At the IGTP TODAY
Jordi Barretina Ginesta is the new Director of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) on Campus Can Ruti, Badalona; he will take up the role this October. The open selection process was managed by the CERCA institution, of which the IGTP is a member. Dr Barretina will take over from Dr Manel Puig Domingo, who is stepping down as director of the research centre after seven years in the post.
The clinical trial will test whether the food supplement Manremyc® protects against infection with SARS-CoV-2 and starts this May. The Pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre is the sponsor of the trial. It is coordinated from the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute together with the IDIAP Jordi Gol Foundation. The trial will last three months and results are expected in October 2020.
The study has collected close to 62,000 replies to the questionnaire in only 15 days so far. The researchers have carried out the analysis of the results for this initial period. The questionnaire is still available in four languages (and soon in five) and will continue to collect information during the coming phases of the pandemic.
The emergency ventilator RESPIRA, developed by GPAINNOVA, with the support of the Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute and the University of Barcelona have passed the first stage of the clinical trial with the first two patients affected by COVID-19 successfully. With the first phase complete, the study can be expanded to other hospitals in the region. Thanks to the support received from the public, companies and administrations today the first 100 emergency ventilators c have been delivered to the SEM for distribution.
The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has today given the green light to test the device developed by the company GasN2 with the support of professionals from the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) and the University of Barcelona (UB). The prototype uses a system of electro pneumatic valves to supply and control the volume of oxygen necessary for each patient. Support from civil society, companies and administrations has been key to the development of the design and industrial scaling up of the model to contribute to the provision of the ventilators needed by the health system.
The IGTP has received funding in the extraordinary call published by the Department of Research and Innovation of the Department of Health (DGRIS) with the collaboration of AQuAS and Biocat and aimed at all the Iriscat centres for research into coronavirus. The two projects, focussed on the immune response of health professionals on the frontline with the virus, have joined the forces of the IGTP, IrsiCaixa and research and healthcare in the context of primary and hospital healthcare. A third project, led by Dr Julià Blanco, researcher at IrsiCaixa and the IGTP has also received funding.
The Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) has approved a clinical trial with the ventilation device RESPIRA developed by GAPInnova with the support of professionals from the Hospital Clínic Barcelona, the Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute and the University of Barcelona. This is the second device developed with the support of these organizations to be approved by the AEMPS for testing on patients at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona and at Can Ruti. The prototype of the RESPIRA device mechanizes manual ressusitations with AMBU devices providing automatic respiration assistance and monitoring.
Several research groups at the IGTP are applying their experience and knowledge to fight against coronavirus and COVID-19. None of this would be possible without help, research is a long haul activity which needs multiple players collaborating over time and we need your help.
The Germans Trias I Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) is working alongside the hospital and at the service of the Ministry of Health of the Government of Catalonia to make all the necessary disposable material and resources available for the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19. The research groups at the centre are also working against the clock to prepare projects for the extraordinary competitive funding calls that have been issued to fund research into SARS-CoV-2 and the disease COVID-19.
The IGTP is participating in this recently launched EU-funded project to explore the biological pathways that may link the alterations observed in the retina with those present in the brain in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). In this way, the RECOGNISED project hopes to use the eye as if it was a window into the brain.
