  • Quirón acquires Clínicas Vida and strengthens its care network in Tenerife (PlantaDoce, January 28, 22)
  • Vitaldent expands throughout Andalusia and opens a new clinic in Benalmádena (PlantaDoce, February 3, 22)
  • Group 5 opens a residence for serious mental disorders in Madrid (PlantaDoce, February 3, 22)
  • Prim is reinforced with the purchase of Herbitas laboratories (Expansión, February 4, 22)
  • Pharmamar leads a consortium of companies for the development of advanced therapies (El Economista, February 3, 22)

7 days in healthcare (15-21 November, 2021)

/in /by

 

ABSTRACT

From the international point of view, the plan of the American Democrats to negotiate the price of medicines and its possible impact on innovation continues to be discussed; Europe is once again the engine of the pandemic, with demonstrations in some European cities against confinements and COVID passport measures; and finally, the United States reach a peak in mortality from opioid as the covid pandemic continues.

At the national level, four elements of interest: 1. Spain exceeds 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although the situation is worrying, nothing to do with that of other European countries; 2. The state-of-the-art health PERTE is presented, doubts regarding its reformist impact; 3. Publication of the draft law that aims to consolidate the universality and equity of our National Health System; 4. The waiting lists are published as of June 30, 2021.

In terms of company news, perhaps most relevant is that both Merck and Pfizer’s COVID therapies will be available in generics for low- and middle-income countries.

INTERNATIONAL

  • Request for action in Afghanistan, given the food emergency, by the director of the World Food Program. Disaster is the consequence of conflict, economic collapse and drought (The Lancet, Nov 20 21)
  • Intense debate in the USA about the consequences for pharmaceutical innovation of the regulatory framework on the price of drugs that the Biden Administration wants to approve (NEJM, Nov 18, 21)
  • Democrats in the USA have a plan to reduce the price of drugs, without harming innovation (The Economist, Nov 20 21)
  • A year after the decision of the British NHS to move towards zero carbon emissions by the health system, another 13 countries, including Spain, have joined this approach, which entails important changes, especially in supply chains (The Lancet, Nov 17 21)
  • Europe is once again the engine of the pandemic, with the extremely worrying situation in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hungary, Romania and Russia, among others (Le Monde, 17 Nov 21)
  • Austria returns to lockdown (The Guardian, Nov 18 21)
  • Thousands of people protest in Vienna against confinement and mandatory vaccination (El País, 20 Nov 21)
  • Germany tightens restrictions on the unvaccinated and will force health workers and nursing home workers to be vaccinated (El País, 18 Nov 21)
  • Bavaria cancels Christmas markets, given the growth of the pandemic (The Guardian, 19 Nov 21)
  • The third dose can be extended to all adults, says British Health Minister Sajid Javid (The Guardian,
  • The majority of the European population, in favor of COVID passports (The Guardian, 19 Nov 21)
  • The use of masks reduces the incidence by 53%, according to an international study published in the British Medical Journal (The Guardian, 18 Nov 21)
  • In the USA, mortality from opioid overdose reaches record growth, while the pandemic continues (NYT, Nov 17, 21)
  • Fauci says the pandemic may be under control in 2022, with more third doses (The Guardian, Nov 17, 21)
  • Europe will prioritize the local manufacture of drugs to gain autonomy. This coming week the new EU pharmaceutical strategy will be approved (El Economista 21 Nov 21)

NATIONAL

  • Spain exceeds 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the first time in two months (El País, 18 Nov 21). Comment: although the situation is worrying, it has nothing to do, however serious, with that of other parts of Europe. It seems that the high immunization, the fifth wave and the high percentage of vaccination are at the origin of this situation. However, we do not know if this differential is going to be maintained or we are heading towards a situation similar to that of most of the rest of Europe.
  • The autonomous communities denounce that they once again lack legal tools in the face of another wave of the pandemic (El Mundo, Nov 21, 21)
  • The state-of-the-art health PERTE is presented, which entails 1,489 million investment until 2023 (diariofarma, 15 Nov 21). Comment: there is no transformation in the sense of reforming the health system (which they consider good) and it is an investment aimed at the biotechnology industry. Mentions of primary care are imprecise. In summary: facing the transformation of the health system and to what extent European funds can help, including digitization, is an issue that remains to be seen
  • Published the Draft Law that modifies various regulations to consolidate equity, universality and cohesion of the National Health System, which seeks to prevent co-payments and promote direct management (Diario Médico, Nov 16 21)
  • Waiting lists published as of June 30, 2021: 121 days on average to undergo surgery and 75 days to visit a specialist. 661,162 people, waiting for an intervention. The lists are close to those in 2019 (La Vanguardia, Nov 26 21)
  • ASPE offers its collaboration to end the waiting lists (Medical Redaction, Nov 18 21)
  • Summer-22 is set as the limit to reform the Framework Statute in the summer of 2022, for which it is announced that there will be minor changes to adapt to the Basic Statute of Public Employees and the labour conditions of residents (Diario Médico, Nov 18, 21)
  • The Public Health Center will go to the Council of Ministers soon (Consalud, 19 Nov 21)

COMPANIES, EMPLOYERS AND MAIN ACTORS IN HEALTH

  • Pfizer’s anticovid pill will be sold as a generic drug in 95 low- and middle-income countries, mainly in Africa and Asia, although the agreement excludes some countries hit hard by the pandemic. Previously, Merck had announced something similar (NYT, Nov 16 21)
  • European regulators, with serious doubts about Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug (FT, Nov 17 21)
  • DKV remains in the MUFACE system (company declarations)
  • The EMA launches the emergency authorization process for the NOVAVAX vaccine, which would be the first vaccine with recombinant proteins developed in the European Union (Expansión, 18 Nov 21)
  • Quirónsalud launches two new phase I clinical trial units in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​following an agreement with Next Oncology (Diario Médico, 19 Nov 21)
  • Prim improves its profit by 90% in the first nine months of the year, to 12 million (PlantaDoce, Nov 15, 21)
  • Moderna appoints new general manager for Spain and Portugal, Juan Carlos Gil (PlantaDoce, Nov 16 21)
  • Miranza expands its presence in the Basque Country and opens a new center in Bilbao (PlantaDoce, 15 Nov 21)
  • The German biotechnology company CureVac will begin second-generation vaccine trials (ConSalud, 19 Nov 21)
  • Rovi expects to reach growth forecasts for 2023 this year (CincoDías, Nov 16, 21)
  • Pfizer, BioNTech and Moderna expect to bill 62,000 million euros in 2021 with their vaccines (CincoDías, 15 Nov 21)
  • The Spanish HIPRA vaccine will prove its effectiveness as a booster injection for Pfizer vaccinated (Expansión, 16 Nov 21)
  • USA will pay 4,650 million euros to Pfizer for 10 million anti-covid treatments (CincoDías, Nov 18, 21)
  • Almirall collapses on the stock market, after losing 40 million euros (Expansión, 15 Nov 21)