Translink is a project that will have a duration of four years and a budget of 7.8 M € , co-financed by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme.
Dr. Rafael Máñez , director of the project in 2 hospitals of the ICS (Catalan Health Institute , stresses that this project will apply the knowledge generated in medical practice , with real potential to impact on improving the process of biological cardiac prostheses.
Each year 300,000 patients benefit from a biological heart valve prosthesis with animal tissues , which have advantages over mechanical prostheses . The replacement of these valves is the second most common surgical procedure in cardiac surgery , so that the results of this public-private partnership will have a major impact on the population.
Kick-off of Translink
On 23 and 24 September , Padua (Italy ) has just welcomed the launch meeting (kick -off ) of the European project ” TRANSLINK ” ( acronym for ‘ ” Defining the role of xeno -directed and autoimmune events in patients Receiving Animal -derived bioprosthetic heart valves “), which aims to determine the factors that govern the risks of failure of heart valve prostheses of biological origin , and improve the life of them. The results of this project will have a significant impact on the population , as the conditions Associated With The heart valves are the third leading cause of cardiovascular disease and replacement of these prostheses is the second Most common surgical procedure in cardiac surgery.
” TRANSLINK ” will be developed through an international consortium composed of 13 members (6 public research organizations, 4 hospitals and 3 SMEs ) in 6 European countries. Coordinated by the Azienda Ospedaliera di Padova (Italy ) – with complementary resources and capabilities that combines applied research in the clinical setting with medicinal chemistry , artificial intelligence, and biotechnology cell experimentation. The Spanish partners of the project are the Institut Català de la Salut, the Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research ( IDIBELL ) , InKemia IUCT Group ( through its subsidiary IUCT, SA ) and the start -up Mind the Byte, based at the PCB . The consortium also involved the Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale ( France ) , the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nantes ( France ) , the University College of London ( United Kingdom) , the University of Tel Aviv (Israel ) , the University of Gothenburg ( Sweden) , the Regents of the University of California ( USA) and the Italian biotech Avantea.