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The 2013 edition of La Marató de TV3 is funding a project in which the PCB´s Drug Discovery Platform is participating

By 31 de October de 2014November 18th, 2020No Comments
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The grant-awarding ceremony to the 79 scientists who will be conducting the wining projects was held yesterday.
 31.10.2014

The 2013 edition of La Marató de TV3 is funding a project in which the PCB´s Drug Discovery Platform is participating

Yesterday, Thursday 30 October, the ceremony for the granting of awards to 44 projects to receive funding from funds raised by the 2013 edition of La Marató de TV3, was held at the Auditorium of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Health of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. This year´s telethon was devoted to research on neurodegenerative diseases. PCB´s Drug Discovery Platform (PDD-PCB) was selected for its project on new therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer's disease, led by the Institute of Advanced Chemistry of Catalonia (IQAC-CSIC) with the collaboration of the Center for Cooperative Research in Biomaterials (CIC biomaGUNE), San Sebastian; Center for Biological Research (CIB-CSIC), Madrid; and the Institute for Molecular Biology and Cell Biology (IBMC), Porto (Portugal).


Entitled ‘Rational screening program of stabilizer compounds of the transthyretin Aß-binding site as potential modulators of Alzheimer’s’ the project aims to advance the search for therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, studying the interaction between protein transthyretin (TTR) and beta-amyloid (Aß) peptide at the computational and structural levels.

The implication of transthyretin in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease has been endorsed by numerous studies. In combination with the beta-amyloid peptide –a protein closely linked to the disease- TTR avoids the natural tendency of the protein to accumulate in the fibers and plaques associated with the early stages of the disease. The project aims to investigate the molecular mechanisms responsible for this neuroprotective role of TTR, enhanced by stabilizing compounds, and to implement a screening program to identify more effective compounds that can help prevent and treat Alzheimer’s disease. It is also expected to provide new molecular, biochemical and physiological knowledge of the involvement of TTR in Alzheimer´s disease.

“The multidisciplinary team effort from five different organisations will allow working in all phases of initial drug discovery, from the computational design of compounds that interact with the protein complex to animal testing, through medicinal chemistry, structural biology and biochemical assays and cell studies. PCB´s Drug Discovery Platform will contribute with the expertise of its members in drug discovery through repurposing, as well as in the analysis of chemical-biological databases of therapeutic interest, “says Jordi Quintana, head of PCB´s Drug Discovery Platform.

Over 11 million euros allocated to 79 research teams

La Marató de TV3 is an annual telethon broadcast by Televisió de Catalunya and the Fundació La Marató de TV3 to raise funds for scientific research into diseases which are currently incurable. But La Marató de TV3 is more than just a fund-raising drive. It also informs the Catalan public about these diseases and explains the need for research aimed at preventing and curing them. Just as important as the money raised by the telethon are the scientific publications, the awareness-raising, and public education in scientific questions.

The success achieved by the 2013 La Marató telethon to raise funds has helped funding 44 research projects on neurodegenerative diseases, allocating more than 11 million Euros to carry out research on these diseases. The 2013 call has been the program´s edition that has managed to fund the largest number of projects, exceeding the 42 projects on cancer at the 2012 edition of La Marató telethon, and it is one of the most important investments in the 22-year history of the initiative.

The grants ceremony was attended yesterday by a wide array of representatives from the scientific community. The event -hosted by Nuria Solé and Roger de Gràcia, presenters of the 2013 La Marató telethon- was attended by the Minister of Health, Boi Ruiz, the president of the Academy of Medical Sciences and Health of Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, Àlvar Net, and the president of the Catalan Broadcasting Corporation and the TV3 Marathon Foundation, Brauli Duart.

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