The Nano Electronic Diagnostic Array (NEDxA) is the result of the Joint Research Unit between IBEC’s Nanobioengineering group, led by Josep Samitier, and Genomica S.A.U. (Grupo Zeltia), the leading Spanish company in molecular diagnostics.
NEDxA-HPV is a new in vitro diagnostics device for Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing, a new product that carries out analysis to detect HPV in a cheap, quick and convenient desktop device.
This is a milestone in the history of Genomica that transcends for the first time from its well-established CLART technology to present a revolutionary molecular diagnostics device. IBEC and Genomica will continue this fruitful collaboration to bring more new products in the market.
Designed, developed and manufactured to perform complex laboratory analysis in any testing environment, NEDxA integrates all the processes in a single device, providing a fast, easy, specific and sensitive platform for molecular diagnostics. is used to detect and genotype all high risk human Papilomavirus subtypes. NEDxA reduces the workflow to just one step delivering a true walk-away solution suitable for non-specialized personnel. Using test-specific disposable cartridges, NEDxA is a closed system which does not require any sample preparation, set up or calibration procedure.
Novel therapies for Dry Eye Syndrome (DES) have been developed based on the research on the role of eye surface temperature-sensitive nerve fibers in tear film regulation.
Dry eye is a multifactorial disease of the tears and ocular surface that results in symptoms of discomfort, visual disturbance, and tear film instability with potential damage to the ocular surface. It is accompanied by increased osmolarity of the tear film and inflammation of the ocular surface.
TRPM8 (transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily M, member 8) is a novel promising therapeutic target for Dry Eye Syndrome due to its potential combined effect in both signs and symptoms. Clinical candidate formulations has been developed for TRPM8 selective modulator AVX-012.
The origin of AVIZOREX Pharma:
DES Therapeutics Market Will Grow to $4.6 Billion by 2024, being one of the fastest growing indications in ophthalmology*. Pharmaceutical sales within the DES market were approximately $2.2 Billion in 2o14*.
Only one prescription drug approved in US (Restasis®, Allergan) with sales near $1 Billion and 1 in Europe (Ikervis®, Santen): Active ingredient in both products is Cyclosporine
New drugs with effect in both signs and symptoms have blockbuster sales potential
Pioneering work on the role of the jasmonate signalling pathway in Arabidopsis thaliana done by researcher Roberto Solano, from the Centro Nacional de Biotecnología of CSIC (CNB-CSIC), has yielded fundamental insights into how plants perceive changes in their environment and integrate stress signals with their internal developmental programs, to induce adaptive responses and survive in nature.
International recognition of his scientific contributions is evidenced by his election as EMBO member in 2016 and by his inclusion in Thomson Reuter’s list of the world’s most influential scientific minds animal and plant sciences for 3 years in a row (2014, 2015, 2016).
Based on previous findings that the bacterial phytotoxin coronatine (COR) mimics the response of jasmonate by forming a high-affinity ternary complex with the F-box COI1 and a member of the JAZ family of co-repressors, his group designed and synthesized, in collaboration with the company Lipidox, the competitive antagonist coronatine-O-methyloxime (COR-MO; Nat Chem Biol 2014, 10:671-6). This compound potently inhibits COI1-JAZ interaction, JAZ degradation and the effects of JA-Ile or COR on several JA-mediated responses in Arabidopsis thaliana. Moreover, it potentiates plant resistance, preventing the effect of bacterially produced COR during Pseudomonas syringae infections in different plant species.
The use of coronatine derivatives to enhance crop defences against biotrophic and hemi-biotrophic pathogens has been protected by a European patent application (EP13382362.5) and an international PCT application (PCT/EP2014/069796); an exclusive license agreement for the control of plant pathogens using these novel coronatine derivatives has been signed with Plant Bioscience Ltd.
A study published in the Lancet Oncology by an international team led by Prof Rob E. Coleman (University of Sheffield) and Prof Roger R. Gomis (IRB Barcelona) identifies the effect of MAF amplification on the outcome of treatment with adjuvant zoledronic acid in early breast cancer. This new knowledge may be key to the early detection of patients who would benefit from zoledronic acid and those who should be spared, and both reduce disease recurrence and deaths from breast cancer. The original discovery was patented and transferred to Inbiomotion, a spin off from the IRB Barcelona and ICREA, founded at the end of 2010.
Researchers at the Spanish National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) have discovered a genetic alteration that is directly involved in at least 10% of cases of one of the most common cancers in children, T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. In a paper published in Genes and Development, the scientists explain how the mice in which a specific gene, known as Capicua, has been inactivated, inevitably develop this type of leukaemia.
They have also discovered that, in mice in which Capicua ceases to function, a type of drug, MEK protein inhibitors – such as trametinib– which are already being used to treat various types of tumours and in trials against many others, no longer work. This information may help us to understand why these treatments are not effective in certain patients. The study has been co-directed by Mathias Drosten, and Lucía Simón-Carrasco is the lead author.
CAPICUA IS A COMPONENT OF A CANCER HIGHWAY
The CNIO researchers focussed on Capicua while decoding one of the most important biochemical signal highways for cells, the so-called RAS-MAPK pathway.
As Drosten explains, it has been found that RAS-MAPK has a first section that is “quite linear”, in which each signal activates the next one, but at some point the trunk branches out and a tree of signals appears. More than a hundred genes are known that play a role in this stage, and Capicua is one of them.
The CNIO Group focused their attention on this gene because it frequently appears mutated into different types of cancer. Simon-Carrasco and his colleagues developed a mouse model at the CNIO to study what happens when they inactivate CIC/CAPICUA. The most striking result was the development of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (T-ALL) in the animals. This is the first time it has been found that the inactivation of Capicua in adult mice inexorably leads to the formation of T-ALL tumours, a relationship never suspected previously.
To verify the relevance in humans of this result, the researchers analysed T-ALL tumour samples, and indeed found that the Capicua gene appears mutated in at least 10% of them.
RESISTANCE INDUCTOR
One of the findings of the paper may also have therapeutic relevance in the short term. The researchers have discovered that the tumours in which Capicua appears inactivated do not respond to drugs that act via the RAS-MAPK pathway. It seems to work as a resistance system: the drugs act as the brake pedal, but there is no effect if the brake pads (Capicua) are damaged.
“Many tumours are treated with drugs that affect the RAS-MAPK pathway; therefore, if we know that Capicua is involved in their level of effectiveness, we will be able to know which patients are more likely to develop resistance to these treatments,” says Lucia Simón-Carrasco.
The study also provides clues about the relationship between Capicua and the formation of tumours. Capicua directly represses the ETV4 gene, which has oncogenic potential; when Capicua is inactivated, the expression of ETV4 increases. When the researchers removed the functions of Capicua and ETV4 simultaneously, they noted an almost complete inhibition regarding the formation of T-ALL tumours.
“A better understanding of the molecular events triggered by the inactivation of Capicua should provide more effective therapeutic approaches,” the researchers conclude in their paper.
The study has been conducted in collaboration with Gerardo Jiménez, ICREA researcher at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Barcelona, and Alejandro Gutierrez, from Harvard University. It has been funded by the Fundació La Marató de TV3 (20131730/1), the European Research Council (ERC-AG/ 250297-RAS AHEAD), the EU-Framework programme (HEALTH-F2-2010-259770/LUNGTARGET, HEALTH-2010-260791/EUROCANPLATFORM), the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (SAF2014-59864-R), the Autonomous Community of Madrid (S2011/BDM-2470/ONCOCYCLE) and the Spanish Association against Cancer (AECC) (GC16173694BARB).
Forefront image credit: T-ALL mouse model with inactivated CIC/CAPICUA (staining with CD3 antibodies highlighting aberrant T cells)./ CNIO
The PESA study shows that people who regularly eat a ‘low energy’ breakfast (supplying less than 5% of recommended daily calorie intake) double their risk of developing atherosclerosis independently of classical cardiovascular risk factors.
Skipping breakfast or eating very little at the start of the day doubles the risk of atherosclerosis. This is the latest finding from the Progression and Early Detection of Atherosclerosis study (PESA), led by the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares Carlos III (CNIC) in partnership with Banco Santander, and is published today in the Journal of American College of Cardiology(JACC). The report shows that people whose breakfast contains less than 5% of the recommended daily calorie intake (100 calories for a daily intake of 2000) have on average twice the number of atherosclerotic lesions as those who eat a high-energy breakfast . This increased risk, moreover, is independent of classical risk factors such as smoking, high cholesterol, and physical inactivity. The report not only confirms the importance of eating breakfast for cardiovascular health, but also suggests that skipping breakfast could indicate more generally unhealthy eating and lifestyle habits.
The PESA-CNIC-Santander study is a prospective cohort study of more than 4000 middle-aged office workers and is led by CNIC General Director Dr. Valentín Fuster. Study participants are monitored with the latest imaging technologies over a 6-year period with the aim of characterizing the prevalence and progression of latent, ‘subclinical’ atherosclerotic lesions. These imaging findings are scrutinized for associations with molecular markers and environmental factors, including dietary habits, physical activity, biorhythms, psychosocial characteristics, and exposure to environmental pollutants. Atherosclerotic plaques are fatty deposits in the walls of arteries that first appear at a young age, but in these early phases they produce no symptoms, thus giving rise to the term subclinical atherosclerosis.
Cardio vascular health is affected by your daily breakfast
The significant impact of breakfast on cardiovascular health is well known. What the latest PESA project has done is to evaluate the relationship between 3 distinct breakfast patterns and the presence of atherosclerotic plaques in asymptomatic individuals. The results suggest that skipping breakfast is an indicator of more generally unhealthy lifestyle habits, associated with a higher prevalence of generalized atherosclerosis.
In the study population, 20% of participants regularly ate a high-energy breakfast, providing >20% of the recommended calorie intake. The largest proportion, 70%, ate a low-energy breakfast (between 5% and 20% of daily calorie intake), and 3% either skipped breakfast or ate very little (<5% of daily calorie intake). Individuals in this last category spent less than 5 minutes on breakfast, consuming only coffee or fruit juice, or skipped breakfast entirely. The CNIC research team also found that this group tended to have more generally unhealthy eating habits and a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors.
Using ultrasound technology, the research team observed 1.5 times more atherosclerotic plaques in the arteries of breakfast skippers than in the vessels of study participants eating an energy-rich breakfast. Moreover, for some vascular regions the number of plaques was as much as 2.5 times higher in participants who skipped breakfast or ate very little.
Dr. Fuster, the principal investigator on the PESA study, considers that the support for PESA from the Santander group and the CNIC provides a model for other research and business organizations to follow: “We need earlier and more precise risk markers for the early phases of atherosclerosis that will allow us to improve strategies to prevent myocardial infarction, stroke, and sudden death. These latest results make a definite contribution to achieving this goal.”
A total of 20 competitive grants from the European Research Council have been awarded to current Barcelona GSE Affiliated Professors.
Two Barcelona GSE Affiliated Professors have been awarded ERC Starting Grants in the latest call from the European Research Council. They are Prof. Ruben Durante (UPF and BGSE) for the project, “Independence and quality of mass Media in the InteRnet AGE (MIRAGE)” and Prof. Antonio Penta (UPF and BGSE), for “Strategic Uncertainty in Economic Environments and Digital Marketing Agencies”.
European Research Council Starting Grants are highly competitive and awarded to research talent with less than seven years of experience and a scientific track record showing great promise, as determined by a panel of scientific peers. The ERC grants have quickly become indicators of world-class research across all academic disciplines.
Current Barcelona GSE Affiliated Professors all stages of their research careers have received a total of 20 ERC grants:
9 ERC Starting Grants for promising researchers just establishing their careers
5 ERC Consolidator Grants for mid-career researchers
6 ERC Advanced Grants for established research leaders
Ruben Durante, “Independence and quality of mass Media in the InteRnet AGE (MIRAGE)”
Professor Ruben Durante is an associate professor at UPF and Affiliated Professor of the Barcelona GSE. His ERC project examines how the Internet has transformed the way news is produced and disseminated, both directly and through its influence on traditional media, and its ultimate effect on media independence and content quality. The project investigates four distinct but intertwined questions: 1) to what extent search engine results are tailored to users’ political views, and how personalization affects ideological polarization? 2) how do lower advertising revenues affect newspapers’ organization and content quality?; 3) how does the dependence of media on advertisers influences news coverage; and 4) how does the dependence of media on banks affect news coverage of financial issues.
Ruben Durante
Antonio Penta, “Strategic Uncertainty in Economic Environments and Digital Marketing Agencies”
Antonio Penta
Professor Antonio Penta joined the UPF Economics Department and the Barcelona GSE research community this fall. His ERC project will be conducted in three parts. The first part, joint with Larbi Alaoui (UPF and BGSE), aims at understanding the interaction between individuals’ incentives, cognitive abilities and strategic behavior. This research combines both theoretical and experimental work, bridging tools and ideas from game theory, computer science, psychology and economics. The second part pursues a classical game theoretic approach to study problems of “strategic uncertainty”, that is situations of social interactions in which agents don’t necessarily have correct expectations about the environment. The third part, joint with F. Decarolis (EIEF) and M. Goldmanis (Royal Holloway), aims at studying the impact of the diffusion of Digital Marketing Agencies on the auction formats most commoly used to sell online advertisement space. These auctions are used, for instance, by firms such as Google, Microsoft, Facebook, etc., and account for a huge and growing market worldwide.
