IGTP obtains reaccreditation as Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria by Instituto de Salud Carlos III

The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP) has been reaccredited as Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IIS) by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII). This recognition consolidates the position of the IIS-IGTP as a reference centre in the management of biomedical research at the national level and ensures its status as an IIS for the next five years.

IGTP was one of the first health research centres to be certified by ISCIII in 2009. Since then, it has renewed its accreditation every five years. The process for the latest renewal began in 2023, culminating with a visit from auditors on 24, 25 and 26 April this year. Finally, at the end of July, the ISCIII Directorate issued a favourable report for the accreditation of IGTP, confirming its excellence in health research.

Being accredited as a centre of excellence by ISCIII involves coordinating the management of research and scientific strategy in close collaboration with the other centres that comprise it: the core being the Germans Trias Hospital and the Autonomous University of Barcelona, along with other centres on the Can Ruti campus and and its surronding area (IrsiCaixa, Institut Català d'Oncologia, Blood and Tissue Bank, Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute, Institut Guttmann, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina, and Consorci Sanitari del Maresme).

This accreditation recognises the excellence of the scientific results and the good management of biomedical research and its beneficial returns in the healthcare, social, and economic fields of the research and innovation conducted by the entity. Currently, there are 35 health research institutes accredited by ISCIII, eight of which are in Catalonia (IDIBAPS, IDIBELL, IR-HUVH, IIB Sant Pau, IMIM, IRB Lleida, I3PT, and IGTP).

Impact of reaccreditation on the future of IIS-IGTP

In the words of Dr Julia García, scientific director of IGTP: "This recognition evaluates excellence in biomedical research and scientific management and ensures the possibility of accessing public and private resources so that they are managed optimally both in the development of scientific programs and in the retention, recruitment, and consolidation of talent in clinical and translational research".

IGTP is an institute with a solid scientific track record, national and international recognition, and excellent capacity for translation and transfer of research results to clinical practice and the productive sector. In recent years, it has significantly increased the acquisition of research resources, both public and private, making it a solvent research centre with high growth capacity.

Dr Jordi Barretina, director of IGTP, explains that this reaccreditation "allows us to access competitive calls that are only open to accredited institutes, thus increasing our competitiveness. This will allow us to continue accessing resources to develop our research and continue developing innovative projects. Additionally, it opens the door to new international collaborations and increases our visibility".

Looking to the future, Dr García emphasises that "our strategic objectives include deploying scientific programs that help shape the IIS-IGTP strategy. We want our influential groups and society at large to perceive the importance of our research work and our role as a link with clinical care and innovation".

In this context, the IIS-IGTP strengthens its collaborative structure with other entities, primarily with the Hospital and UAB, and other centres in the Can Ruti campus environment, previously mentioned, to promote synergies and joint projects that contribute to improving citizens' health and the international projection of Catalan research.

With this new recognition, IGTP, which is also a CERCA centre, consolidates itself as one of the main actors in the field of biomedical research in Spain, reaffirming its commitment to excellence and innovation for the benefit of citizens' health, promoting collaboration between basic and clinical research.

Institutos de Investigación Sanitaria (IIS) are entities focused on research, created through collaboration with hospitals of the Spanish National Health System, universities, public research organisations, and other public or private research centres. Their objective is to establish multidisciplinary research programmes and policies that promote translational research.