Medical advances and health-related technology have evolved in a revolutionary way over the last few decades, as noted by renowned cardiologist Valentí Fuster; the director of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Josep Tabernero; and the head of ocular research at Spark Therapeutics, Virginia Haurigot, in a round table at the annual meeting of the Cercle d'Economia.
Despite these advances, cancer diagnoses and mortality due to cardiovascular causes are on the rise, as highlighted by Tabernero and Fuster. In fact, the president of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital detailed that cardiovascular mortality fell in recent decades due to factors such as improved ICUs and surgery, as well as defibrillators and reduced smoking, but is now starting to rebound.
"Why does this paradox exist?" asked the chief physician of New York's The Mount Sinai Hospital, who focused on several factors. On the one hand, he recalled that access to certain medications is not available to everyone and that poverty is gaining ground. The same applies to obesity, for which the first drugs to treat it have recently been developed. Regarding these treatments, Fuster called for attention to self-motivation to take care of oneself with good habits and exercise. "We have to be motivated to take care of ourselves and that only depends on us," emphasized the reputable cardiologist.
Thus, "the prevention of cardiovascular disease is in the head" and in the determination to take care of one's own health, which begins to be cultivated from childhood. In this way, "the issue of health begins with the family, with the education of children." For this reason, Fuster works on a program with 50,000 boys and girls to instill in them that health is a priority: "It is a public cultural issue, we have to educate the population," and governments can contribute to this, without having the key to solving the health field, according to Fuster. The doctor went further: "A subject on health is needed in schools; the day this subject exists, we will say that something is working from below."
The director of the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology has pointed in the same direction: "We can develop advances to increase survival, but we have to promote educational policies and changes in habits much more, because we are getting worse." So much so that, while currently 20 million people receive cancer diagnoses each year, this figure will rise to 30 million by 2040.
This forecast of an increase in cases is accompanied by a "very holistic advance in many aspects," which has led to an increase in survival in Spain from 35% to 65%, with the expectation that it will reach 75% before 2040. And it is that, during the last decades, there has been "a revolution in the knowledge of the mechanisms of cancer." To give it continuity, Tabernero defends public-private collaboration, and that research be financed both in its basic and clinical aspects.
The Cercle d'Economia has recognized BioNTech with its European Construction Award for its contribution to science and the development of the vaccine against Covid-19Regarding this funding, Fuster highlighted that investment in the United States is more substantial and part of a scheme that prioritizes excellence: "It's not easy to enter the field of research unless you have talent. But if you get in, if you perform, they fund you. The day you don't perform, you're out on the street," he illustrated, and has opted to expand funding in Europe, prioritizing researchers with the most potential.
This research has been crucial for the development of gene therapies that focus the activity of the American Spark Therapeutics. Its head of ocular research has highlighted that this technology has experienced accelerated growth in recent years. It was in 2017 when the first gene therapy drug was approved, and now there are already 20 that use this technology, which gives instructions to cells to vary their capabilities: "It seems like science fiction, but the potential is enormous and we are going to see more and more applications."
Tribute to BioNTech and European science
As an example and champion of science and research at a European level, the Cercle d'Economia has recognized the German BioNTech with its European Construction Award. The award, presented at an event presided over by King Felipe VI, has been given to its co-founders, Uğur Şahin and Özlem Türeci, to recognize their contribution to science, especially for the development of the first vaccine against Covid-19.
Türeci has highlighted that they managed to "translate science into a solution for a global health crisis" and has expressed confidence that their work will inspire the next generation of European scientists. The co-founders, who recalled that they promoted BioNTech to develop personalized cancer vaccines, have advocated for cross-border collaboration, from a Barcelona that Türeci has described as "an inspiring city that demonstrates the power of innovation within the European framework."
BioNtech and the development of the vaccine represent, according to Felipe VI, an example of support and collaboration between European institutions and the scientific community. According to the monarch, "the transformative power of scientific research and the crucial role of strategic funding in promoting innovation" made the development of the vaccine possible.
"They are an inspiring example of how commitment to European construction can have a tangible, perceptible impact on people's lives," the king added. In this regard, he has defended that lsolidarity and cooperation are fundamental for the future of Europe, at the same time that Europe is fundamental for that of Spain, as it is intrinsically linked to that of its European partners."
The award winners founded BioNtech in 2008 without imagining that years later they would launch a vaccine against Covid "at the speed of light," highlighted Economics professor and former minister Andreu Mas-Colell. The also president of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) has advocated for advancing in the development of the EU through a public-private collaboration like the one exemplified by BioNtech.
"Their contribution has saved millions of lives and, furthermore, has inspired the work of future scientists in Europe," according to the president of the Cercle d'Economia, Jaume Guardiola, who has maintained that the biotechnological company's achievement against Covid-19 demonstrates the determining role that EU funding plays in scientific advances in all their aspects.