"La Caixa" renews its support for a personalized medicine project
An alliance between IRBLleida, CIBERES, IIS La Fe, and "la Caixa" will allow the advance of the transfer of this technology to society
"la Caixa" promotes this initiative with more than 180,000€ for the development of the HIPARCO-score innovation project, a personalized medicine tool that allows predicting the benefits of the treatment of sleep apnea in the control of blood pressure. The agreement signed between the Biomedical Research Institut of Lleida (IRBLleida) and "la Caixa" will allow to advance in the development of the product that allows the transfer of this technology to society. HIPARCO-score is currently protected under patent, and has the IRBLleida, the Center for Biomedical Research in Network (CIBER) and the Health Research Intitute La Fe as co-owners.
Resistant hypertension is a type of hypertension difficult to control and high cardiovascular risk. In addition, it is intimately related to sleep apnea. Currently, the management of patients with resistant hypertension, characterized by a lack of response to pharmacological treatment for the control of blood pressure, is an unresolved medical need. HIPARCO-score will allow us to innovate in the current management of resistant hypertension by analyzing biomarkers in a simple blood sample, identifying patients who may benefit from the treatment of sleep apnea to reduce their blood pressure. Therefore, it is a unique and very promising tool in the prevention, prediction and treatment of cardiovascular diseases.
This proposal, which is led by the deputy director of IRBLleida and CIBERES researcher Manuel Sánchez de la Torre, started from a CIBERES innovation project under the support of Caixaimpulse, a program promoted by "la Caixa" and Caixa Capital Risc that has object to validate and facilitate the commercialization of innovative technologies and therapies in biomedicine, as well as to train and accompany innovative researchers in this process.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death worldwide. Among all the risk factors associated with the development of cardiovascular diseases, hypertension is the most important modifiable factor. Patients with resistant hypertension, which do not respond to any pharmacological treatment, represent a cost to the health system of more than 9,000 euros per patient per year.
Support for excellence research projects
"la Caixa" promotes leading initiatives in multidisciplinary research to influence social welfare. The 2016-2019 Strategic Plan includes investment in research as a priority, and plans to triple the budget in this field to 90 million euros in 2019.
"la Caixa" supports research projects of excellence in the field of biomedicine and health, at the same time that it wants to bring science and the research process closer to citizens, making it a participant in the advances and repercussions of the research carried out in our country. In this sense, it has the will to contribute to the citizens having an increasingly favorable and informed opinion about the investigation.
The Center for Biomedical Research in the Network in its thematic area of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), under the Carlos III Health Institute (Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities) and co-financed by FEDER, aims to promote and facilitate the investigation of diseases Respiratory diseases through excellent research and its rapid and safe transfer to clinical practice. Created in 2007, CIBERES currently brings together about 400 researchers from 9 autonomous communities working together in 3 programs, which integrate the following lines of research: lung cancer, sleep apnea, pulmonary fibrosis, asthma, acute lung injury, tuberculosis , pneumonias, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and new therapeutic targets.
Health Research Intitute La Fe
The Institute of Health Research La Fe (IIS La Fe) is the field of biomedical research created between the University Hospital and Polytechnic La Fe, the University of Valencia, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the Higher Council for Scientific Research and the Foundation for the Research of the University Hospital La Fe of the Valencian Community.
It boosts, promotes and encourages excellence research, scientific and technological knowledge and its subsequent transfer to the productive sector, as well as teaching and training. The IIS La Fe was accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute as a Health Research Institute in 2009, and again reacredited in 2014. It is composed of 44 accredited research groups, of which 9 are Mixed Units and other Research Groups . In addition, its research staff is integrated into networks and consortiums, specifically, in 6 CIBER areas, 7 RETICs and 3 Research Support Platforms.
The Biomedical Research Intitute of Lleida-Dr. Pifarré Foundation (IRBLleida) is constituted with the purpose of creating synergies between basic, clinical and epidemiological research, so that biomedical research is the engine of the improvement of daily clinical practice, for the benefit of the entire population. That means, it covers a translational research chain ―from basic research, aimed at understanding the physiological and pathological mechanisms of the human organism, to research that studies the behavior of diseases in large population groups.
