Introduction to Health research, its interaction with Climate and Enviroment research and 2 innovation stories within the CIPF.

1. HEALTH, CLIMATE AND INNOVATION
Óscar David Sánchez
Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe
October 16th, 2014

2. 1. Introduction to Health Research
1. Health and Biomedical research at a glance
2. The CIPF
2. Health and Climate Research
3. Innovation strategy at the CIPF
1. The CIPF science park
2. Spin-off creation model

3. 1. Introduction to Health
Research

4. HEALTH RESEARCH
Improve our understanding of the causes and mechanisms
underlying health, healthy ageing and disease
Enhance our ability to monitor health and to prevent,
detect, treat and manage disease
Support (older) persons to remain active and healthy
Test and demonstrate new models and tools for health and
care delivery

5. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Translational Research
Basic
• Understanding of the
cellular, molecular and
physiological
mechanisms
underpinning human
health and disease
Preclinical
• Preparing the ground
for clinical research
with patients
• Pharmaceutical testing
Clinical
• Carried out with
patients
• Supervised by doctors
in a medical setting
• Clinical testing

6. THE CIPF
• Private not-for-profit
research
foundation
• Attached to the
Regional
Ministry of
Health
• Focused on
Basic and
Translational
Biomedical
Research

7. OUR RESEARCH
• Genes, targets, molecular and cellular
processes
• Drug and diagnostics development,
nanomedicine, regenerative medicine and
computational medicine
• Cancer, rare diseases, metabolic
diseases, aging and cognitive and
functional declining
• Scientific and technological expertise
applied to agrofood, environment,
cosmetics…

8. SCIENTIFIC PROGRAMMES
• Developing new diagnostic and therapeutio aproach for high
prevalence/impact diseases Advanced Therapies
• Using genomic data to gain insight in the processes by which
the genotype shapes the phenotype, with particular interests in
the study of disease mechanisms
Computational
Genomics
• Investigating at the molecular and cellular levels the
mechanisms underlying the essential cellular processes and
their changes in human pathologies
Molecular
Mechanisms
• Advancing in the biological and clinical knowledge of the RD,
promoting research on diagnostic tests, biomarkers and
therapies in the context of genomics and personalized medicine
Rare and Genetic
Diseases
• Basic and translational research on cognitive, motor, sleep and
circadian rhythms alterations in different pathological situations
Neurological
Impairment

9. BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
Neurological
Impairment
Basic Preclinical Clinical
Advanced Therapies
Computational Genomics
Molecular
Mechanisms
Rare and Genetic Diseases

10. FIGURES
• 21 research labs and 9 technological
services
• ≈ 200 staff (85% devoted to research)
• 10M€ budget (≈ 55% from external
funding)

11. RESULTS
• ≈ 100 research projects/year
• ≈ 100 international publications/year
• Growing patent portfolio
• 4 spin-off companies

12. 2. Health and Climate
Research

13. THE CHALLENGE
• Environmental factors (pollution, climate-related
factors, noise, chemicals, radiation
and exposure to green spaces) can have an
adverse (or a positive) impact on human
health
– One-quarter of the global non-communicable
disease burden, and more than one-third of the
burden among children, is due to modifiable
environmental and life-style factors.
• Huge potential for prevention to improve
lifelong health, wellbeing, and life
expectancy… And to tackle raising healthcare
costs.

14. EU RESEARCH AGENDA (I)
• EU has been funding multidisciplinary
research on climate, environment and
health since early FP5
• A cross-cutting issue that has emerged
especially in FP7 is the impact of global
change (especially climate change) on
health.

15. EU RESEARCH AGENDA (II)
• Three priorities in FP7
– Health impacts of climate change
– Health effects of environmental stressors
other than climate change (e.g., chemicals, air
pollution, electromagnetic fields)
– Methods and decision-support tools for
environmental health risk analysis and policy
development

16. FP7 PROJECTS (I)
• ARCRISK and CLEAR
– Potential health effects related to changing chemical exposures
of Arctic populations due to climate change
• ICEPURE
– Changing UV radiation patterns with consequent risk of
developing skin malignancies
• URGENCHE
– Developing and applying a methodological framework for the
assessment of the overall risks and benefits of alternative
greenhouse gas emission reduction policies for health and
well-being.
• PURGE
– Examining the health impacts of GHG reduction policies in
urban settings in Europe, China and India, using case studies
of 3-4 large and three smaller urban centres.
• ATOPICA:
– Exploring the combined pan-European impact of changes in
climate, land use and air pollution on allergen pollen-induced
diseases through a chain of quantitative physical and statistical
models.

17. FP7 PROJECTS (II)
• EDENEXT
– Focused on the emergence and risk of spread of vector-borne
diseases in Europe
• QWECI
– Aims to understand at a more fundamental level the climate
drivers of the vector-borne diseases malaria, Rift Valley
Fever and certain tick-borne diseases in Africa, which all
have major human and livestock health and economic
implications.
• HEALTHY FUTURES
– Construct a disease risk mapping system for three water-related
high-impact vector borne diseases (malaria, Rift
valley fever and schistosomiasis), accounting for
environmental/climatic trends and changes in socio-economic
conditions to predict future risk.
• VIROCLIME
– Investigated the impact of climate change on viral fluxes in
water.
• EO2HEAVEN
– Case study focusing on links between certain environmental,
including climatic, variables and the outbreak of cholera in
Africa.

18. EU EXPOSOME INITIATIVE
• Large-scale initiative, budget of €38
million until 2018, is the largest ever
initiative in the environment and health
research area in the EU.
– EXPOSOMICS: Enhanced exposure
assessment and omic profiling for high
priority environmental exposures in Europe
– HELIX: The human early-life exposome –
novel tools for integrating early-life
environmental exposures and child health
across Europe
– HEALS: Health and environment-wide
associations based on large population
surveys

19. HORIZON 2020
• Environment and health research activities
will be addressed mainly under the Societal
Challenge 1 (Health, Demographic Change
and Wellbeing).
• Relevant call topics also be published under
other challenges and actions
– Climate action, environment, resource efficiency
and raw materials
– Leadership in enabling and industrial
technologies (ICT and nanotechnologies)
– Food security, sustainable agriculture, marine and
maritime research and the bioeconomy.

20. WORKPROGRAMME 2014-2015 CLIMATE
IN HEALTH
• PHC 31 – 2014: Foresight for health policy
development and regulation
– Goal: The complex interactions between multiple
determinants of health and wellbeing are not well
understood. These include but are not limited to
air quality, climate change, traffic and congestion,
ambient noise, built environment…
– Outcome: Key driving forces- (external and
internal to the health systems) likely to influence
health and wellbeing in Europe and beyond in the
future.

21. WORKPROGRAMME 2014-2015 CLIMATE
IN HEALTH
• PHC 4 – 2015: Health promotion and disease
prevention: improved inter-sector co-operation
for environment and health based
interventions
– Outcome: On the basis of quantitative and
qualitative indicators, evidence on effective
interventions taking a ‘health in all’ approach,
linking environment, climate and health, allowing
informed decisions on multi-sector interventions
and related policies.
– Scope: integration of environment, climate and
health sectors (including but not limited to air
quality, water and sanitation, chemicals,
occupational factors, etc.)

22. 3. Innovation strategy at the
CIPF

23. TECH TRANSFER IN BIOMEDICINE
Basic Preclinical Clinical

24. TECH TRANSFER IN BIOMEDICINE
Basic Preclinical
Early-stage
development
companies
Clinical
Ph. 1
Clinical
Ph. 2
Big pharma
companies
Clinical
Ph. 3-4
Market
“Academic”
patents
Big pharma companies

25. TECH TRANSFER IN BIOMEDICINE
Company creation is one of the
best tech transfer mechanisms in
Health/Biotech

26. SPIN-OFF CREATION MODEL
• Technology/Licensing
agreement
– Otherwise it’s a start-up
• Collaboration agrement
– Company-CIPF collaborations,
confidentiality, conflicts of interests…
• Shareholder agreement
– The CIPF holds equity

27. THE CIPF SCIENCE PARK
A business-oriented environment for the
growth of start-ups and established
companies in the fields of Healthcare
and Biotechnology
You’re a research center…
Why are you housing companies?

28. THE QUESTION
What does a (new) (biotech)
company need?
1. Money
2. A good team
3. Sound science
4. Technology

29. OUR APPROACH
• We offer to companies what we offer to
(our) research labs
– Lab and office space
– Scientific equipment
– Access to technological services (animal
facilities, cytomics, screening, genomics and
genetics, confocal and electron microscopy,
proteomics, NMR, GMP facilities…)
– Coffee sharing! A collaborative environment
with researchers

30. THE MODEL
• No renting, but a collaboration
agreement
– Monthly fee depending on what the
company is using
– Technological and scientific infrastructure
as a service
– If a company needs something, they ask for
it and they get it

31. OUR GOALS
• Put together early stage spin-off/start-up
with big/leading companies
• Aligned with the CIPF research
mission
• Make innovation and technology
transfer happen:
– CIPF  Company
– Company + CIPF  Market

32. 1. Introduction to Health Research
1. Health and Biomedical research at a glance
2. The CIPF
2. Health and Climate Research
3. Innovation strategy at the CIPF
1. The CIPF science park
2. Spin-off creation model

33. THANKS!
Óscar David Sánchez
osanchez@cipf.es