In the media
The weekly supplement Dinero of La Vanguardia has published an article about Ona Therapeutics, the spin-off created by IRB Barcelona, ICREA and the researchers Salvador Aznar-Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren, with funding from Sabadell Asabys. Based on results published by Aznar in the journal Nature in 2017, the company aims to find a new treatment for metastatic cancer. “We found that the cells that give rise to metastasis are “addicted” to fats, and we envisaged developing a product, an antibody, that can block the protein responsible for fat uptake in these cells and thus combat their proliferation,” explains the researcher.
L’Econòmic, the weekly supplement if the local newspaper El Punt Avui, has pinpointed Ona Therapeutics, the new spin-off from IRB Barcelona, as one of the ten Catalan start-ups with greatest projection. The company, which was founded by IRB Barcelona, ICREA, and the researchers Salvador Aznar Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren, with funding from Sabadell Asabys, focuses on the development of a new drug for the treatment of metastatic cancer.
Link to L’Econòmic
The programme El Matí, broadcasted on Catalunya Ràdio, and the newspapers La Vanguardia and El Punt Avui, among other media, have echoed on a study led by Marco Milán, head of the Development and Growth Control Laboratory at IRB Barcelona. This study reports on the team’s success in selectively eliminating cells that express the oncogene RAS. This oncogene is activated in 30% of humans cancers, and no effective inhibitors of this protein had been identified to date.
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The newspapers La Vanguardia, Ara, and ABC, among other media, have echoed news of the publication of two studies in Cell by Salvador Aznar Benitah, ICREA researcher at IRB Barcelona, done in collaboration with the University of California, Irvine (USA). The research concludes that in mice with an impaired central clock, which is located in the brain, each tissue knows the time and is able to respond to changes in light that occur between the day and night.
Link to La Vanguardia
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La Vanguardia and Expansión Catalunya, among other media, have devoted an articleto Ona Therapeutics, the new IRB Barcelona spin-off that has completed a seed financing round of 1.5 million euros, invested entirely by Sabadell Asabys. With this injection of capital, the spin-off created by IRB Barcelona, ICREA and the researchers Salvador Aznar Benitah and Valerie Vanhooren, will start up activity with the development of a new drug for the treatment of metastatic cancer.
Link to La Vanguardia
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La Vanguardia and La Sexta, among other media, have published an article on research headed by Antonio Zorzano, head of the Complex Metabolic Diseases and Mitochondria Lab at IRB Barcelona, which has identified a protein that protects against non-alcoholic fatty liver. “Mitofusin 2 emerges as a possible therapeutic target to combat fatty liver, a disease for which there is currently no treatment,” says the scientist.
The study has also been recommended by F1000 Prime.
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ABC has published an article on a study led by Modesto Orozco, head of the Molecular Modelling and Bioinformatics Lab at IRB Barcelona. This work has unravelled the mechanism of action of the mAb806 antibody, a drug used to treat glioblastoma. Published in the journal PNAS, the study lays the foundation for the extension of this treatment to more types of tumours and to more specific therapies.
Link to ABC
ABC and Gaceta Médica, among other media, have echoed on a study about the structure of a member of the L-amino acid transporter family (LAT), headed by IRB Barcelona researcher Manuel Palacín. “Knowing how LATs recognise the amino acids that they have to introduce into the cell allows us to better understand their function and helps us decipher the molecular defects associated with different pathologies and thus to develop potential treatments,” says Palacín.
Link to ABC
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TV3’s programme “Els Matins” has interviewed Francesc Posas, director of IRB Barcelona, about the increase in donations given to NGOs and research centres in Catalonia and about the #Metastasis Challenge campaign. During the interview, he talked about the importance of small fundraising initiatives undertaken by individuals, such as that of Magdalena Socias, a cancer patient who has decided to join the challenge by walking the Sierra de Tramontana to give visibility to the fight against metastasis. Magdalena’s son, Adrià Cañellas, who is a PhD student at IRB Barcelona, also participated in the interview.
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The radio station Cope, and the newspapers Ara Balear, Diario de Mallorca and Ultima Hora, among other media, have echoed news about the personal challenge taken on by Magdalena Socias, a cancer patient in Majorca, who intends to cross La Serra de Tramuntana on foot in order to increase awareness of the fight against the metastasis. This hike is part of the #MetastasisChallenge campaign, through which the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) aims to raise €5 M over the next four years to boost research in this field. Magdalena will walk the 110 kilometers from Andratx to Pollença between 18 and 22 April. "I believe progress can be made through research. It is the best...
