SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA HOSTS THE INTERNATIONAL THINK TANK ON PRECLINICAL DRUG DISCOVERY

Prof. Zbigniew J. Leśnikowski of Institute of Biological Chemistry (IMB) PAS, head of National Library of Chemical Compounds POL-OPENSCREEN and Medicinal Chemistry Lab at IMB PAS took part in International Think Tank On Preclinical Drug Discovery. On January 16 and 17, Santiago de Compostela became the international epicentre of preclinical drug research by hosting the International Think Tank on Preclinical Drug Discovery. This event brought together over 80 world-renowned experts from public and private institutions with the aim of advancing disruptive science toward the development of transformational therapeutics. The workshop was organised by Professors Mabel Loza and Ángel Carracedo with their teams in the BioFarma research group/Innopharma platform at CIMUS and the Kaertor Foundation. It was part of the Strategic Network „Synergies in Drug Discovery in Spain” (ES-OPENSCREEN) and Complementary Biotechnology Program Applied to Health (PCBAS). The collaboration between these institutions made it possible to design a unique workshop aimed at maximizing the impact of innovation in drug discovery. During the discussion, a strategic analysis was carried out on the well-diagnosed situation of the gap between biomedical research and its applications in drug discovery in Europe in general, and in Spain in particular, which is in an under-competitive position, in terms of both pre-clinical R&D and industrial transfer. The Think Tank was structured into three working sessions and two discussion panels, where 35 speakers exchanged experiences and proposals, emphasising the need—and the unique opportunity—to mobilise public and private synergies to improve Spain’s position. The main challenge is to bridge the gap between the success achieved in the fields of basic biomedical research (in the top ten according to bibliometric ranks), and the success in clinical research (Spain has moved to the top one in Europe) through a more competitive preclinical research ecosystem in Spain connected to Europe. The translation of academic discoveries into clinical trials and the need to focus research on patient needs were a recurrent issue, as well as the lack of private, non-profit, philanthropic funding. This requires a paradigm shift in scientific research, promoting precompetitive collaboration, data sharing, and a long-term vision that prioritises unmet clinical needs.