Public-private partnership to boost immunology research in Barcelona

BarcelonaWhile waiting for the first immunology research center in Spain, the CaixaResearch Institute, to open in Barcelona later this year, institutions are already ensuring that the structural framework exists to exchange technologies and professionals with the rest of the research centers in the Catalan ecosystem. This Wednesday, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, and the President of the La Caixa Foundation and the Board of Trustees of the CaixaResearch Institute, Isidre Fainé, signed a collaboration agreement to foster cooperation between the future center and all the other infrastructures affiliated with the Departments of Health and Research and Universities.

With this signature, the CaixaResearch Institute—sponsored by oncologist Josep Tabernero—will no longer only work with the five strategic centers with which it was originally linked: the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), IrsiCaixa, Barcelona de Global (BBRC), and Sant Joan de Dios. This collaborative framework will allow the institution, which should be a benchmark in the study of the immune system's action, to better understand how the most prevalent diseases worldwide, such as cancer, Alzheimer's, and infections, proliferate and how they can be prevented. The objective of this pioneering center is to gain knowledge of each cell that makes up the immune system, the human body's essential defensive mechanism, in order to slow the progression of various diseases and even prevent them from developing. As Isla emphasized, the mission of the CaixaResearch Institute is aligned with the Government of Catalonia's desire to consolidate Catalonia as an international hub of research. "We are putting all our resources and alliances into place to ensure that Catalonia unleashes its full potential in economic and innovation matters. The time to do so is now, and the challenge is one: to position ourselves among the 50 most innovative regions in Europe," he said.

President Illa added: "This agreement is a great step and the best example of how we do things: promoting public-private collaboration to improve the lives of citizens." Fainé agreed, stressing that, with the "joint efforts" of the Generalitat, the impact of the new CaixaResearch Institute is multiplied. "[What] is even more important: this will generate new knowledge and will have an impact on research to improve the health of citizens," he argued. With an investment of 100 million euros, the new space – designed by the TAC Arquitectes studio – will be located opposite the CosmoCaixa Science Museum and will form part of the hub Scientist from northern Barcelona.

40 groups in 2033

When the first spaces of the architectural complex are completed at the end of the year, the first research groups will begin to be installed. The institute expects to have 12 research groups by the end of 2027 and, when fully operational in 2033, will have more than 40 research groups and scientific-technical, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical service units, with around 500 employees. A few months ago, the creation of the first teams was announced, led by Josep Dalmau, a pioneer in the identification of several autoimmune encephalitis syndromes, and Gabriel Rabinovich, discoverer of new mechanisms of tumor escape and control of the inflammatory response.

The potential of immunology is vast and still little explored. In addition to being the first line of defense against classic pathogens such as viruses or bacteria, immunotherapy treatments have represented a major advance in oncology, although the number of patients who benefit is still very few. The center's objectives include solutions to current and future challenges of human health through basic science, preclinical drug development, advanced technologies, and therapies. There will also be space for analyzing environmental factors that may influence this interaction, since, to understand human health, it is also necessary to consider animal health; this is known as One Health, a single health.

In addition to Tabernero, director of VHIO and president of the center's scientific committee, other prestigious names linked to the agreement include Antoni Ribas, director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy and the Tumor Immunology Program at the Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, San Luis Potosí, and Javier Solana, president of the scientific committee of the La Caixa Foundation and member of the Board of Trustees of the CaixaResearch Institute.

Illa recalled that the world is living in "turbulent times" after some governments, such as the administration led by Donald Trump, are renouncing science or even attacking it. "Catalonia says yes to science, says yes to technology, and says yes to innovation in the service of the common good," he asserted, adding that this agreement is part of the Catalunya Talent Bridge Plan to protect the productive fabric and attract scientific talent.