ERC Starting Grant for IBEC researcher Lorenzo Albertazzi and IRB scientist Fran Supek Blog Post

The European Research Council (ERC) will award its ERC Starting Grants, worth a total of €605 million, to 406 early-career researchers throughout Europe. IBEC researcher Lorenzo Albertazzi and IRB Barcelona researcher Fran Supek at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) are among this year’s awardees by these grants, which reward researchers with 2-7 seven years of experience since completion of the PhD (or equivalent degree), a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal.

 

Two studies reject the scientific dogma associating ageing with the loss of stem cell circadian rhythm Blog Post

Two studies published in Cell by scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) at the Barcelona Science Park, the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the University of California, Irvine (UCI) reject the scientific dogma associating ageing with the loss of stem cell circadian rhythm. Their results reveal that stem cell functions continue to be governed by day and night cycles (circadian rhythms) during ageing, but their rhythms become devoted to tissue repair and not to the maintenance of tissue tone.

 

Researchers describe a new brain signalling pathway that regulates body weight Blog Post

An article published in the journal Cell Metabolism –which counts with the participation of the researchers Francesc Villarroya and Joan Villarroya, from the Faculty of Biology and the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) at PCB– describes for the first timethe molecular mechanism that regulates the lipid metabolism in the liver through a hypothalamus-coordinated pathway in the brain. Study results open new horizons to the therapy design to treat obesity and other metabolic diseases.

 

SOM Biotech opens a €10 million Series A funding round Blog Post

The biopharmaceutical company SOM Biotech –and specialised in repositioning drugs to treat rare nervous system diseases– has just opened a Series A round with the goal of raising €10 million, targeted to top US and European biotech venture capital. Since it was founded at the Barcelona Science Park in 2009, SOM Biotech has raised more than €5.3 million from public and private capital, and has placed 8 patents for new medical indications and formulations.

 

AVX pharma announces initiation of a Phase 2 Clinical Trial of AVX-012 Ophthalmic Solution in Dry Eye Syndrome Blog Post

Avizorex Pharma (AVX Pharma), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company with offices at Barcelona Science Park and focused on the development of novel therapies for Dry Eye Syndrome, today announced the initiation of a Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating the safety and efficacy of AVX-012 Ophthalmic Solution in patients with mild-to-moderate Dry Eye Syndrome, based on the concept of modulating corneal nerve activity to stimulate basal lacrimation.

 

Present your innovative project at the Asebio Investor Day! Blog Post

The Spanish Bioindustry Association (ASEBIO) and the Spanish Biotech Platform organize the Asebio Investor Day, in collaboration with PCB and Biocat and with the support of ICEX-Invest in Spain. The event will be held on 26 and 27 September at PCB and it is composed of two parts: An investor forum, with leading investors and pharmaceutical companies from around the world on 27 September, and a seminar given by Johnson & Johnson Innovation JLABS on 26 Setember. 

 

Experimental technique analyses the functioning of human sperm before insemination Blog Post

Researchers from the Eugin’s Basic Research Laboratory at the Barcelona Science Park and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) describes for the first time the use of an experimental technique that has made it possible to analyse the functioning of human sperm in contact with the cytoplasmic content of the eggs in vitro. The research has been presented at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) annual conference, which ends today in Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Boosting natural detoxification pathways in the body to reduce cellular oxidative stress Blog Post

Promoting innate detoxification mechanisms in the body and discovering which supplements increase the efficacy of those biochemical pathways could be an efficient strategy to reduce the cellular oxidative stress and protect our health, according to an article published in the journal Food Chemistry, by the researchers Rafael Franco, from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona at the Barcelona Science Park and Eva Martínez Pinilla, from the Institute of Neurosciences of Asturias (INEUROPA) and the University of Oviedo.