Ignasi Belda: “We are the only service provider in computational chemistry with a presence in five countries” Blog Post

Intelligent Pharma, specializing in computational chemistry services for the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industries, recently opened a new office in Munich (Germany). It is the fifth international office that the company has set up in the same number of years. The company also recently received a capital injection of 550,000 euros from the Avanza 2 program from the Spanish Ministry of Industry, Energy and Tourism, and the Torres Quevedo call from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.

 

Scientists in Barcelona discover a potential treatment for cirrhosis Blog Post

Scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) at PCB and the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS) reveals a therapeutic target to prevent the development of the many abnormal blood vessels that cause gastrointestinal bleeding—the main complication in cirrhosis. The results of the study have been published in the most recent issue of Cirrhosis is the main risk factor for liver cancer. The same target may be the key to preventing and treating this condition.

 

Director general of Celgene Spain, Jordi Martí, new president of Asebio Blog Post

The Spanish Bioindustry Association (Asebio)  has renewed its board of directors as part of the celebration of the general assembly, held on December 1. Jordi Martí -Vice President and CEO of Celgene Spain- takes over Regina Revilla -Director of External Relations and Communication of MSD- the head of this institution that was created in 1999 as a meeting platform for those organizations interested in stimulating the national biotechnology scene, of which PCB is a founding member. 

 

A new era of research in cancer genomics Blog Post

A study published in the prestigious journal Nature Communications –led by the Centro Nacional de Analisis Genómico (CNAG-CRG), located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), and the  German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)– revealed a high degree of heterogeneity in how cancer genome sequencing is done at different institutions across the globe. The results of this work –carried out within the framework of the International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC)– lay the foundation for the coming era of cancer genomics by creating guidelines and providing new tools for achieving higher quality data, for better diagnosis and precision medicine.

The Ordesa Foundation allocates 300,000 euros to charity projects for disadvantaged children Blog Post

The Ordesa Foundation has given the Ordesa 2015 grants, endowed with a total of 300,000 euros. A large part of this amount will be allocated to six projects aimed to address the most disadvantaged childhood and motherhood population in the world. As a novelty, this edition has added a new category aimed at twenty initiatives aimed at children at social risk in Spain which will receive a grant of 5,000 euros each. This´s year call will also donate 10 tons of baby food to social institutions that cater to families without resources. Since 2007 Ordesa has a R+D+I Center at PCB from which it takes an active role in clinical studies and national and international programs to improve the health and quality of citizens, especially during the maternal-child stage. 

 

Jordi Naval: “Investment in new startups in health of Catalonia will approach €100 million in 2015” Blog Post

Bringing science and business together to help create a bioentrepreneurial ecosystem: this is the aim of Health & Bio Team Dating, an event that took place on 3 December that allowed scientists and managers to meet in brief partnering meetings to create teams that will allow them to start up a successfully new company. The initiative is organized by Banc Sabadell jointly three entities located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) –BiocatCataloniaBio and the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation (FBG).

 

Biolatam, a benchmark meeting in the series of biotechnology summits worldwide Blog Post

On 16 and 17 November Santiago de Xile hosted the last edition of the largest biotechnology partnering conference in Latin-America, Biolatam 2015.The event, produced by EBD Group and ASEBIO in collaboration with ProChile and Chile Biotech, was attended by over 340 life science dealmakers from pharma, biotech and service companies representing US, Latin American and European entities.organized by the Spanish Association of Biocompanies  (Asebio), EBD Group and Chilean biotechnology companies (Asembio), with the support of ProChile and the Chilebiotech cluster. Leitat, its Biomed Division – which has located its Biomedical Division at PCB– is one of the 30 companies from the Spanish state that took part in this global partnering forum which ranks high in a relevant place in biotechnology summits worlwide.

 

Marco Pugliese: “EIT Health Spain is a very solid public-private alliance in terms of excellence and capacity” Blog Post

Less than a month ago Marco Pugliese took over as General Manager of the Spanish node of EIT Health, the Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), an initiative dedicated to healthy living and active aging and one of the KICs promoted by the European Institute of Technology and Innovation (EIT). EIT Health Spain, based at  Barcelona Science Park (PCB), is made up of 17 public and private leasing institutions in their sector. Pugliese reveals what his management priorities are going to be as head of such a large consortium.

 

Science Week celebrates its 20th edition with more than 350 activities Blog Post

The 20th Edition of Science Week (SC’15) was inaugurated today, 16 November, at the Institute of Catalan Studies (IEC). The event, coordinated by the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRi), will take place from 13 to 22 November and will host more than 300 different multidisplinary science and technology dissemination activities. SC’15 has the support of nearly 100 institutions and agencies of the Catalan system of research and innovation, most notably the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Catalan Institute for Bioengineering (IBEC) that which will be offering a unique scientific workshop at its premises located at Barcelona Science Park (PCB).

 

SOM Biotech and Vall d’Hebron successfully complete a clinical trial in patients with TTR amyloidosis Blog Post

SOM Biotech and the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) have successfully completed a Phase IIa proof-of-concept clinical trial in humans to evaluate the efficacy and safety of an innovative oral therapy for transthyretin amyloidosis (TTA), a rare disease that affects the peripheral nervous system and heart. To carry out this trial, the hospital and the Catalan biotech, with headquarters at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), signed an risk-sharing agreement under (RSA) which they jointly assumed the risks and economic returns of the project.