he report, which has been coordinated by IBEC as leader of the Spanish Nanomedicine Platform (NanoMed Spain), covers the creation of large research initiatives such as CIBER-BBN, public-private collaboration, international consortia such as BOND and Lymphotarg and entrepreneurship activities fostered by the Platform. As a reference work for this emerging area, it aims to provide an overview of nanomedicine’s formative years for policy makers, industry associates and existing stakeholders, as well as those looking to enter the field.
“Since 2006 we’ve seen a rapid development of nanomedicine on an international level,” says IBEC associate director Josep Samitier, who is coordinator of NanoMed Spain. “It has been a priority of the strategic research agencies of all the OCDE countries because of its aims to shorten the amount of time required to turn new developments into useful applications – prevention, risk evaluation, early-stage diagnosis, prognosis, therapy and follow-up of pathologies – for patients.”
The document was presented at the one-day workshop ‘Nanomedicine in Spain: present and future’ at the the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) in Madrid, chaired by Ms Mª Luisa Brown, Deputy Director General of Strategic Public-Private Cooperation (MICINN). The workshop also featured presentations by some top researchers in nanomedicine to foster an open debate on Spain’s strengths in this emerging sector and the key technologies to focus on in the next few years. “Experts on regenerative medicine or targeted drug delivery pinpointed the most promising contenders for immediate development,” says Arantxa Sanz who, as Head of Corporate Projects at IBEC, is in charge of NanoMed Spain executive coordination.
The discussion will provide fundamental input into a white paper to help identify the Spanish R&D priorities for the future 8th Framework Programme in this area.
“Nanomedicine’s continued evolution requires an effective synergy and collaborative effort between all the sectors: health, industry, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical technology and basic research,” says Josep. “In this country the area is now big enough to be competitive internationally, and for the next few years the challenge is to apply results to the patient in a responsive and effective way.”
‘Nanomedicine in Spain 06-10’, which is in Spanish, is available to download here.
