Technology and Innovation Platforms, key elements of Spain’s R&D&I system
The Spanish Technological Platform for Innovative Medicines, led by Farmaindustria, has been promoting public-private collaboration projects in clinical and pre-clinical research since 2005.
“Spain currently occupies a position of international leadership in clinical research that needs to be reinforced in the face of growing competition from regions such as the USA and Asia-Pacific”, emphasised Farmaindustria’s Director of Clinical and Translational Research at the European Forum for Science, Technology and Innovation (Transfiere).
Farmaindustria.es
The Technology and Innovation Platforms in Spain, including the Innovative Medicines Technology Platform, led by Farmaindustria, are key elements of the R&D&I system in our country. This was made clear by the participants at the round table on the role of these platforms organised by the State Research Agency at the European Forum for Science, Technology and Innovation (Transfiere) held recently in Malaga.
The Director of the Clinical and Translational Research Department of Farmaindustria, Amelia Martín Uranga, highlighted the work that the Spanish Technological Platform for Innovative Medicines has been carrying out for more than 18 years in the field of public-private collaboration in research into innovative medicines. She explained when and how the initiative was born in 2005, mirroring the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a public-private partnership between the European Commission and the European Federation of the Pharmaceutical Industry (Efpia). And how it was quickly recognised by all the agents in the research chain as a project to make Spain one of the world leaders in clinical biomedical R&D.
“Since its inception in 2005, the Platform has been instrumental in promoting public-private collaboration projects in our sector, especially in the area of clinical and pre-clinical research, and also in disseminating and bringing science closer to society”. Thus, for example, in the clinical field, the Platform has promoted the BEST project, which integrates both public and private actors and which shares and monitors time and recruitment metrics of the clinical trials carried out in Spain, which allows detecting possible bottlenecks and proposing solutions.
Similarly, in preclinical research, he highlighted the Farma-Biotech programme launched 13 years ago to connect research projects developed in different centres or small spin-offs with pharmaceutical companies. And in the dissemination of science to society, he highlighted the Bringing Science to Schools programme, which since 2016 has been carried out in collaboration to disseminate biomedical research among high school students.
Improving Spain’s position
Looking to the future, the Farmaindustria spokeswoman called for continued promotion of public-private collaboration initiatives to improve Spain’s competitive position in the field of innovative drug research. “In clinical research we start from a leading position, but we have to be alert as there is a lot of competition in other parts of the world, especially the US and the Asia-Pacific region, which are making a very important commitment to clinical trials. And in preclinical and translational research, we still have to overcome the gap between public research and its translation into clinical phases,” he said. He also stressed the need to develop strategies for the use and application of advanced technologies in the design and use of data to improve the functioning of the health sector as a whole.
Four other platforms also participated in the round table, moderated by the State Research Agency: the Tourism Technology Platform, the Plant Biotechnology Technology Platform, the Spanish Technology and Innovation Platform for Biocircularity and the Advanced Manufacturing Technology Platform.
