At the IGTP TODAY
Neurogenetics
The Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) and the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCII) will fund the project with 1.8 million euros within the R&D&I call linked to Personalised Medicine and Advanced Therapies in the framework of the Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation for Vanguard Health (PERTE for Vanguard Health) in gene therapy for Friedreich's ataxia.
The article describing the new SCA49 subtype has been published in the journal Brain Communications, and is featured as a highlight by its Editorial Board. The new ataxia subtype has been identified by studying members of one family from the island of Menorca. The finding provides a better understanding of the pathological basis of ataxia and opens the door to pre-symptomatic diagnoses and genetic counselling for people with the disorder.
Biointaxis, spin-off company from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has closed a financing round of 952,000 euros on the Capital Cell Platform. The company will use the investment to advance the pre-clinical research for their treatment for Friedriech's ataxia, a rare progressive degenerative disease. The studies aim to validate the safety of their treatment.
Biointaxis is a spin-off of the IGTP led by Dr. Antoni Matilla-Dueñas. To date, the research has been financed with the support of patient associations, the founders themselves, La Caixa Foundation, the CDTI and the Ministry of Science and Innovation. The project, that received the European seal of excellence in 2020, is in the final phase of gene therapy after years of research progress and it is the only candidate with potential to cure the disease at the moment. This round aims to overcome the critical inflexion point - the demonstration of the biodistribution and safety of the therapy in non-human primates. The value of the company will increase considerably when this data is available in less than 1 year; the financing campaign is being carried out through the equity crowdfunding platform of Capital Cell.
Two spin-off companies of the Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) Biointaxis and Time is Brain have received the Seal of Excellence from the European Commission. The two companies with IGTP participation have opted for financing from the Horizon 2020 Programme and the award puts them in an advantageous position when requesting funds from other funding bodies.
The staff of the company Innospec have donated their Silver Corporate Safety Award to the research effort to find a treatment for Friedreich's ataxia, a project led by Dr Antonio Matilla and Dr Ivelisse Sánchez of the Neurogenetics Group at the IGTP.
The Retos-Colaboración Programme of the Spanish Ministry of Innovation and Finance is funding the development of an innovative gene therapy treatment for this hereditary neurodegenerative disease. The research is led by Dr Antoni Matilla and Dr Ivelisse Sánchez of the Neurogenetics Group at the IGTP.
The gene therapy project at the IGTP to treat Friedreich's ataxia, a rare disease, led by the research group for Neurogenetics at the IGTP, is one of the four selected in the first call for CaixaImpulse 2019. It is the first edition of the programme run by 'la Caixa' to promote innovation projects in their later stages.
This years' edition of the Workshop on Rare Diseases took place at the IGTP this Thursday with the title 'A Multidisciplinary Approach to Rare Diseases' timed for the International Day for Rare Diseases, celebrated this year on 29 February. The key to improving the management of this type of disease is dialogue between different specialty areas and a much more global approach. This must be coupled with the inclusion of research staff when deciding on the lines of research to be advanced.
The Neurogenetics research group, led by Dr Antoni Matilla is performing an experiment at the ALBA Synchrotron to obtain for the first time 3D images of cells with this disease. Friedreich's ataxia affects more than 3,000 people in Spain, causing serious mobility problems and other severe illnesses such as heart disease. At present there is no treatment to prevent or cure the disease
