Guimarães is preparing to promote a position in the health field

Domingos Braganca, Mayor, Pedro Cuna, Director of Emergency Service of Hospital Senhora da Oliveira, and Rui Reis, President of I3Bs upgrade visit to one of the most important European research centers in biomaterials, biodegradable materials and biomimetic, I3Bs, located in Avepark – Guimarães Science and Technology Park, to which a group of Guimarães businessmen from different sectors of the economy have been invited.

The purpose of the visit was to make known the applied research that I3Bs are developing, which places them at the top of European research and development institutions in the fields of regenerative medicine and human tissue engineering, among others, and to create the foundations for the celebration of the protocol establishing, in the municipality of Guimarães, a center for innovation in the field of health. A health center that will have a primary partner in the Senhora da Oliveira Hospital for the testing and certification phases of the products to be developed, in the end-use environment and on the basis of their concrete application in solving specific needs.

In addition to the signing of the protocol for the health center, an attempt has been made to encourage the exchange of knowledge between I3B companies and companies, to create a collaborative network that feeds each other from contact with the different realities of each sector of activity, and to promote, from this exchange, the emergence of new ideas and business opportunities.

At the end of the visit, Mayor Domingos Bragança highlighted the enormous resources in health that the I3Bs and the Instituto Cidade de Guimarães possess: researchers, the most advanced research technology in the world, new knowledge in the fields of regenerative medicine, new medicines, new medical devices, in biomaterials and materials Biodegradable and biomimetic, which pose huge possibilities for our companies to innovate on an incremental basis, such as the creation of new companies based on biotechnology. “Companies have potential here to develop their R&D areas, record the use of laboratory resources on a nanometer scale, on a collaborative basis, and place their researchers here,” he said.

The Mayor indicated that the commitment of intent created by the visit and in the interest of all partners, which will lead to the foundations of a protocol, will be fundamental for Guimarães to be able to create an ecosystem of excellence in the field of health, at a time when access to community funds will benefit from innovation and development of products with Significant impact on the lives of all citizens, such as health and environmental sustainability.

Pedro Cunha, Director of the HSO, was confident in the potential of the partnership which he considers “important for the confirmation of Guimarães in the field of health” and of what he sees as an opportunity to evaluate the research being conducted in-house. For Pedro Cunha, one of the goals of the Senhora da Oliveira Hospital is to be classified as a university hospital, thus contributing to the strengthening of the scientific and knowledge system of the territory.

Rui Reis, President of I3Bs, the organic unit of UMinho created in 2018, highlighted the investment made by the municipality in the facilities of the Instituto Cidade de Guimarães that allows I3Bs to be considered the largest European research and development center in promoting scientific and technological progress. Technology in the field of biomaterials, human tissue engineering, regenerative and precision medicine, polymers and composites for biomedical applications, bioceramics, nanomedicine, biotechnology, stem cells, new materials, new resources of natural origin, including those of marine origin, as well as advanced scientific training in their fields of activity and dissemination of scientific research between the scientific community and civil society. “We are the only research institute in Europe with all the in-house resources,” he said.

All the businessmen present, who were invited to form the founding group of companies, expressed their determination to create the foundations for the conclusion of the proposed protocol, so that the establishment of a health center in Guimarães becomes a reality in the near future.