PCB hosts a ‘Lessons Learned’ session on investment in R & D and tax administration Blog Post

Thursday, the 22 of October, Barcelona Science Park (PCB) hosted the 8th session of ‘Lessons Learned’ series: ‘Biofiscalitat: els incentius per a la ciència‘, an initiative of CataloniaBio and Biocat to foster knowledge and networking among professionals in the field of life sciences. On this occasion, the aim of the event was to gain further insight and analyze the tools to overcome the regulations and red tape governing the taxation regimen of biotechnological and biomedical companies which hamper R & D.

 

Mind the byte concludes the biggest round of biotech crowdequity in Spain Blog Post

In just 43 days, bioinformatics company Mind the Byte, which specializes in products and services for computational drug design and is located in the Barcelona Scientific Park (PCB), has concluded an investment round totalling €234,310 through the crowdequity platform (for investment crowdfunding) Crowdcube. This figure represents not only more than double the funding target set by the company (234%), but it is also the largest round of crowdequity achieved in the biotech industry in Spain, with 115 private investors. The average investment amount was €2,037, with a maximum investment of €80,000.

 

Renewal of IRB Barcelona’s ‘Severo Ochoa’ Accreditation of Excellence Blog Post

This morning the Secretary of State for I+D+I has announced that the first eight ‘Severo Ochoa’ Centres of Excellence‘ ─whose strategic research plans for the period 2016-2019 have been positively evaluated─ have been awarded this distinction again, which has won them  a grant of 1 million euros a year for a further four years. One of these centers is the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona), which received the news during its 10th year anniversary institutional event at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB). Last March, the Institute of Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) was granted the Severo Ochoa accreditation, which means that Barcelona Science Park (PCB) now is home to two of the centers that have been presented with this distinction.

 

A study applies iPSC technology to Sanfilippo syndrome research Blog Post

Sanfilippo type c syndrome is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the HGSNAT gene that leads to progressive neurodegeneration. A study, which has just been published in the journal Stem Cell Reports, has generated patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) which can contribute to know better disease’s pathological mechanisms and design new therapeutic options. A group of researchers from the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB) and Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) at PCB has participated in the study. 

IBEC researcher Samuel Sanchez at the ‘Innovators Under 35 Europe’ summit Blog Post

Samuel Sánchez, researcher at the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) at PCB, was among the experts invited to participate at the European summit of the winners of the MIT Technology Review’s Innovators Under 35 Europe award, which was held last week in Brussels. The research conducted by Samuel Sánchez is pioneer in the field of micro- and nanomotors, small machines such as bacteria that can target specific body cells for applications such as localized drug delivery.

 

The 20 Severo Ochoa Centers of Excellence organise 100xCIENCIA Forum Blog Post

The 20 Spanish research centers accredited with the Severo Ochoa Excellence distinction– two of which are the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), based at PCB–  met for the first time and for three days, to analyze the current situation of Spanish science and its key actors under the framework of ‘100XCIENCIA Communicating frontier science. The event, which was held from 7 to 9 October in Santa Cruz de la Palma, was closed a clear message: Science has to be conveyed to society for continued growth.

 

Secretary of State visits IBEC at the Barcelona Science Park Blog Post

This morning, Secretary of State for Research, Development and Innovation, Carmen Vela, visited the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) at PCB, after taking part in the opening ceremony of the conference ‘Future Tools for Biomedical Research. In Vitro, in Silico and in Vivo Disease Modeling‘, organized by B·Debate, International Center for Scientific Debate – an initiative of Biocat and “la Caixa” – jointly with IBEC. 

 

Protein NBS1 is crucial for macrophage functional activity Blog Post

Protein NBS1, which plays a key role in DNA damage repair, is required for macrophage functional activity. This is one of the conclusions of a scientific paper published in the journal Blood—considered one of the best scientific publications in the field of haematology— and signed by a team of experts from the Faculty of Biology of the University of Barcelona (UB), Consolidated Research Group Macrophage Biology –located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– and the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona). The protein also has implications for understanding the immune defects observed in patients with Nijmegen breakage syndrome and other related disorders.

 

A study led by IBUB proves that a hormonal factor, present in breast milk, plays a key role in regulating newborn metabolism Blog Post

A scientific team led by Francesc Villarroya, director of the Institute of Biomedicine of the UB (IBUB) –located at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB)– together with the Biomedical Research Networking Centres on Physiopathology of Obesity and Nutrition (CIBERobn) and the Danone Institute, has proved that a compound found in breast milk, named fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), plays a key role in neonatal nutrient absorption and intestinal function. FGF21 also contributes to improve newborn growth and metabolic profile.