The CaixaResearch Consolidate aid program, aimed at promoting the transfer of knowledge and technologies in the field of biomedicine and health, has incorporated four new innovative biomedical projects to accompany them in the definition of their growth and commercialization plans for the treatments and devices developed. This year, the program will allocate up to 1.2 million euros to these new advanced projects.
The biomedical proposals that will contribute to improving people's quality of life correspond to very diverse health areas: a project from the Hospital Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Investigació (VHIR) to develop synthetic cells that improve the control of viral infections; a new drug built with a shuttle peptide from Gate2Brain and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu that crosses the blood-brain barrier to treat childhood brain cancer; a technology from CiQUS of the University of Santiago de Compostela and the CSIC that acts on cancerous stem cells to overcome resistance and recurrence; and smart glasses to correct severe eye defects developed by a research team from the University of Murcia.
With these four projects, the number of innovative ideas supported by the La Caixa Banking Foundation's biomedicine program in 2021 will total seven, accompanying researchers in areas such as technology transfer, financing tools, or negotiations, in addition to mentoring by experts who will help them define their development and commercialization plans in a personalized way. Each project also receives financial aid of up to 300,000 euros.
The development of synthetic cells, which corresponds to research led by Eva Baldrich and the Fundació Hospital Universitari Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Investigació (VHIR), will improve the hemagglutination process ---a reaction that causes the agglutination of erythrocytes in the presence of certain viruses--- and which is an essential procedure in the diagnosis, control, and characterization of viruses such as influenza, as well as in determining immunity after infection or vaccination. With the support of CaixaResearch, the research team will improve profitability and increase the type of detectable viruses, including rubella and SARS-CoV-2.
Regarding the company Gate2Brain, a spin-off of IRB Barcelona, the University of Barcelona (UB) and the Sant Joan de Déu Hospital Research Institute, the research team led by Meritxell Teixidó has designed a shuttle peptide that can transport drugs across the BBB to treat DIPG (diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, a childhood brainstem tumor that affects approximately two out of every million children) or other brain diseases. Currently, there is no effective care or treatment for DIPG. Its objective is to carry out the preclinical validation of the new drug G2B-002.
For his part, researcher Pablo Artal, from the University of Murcia, has developed a device based on spatial light modulators (devices used to modulate the amplitude and phase of light waves) and controlled by real-time eye pupil tracking. This solution also can help correct refractive errors and presbyopia, which affect more than 1.8 billion people worldwide. With the support of CaixaResearch, they will miniaturize the prototype and improve computing performance with the aim of entering the market in 4 years.
Finally, a team from the Singular Center for Research in Biological Chemistry and Molecular Materials (CiQUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela have identified chemical compounds that are capable of specifically targeting the mitochondrial respiration of cancer stem cells (CSCs) and, therefore, could prevent resistance to chemotherapy treatment and recurrence.