The fourth edition of the Summer School of Medicine (SSM4), held from 2 to 13 July in the cities of Montreal and Quebec City (Canada) concluded last Friday. As the previous edition, the SSM3, which took place at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) in July 2011 - more than 40 international experts from the pharmaceutical and biotech industries and academic research informed all participants of all phases of production and development of medicines, from inception to arrival to the market, including important issues such as business development, financing (venture capital), Public-Private Partnership (PPP), market access and open innovation. The panel was formed by renowned professionals such as Jordi Quintana, Technical Director of Business Development at the Barcelona Science Park and head of the Drug Discovery Platform, and Ivo Gut, director of the National Center for Genome Analysis (CNAG), based at the PCB.

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Over two weeks, the 4th edition of the Summer School of Medicine (SSM4) transferred to the students the entire process of drug development, from initial idea to arrival to the market, covering all intermediate stages of production in the laboratory. The faculty, composed of leading experts from research institutions and the biopharmaceutical industry around the world, taught a multidisciplinary and innovative program that included over 90 hours of training, major lectures on global vision, strategy and entrepreneurship, practical cases and technical sessions that covered areas of research, management and business knowledge, funding and vision of governmental administrations.

Visits to companies and research organizations of the field of drug discovery were also organized in the Quebec area and one full day was allocated to presentations from pharmaceutical and biotech companies located in the region of Quebec, who discussed the opportunities and challenges of this even-growing sector.

Jordi Quintana, member of the Scientific Committee of SSM4, led the session entitled “New Strategies” that was held on the last day of the SSM4 on Friday 13 July. Under the title “Public-Private Partnerships, PCB-ChemBioBank”, the scientific director of the PCB stressed the increasing importance of the public-private partnership in addressing the discovery and development of drugs and their key role as the engine of the biopharmaceutical sector’s competitiveness in a globalized economy. Within this context, Quintana told the audience about the ChemBioBank project- which is representing Spain in the Chemical Biology-OPENSCREEN European initiative, funded by the European Union, within the framework of the ESFRI program-, promoted by the PCB together with other organisations.

As a member of the Scientific Committee of the SSM4, Jordi Quintana, also became involved in Quebec with the participating and organizing entities of this initiative, strengthening relations in the field of research and innovation in drug discovery between Catalonia and the Canadian region, one of the leading regions in innovation and biomedicine in North America.

The Summer School of Medicine is a project jointly promoted and organized by the Barcelona Science Park, Biocat, University of Montreal, BiopolisQuébec, Oncopôle, Paul Sabatier University and the InnaBioSanté Foundation. Year after year, this program has established itself as a leading academic program that provides value and fills a training need for professionals in the biopharmaceutical sector. This 4th edition was attended by 25 students (5 from Catalonia, 5 from France and 15 from Canada), whom all assessed the initiative as “‘very positive and very beneficial” for their professional growth.