President of the Sorigué group, Ana Vallés, has signed a collaboration agreement with the director of the IrsiCaixa Aids Research Institute, Bonaventura Clotet Sala, to fund a research project aimed at developing early diagnosis through liquid biopsies and making progress towards an innovative vaccine to combat metastatic pancreatic cancer.

Sorigué has contributed a significant sum of the funding required, based on the Venture Philanthropy model, with the aim of creating a positive social impact in accordance with its desire to give back to society. Through this collaboration, the group hopes to provide resources for research besides coronavirus, which must be continued despite the pandemic.

The research will be carried out by IrsiCaixa, bringing its experience in the field of immunology and the development of vaccines. “The knowledge of the immune system acquired during the last 25 years of research into HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, now allows us to confront other diseases like cancer or emerging pathogens”, explains Clotet.

The project is headed by Dr Leticia de Mattos with the collaboration of Dr Jorge Carrillo, Dr Julià Blanco and Dr Bonaventura Clotet, and comprises the identification of the genetic characteristics of pancreatic cancer, one of the most aggressive tumours with some of the highest mortality rates. To do this, they will use liquid biopsies; blood samples from the patients which will provide information on the mutations present in the tumour. This procedure is much less invasive than tissue biopsies, which are very difficult to obtain for pancreatic cancer. All this information will help to guide the creation of a vaccine model which will activate the immune system and direct it towards fighting the disease.
 
About IrsiCaixa
Backed by the Caixa Foundation and the Department of Health of the Regional Government of Catalonia, IrsiCaixa was set up as a foundation in 1995. Its director is Dr Bonaventura Clotet, who is also president of the Fight Aids and Infectious Diseases Foundation and head of the Infectious Diseases Service at the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital in Badalona.