Author: Rafael Santos

Exciting News from the MACUSTAR .eu Consortium

The European public-private partnership consortium MACUSTAR .eu has received a third 𝗟𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its efforts in developing novel outcome measures for clinical trials evaluating treatments for the common eye condition age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

The scientific advice by the agency was based on four-year study results of more than 𝟲𝟬𝟬 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗔𝗠𝗗 who are at a high risk of developing visual impairment. EMA recognises the high quality and impact of the scientific outputs from the 𝗠𝗔𝗖𝗨𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗥 project that may have impact on more than 200 million patients with AMD globally.

The MACUSTAR consortium unites 20 EVICR.net clinical centers across 7 European countries, with the clinical study sponsored by UKB University of Bonn and AIBILI-Association for Innovation and Biomedical Research on Light and Image as the clinical trial unit coordinator.

This project has received funding from the Innovative Medicines Initiative 2 Joint Undertaking under grant agreement No 116076. This Joint Undertaking receives support from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme and EFPIA. A further funding from Bayer, Novartis and Roche enabled the study to be extended by three years.

Read the EMA’s Full Letter of Support here: Letter of Support for intermediate Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) biomarker and novel clinical endpoint development

ARRISCA C Competition

The competition for science &technology-based business ideas is back, recognising innovative national projects with the potential to impact diverse sectors, and applications are open until 2 February.

 

The ARRISCA C competition seeks to foster the creation of academic and business spin-offs and start-ups while promoting a culture of innovation. Its objectives include encouraging entrepreneurship, facilitating the transfer of knowledge and technology generated by academia and R&D, and contributing to sustainable economic and social development. The competition evaluates and rewards business ideas based on their promoters’ scientific and/or technological expertise.

 

ARRISCA C is aimed at teachers, researchers, non-teaching staff, grant holders, alumni or graduates from any Portuguese higher education institution and students in secondary and technical-vocational education (level IV CE). Proposals can be submitted individually or in teams of up to five members
The science/technology-based business ideas must demonstrate an impact in areas such as Natural Resources and Bioeconomy, Energy and Climate, Materials, Tooling and Production Technologies, Culture, Creativity and Tourism, Health and Wellbeing.

 

Cash prizes will be awarded for 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in each category (Innovation, Junior Innovation, Social Innovation and Sustainability). The total prize money is over €25,000.
ARRISCA C is a business ideas competition organised by the University of Coimbra, with a 12-year track record.

All the information about the initiative is available at https://www.arriscac.pt/.

 

 

 

[PT] O concurso de ideias de negócio ARRISCA C está de volta e com candidaturas abertas até 2 de fevereiro.

 

O concurso visa contribuir para a criação de spin-offs académicas e empresariais e startups, ao mesmo tempo pretende promover uma cultura inovadora;
estimular o espírito empresarial e a transferência do conhecimento e tecnologia, gerados no âmbito das atividades académicas, de investigação e desenvolvimento;
divulgar, valorizar e distinguir as ideias de negócio que tenham por base o conhecimento científico e/ou tecnológico dos seus promotores e contribuir para o desenvolvimento económico e social sustentável.

 

O ARRISCA C destina-se a docentes, investigadores, pessoal não docente, bolseiros, alunos ou ex-alunos diplomados, de qualquer instituição de ensino superior de Portugal, e alunos do ensino secundário e técnico-profissional (nível IV CE) a nível nacional. As propostas podem ser feitas de forma individual ou em equipa, até um máximo de cinco elementos.

 

As ideias de negócio, de base científica ou tecnológica, devem ter impacto em áreas como Recursos Naturais e Bioeconomia, Energia e Clima, Materiais, Tooling e Tecnologias de Produção, Cultura, Criatividade e Turismo, Saúde e Bem-Estar.

 

Em cada categoria (Inovação, Inovação Júnior, Inovação Social e Sustentabilidade) existem prémios monetários, para o 1.º, 2.º ou 3.º lugar. No total, há mais de 25.000€ em prémios.

O ARRISCA C é um concurso de ideias de negócio, organizado pela Universidade de Coimbra, com um historial de 12 edições. Todas as informações sobre a iniciativa estão disponíveis em https://www.arriscac.pt/.

 

AIBILI celebrates 35 years!

Founded in September 1989, AIBILI began with the mission of supporting technology transfer and translational research in the health sector. Over the years, AIBILI has become a key partner, bridging academic and scientific institutions with companies and industry to facilitate the translation of research into new health market products.

Guided by a vision to enhance human health and well-being, AIBILI is dedicated to transforming research knowledge into innovative applications that improve lives.

A special thanks to Prof. José Cunha-Vaz for his foresight in establishing such a relevant institution. And heartfelt appreciation to the entire AIBILI team for their unwavering commitment to advancing clinical research every day!

Prof. José Cunha-Vaz receives the Helen Keller Award

José Cunha-Vaz, Emeritus Professor of Ophthalmology at the University of Coimbra and Honorary President of AIBILI, has just been awarded the most prestigious global prize in ophthalmology research: the Helen Keller Prize for Vision Research. His scientific discoveries, spanning from the 1960s in England, the USA, and Portugal, have influenced generations of researchers and had a significant impact on clinical practice.

The award was presented in Seattle, USA, by the Helen Keller Foundation and the BrightFocus Foundation, during the congress of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), which brings together over 10.000 ophthalmology specialists from 75 countries.

SPO launches two new registries

AIBILI is proud to have developed for the SPO – Portuguese Society of Ophthalmology two registries for Keratoconus and Endophthalmitis. We congratulate SPO for the initiative which will contribute to foster ophthalmology clinical research. More information can be found here [https://spoftalmologia.pt/formularios/bases-de-dados/].

AIBILI Data Centre is a structure to support Investigator Initiated Research providing Data Management and Electronic Data Capture Solutions compliant with ECRIN Data Centre Certification requirements. Please check out our list of services here [https://www.aibili.pt/units-centres/dc/].

 

Visit of the Ministry of Economy and Maritime Affairs

This week we have received the visit of Prof. António Costa e Silva, the Ministry of Economy and Maritime Affairs.
AIBILI Administration had the opportunity to showcase the skills and installed capacities and to reinforce the relevance that the institution plays in the national and international clinical research ecosystem.
Founded in 1989, AIBILI is a Centre for Technology and Innovation recognized by the Ministry of Economy, acting as a facilitating partnership between academic and scientific institutions, companies and industry and has the mission of responding to market failures and providing technical and technological support to companies in the health sector, specifically in clinical research.