The Innomed Awards highlight fifteen innovative biomedical projects in their second edition

The Innomed program, an initiative led and coordinated by the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), has today concluded the second edition of its GrowInn project incubator with the celebration of the Innomed Awards. The program brings together seven healthcare and research institutions from the Can Ruti Campus and its surrounding area: Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute (IJC), Consorci Sanitari del Maresme (CSdM), Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital (HUGTiP), Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO), IrsiCaixa, Institut Guttmann, and IGTP itself.

More than 150 people have attended the event, held at the IJC auditorium. It was opened by Sonia Egea, deputy mayor of the Badalona City Council; Dr Evarist Feliu, chair of IJC's Executive Committee; Dr Jordi Barretina, director general of IGTP; and Raül Zurita, director of Innovation at IGTP. All speakers highlighted the importance of fostering innovation within research institutions and strengthening inter-institutional collaboration to facilitate the transfer of knowledge to the healthcare system.

The event continued with a round table entitled "Business and Research: Together Towards Transformative Innovation", moderated by Josep Lluís Falcó from GENESIS Biomed, where sector experts shared insights in a constructive discussion about public-private collaboration and the transformation of research projects into business ventures. Participants included Coral Spa (AstraZeneca), Judit Cubedo (LAINCO), Pau Turon (B. Braun), Antonio Parente (GP Pharm), and Joaquim Puig de Dou (Menarini).

One of the key moments of the day was the presentation of this year's GrowInn incubator projects. New talents had the opportunity to pitch their proposals in a concise format to an audience of fellow researchers, healthcare professionals, and company representatives. The presentations spanned diverse areas including medical technologies (medtech), therapy development, in vitro diagnostics, and technologies applied to digital health. All of them presented ideas with real potential to address unmet healthcare needs and improve patient care.

Out of the 15 incubated projects, five were awarded for their talent and determination. Each prize includes services valued at €5,000, provided by the sponsoring organisations.

• ZBM Patents & Trademarks Award
  • Mònica Suelves (IGTP) - Time4Duchenne
• Ingecal Award
  • Enrique Javier Arenas (IJC) - REACTAC-SOCS1: REACTivating Cancer immunotherapy via PROTACs against SOCS1
• GENESIS Biomed Award
  • Lidia Blay (HUGTiP) - DetectAR
• ClarkeModet Award
  • Ferran Grau (ICO-IGTP) - PROTAC contra CDK5 for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer
• Inveniam Award
  • Joan Pagès (IrsiCaixa) - Urine proteomic biomarker kit for prediction of bladder preservation in muscle-invasive bladder cancer

"These awards are a clear demonstration of the innovative potential within our environment. I am very pleased to see how the collaboration among the seven participating institutions enables us to drive programs like Innomed, which provide training and support for new innovation projects on the Campus", said Raül Zurita, director of the Innovation and Business Development Unit at IGTP.

With its second edition, the Innomed Awards have cemented their role as a platform for recognising and promoting transformative initiatives emerging from the research ecosystem. The Innomed program will continue working to position the Can Ruti Campus as a leading hub for healthcare innovation at national level, capable of attracting both public and private investment.