• Representatives of the health and biotechnology sector from Navarre and Basque Country took part in the symposium “Synergies between health & 3D printing agents” organised in the framework of CARDIOPATCH 

• The encounter was an opportunity to debate about the need of a major funding and cooperation to launch new initiatives in the biomedical sector

• Companies such as Viscofan, Optimus 3D, Naitec, Izasa Scientific and I+Med shared their solutions at the encounter arranged by the partners Cima Universidad de Navarra and Leartiker

Personalized medicine is one of the most growing fields in recent decades. In Navarre, one of the neuralgic centers of the CARDIOPATCH project, it has gone from having residual presence to being a sector made up of 68 companies and nearly 2.000 researchers. But, which are the keys to develop projects of excellence in this field?

To answer these and other questions, half a hundred health and biotechnology professionals from Navarre and the Basque Country took part the 16th of November in the symposium “Synergies between health and 3D printing agents”, organised in the framework of the European initiative CARDIOPATCH.

The meeting, arranged by the project partners Cima Universidad de Navarra and Leartiker, provided an opportunity for representatives of biotechnology companies and technology and research centers to share the main advances and challenges of personalized medicine in these two regions.

The General Manager of Industry, Energy and Strategic Projects S4 of the Government of Navarre, Uxúe Itoiz, inaugurated the conference with the aim of strengthening ties and creating synergies by exploring new possibilities for collaboration to “go further and better” in the development of excellence projects in personalized medicine.

Other companies and technology centers such as Optimus 3D, I+Med, Izasa Scientific, Naitec, and the CARDIOPATCH associate partner Viscofan were also at the encounter.

These agents shared their projects and future proposals for the advancement of personalized medicine and their experiences in different areas such as biomedical engineering, research and innovation in health applications or the development of technological solutions for the improvement of products and processes for patients.

Cooperation and funding, the keys

In addition, table discussion “New opportunities for companies in the healthcare sector” was an opportunity to discuss the keys to the development of projects of excellence in personalized medicine.

The experts that were part of this table agreed that cooperation and an increased funding are key elements to achieve this goal. “It is necessary to find funding for the development of long-term projects”, said Estíbaliz Armendáriz, project manager at NAITEC.

In the same line, Gloria González-Aseguinolaza, Director of Innovation and Transfer of CARDIOPATCH partner Cima University of Navarre, added that “in order to advance in this field, it is needed a greater support from the administrations to develop projects with practical objectives and to reach patients”.

Besides calling for more resources for research and innovation, Fernando Oharriz, CEO and cofounder of Optimus 3D, pointed out that another of the keys for the progress of R&D in healthcare is “to speed up the regulatory processes within the sector”. In addition, Viscofan’s R&D Director, Blanca Jáuregui, concluded that “it is essential to strengthen relations between companies, technology and research centers and hospitals”.

The symposium, which was held in the framework of the CARDIOPATCH project, was closed by the Regional Minister of Economic and Business Development of the Government of Navarre, Mikel Irujo.

CARDIOPATCH, a European project co-financed by the European Union’s Interreg Sudoe Program, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and led by Clínica Universidad de Navarra (CUN), includes partners from Spain, France and Portugal: CIMA Universidad de Navarra, via the Foundation for Applied Medical Research, Leartiker Technology Center, Fundación Institut de Recerca de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, communication agency GUK, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Toulouse, the University of Montpellier (UM) - Institut des Biomolécules Max Mousseron (IBMM), GenIbet Biopharmaceuticals and the Instituto de Biologia Experimental e Tecnológica.