At the IGTP TODAY
The second edition of HEALTHIO, a trade fair for health and innovation at the Fira de Barcelona, was held on 16-18 October. It brought together members of the public, health professionals and innovative small companies in an open space designed to promote dialogue between all the players in the healthcare ecosystem and promote evolution of the sector.
Biointaxis, the new spin-off company of the IGTP, was recently constituted. The company stems from research led by Dr Antoni Matilla-Dueñas together with Dr Ivelisse Sánchez of the Neurogenetics Group of the IGTP and has been created to increase translational research leading to treatments and new genomic technologies for rare neurological diseases with genetic causes. The first project the company is undertaking is the development of a gene therapy for Friedreich's Ataxia.
The Neurogenetics Research Group at the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Group, led by Dr Antoni Matilla has found the mutation and described the molecular mechanism that causes the sub-type of ataxia SCA37, which they first described in 2013. This find means that all the families with this alteration can be diagnosed before symptoms appear and that carriers can receive genetic counselling. It is also the first step on developing personalized therapies.
