- The prize was awarded to a successful case of technology transfer for the project Fluorescent ligands as an alternative to the use of radioactivity in the pharmaceutical industry.
On 15th June, the prize-giving ceremony of the Royal Galician Academy of Science took place, in which CiQUS was present. The research group "Discovery and Synthesis of New Molecules", led by CiQUS PI Eddy Sotelo, has been awarded with the "Fernando Calvet Prats" prize for a successful case of technology transfer.
Fernando Calvet Prats prize
The "Discovery and Synthesis of New Molecules" research group is formed by researchers from CiQUS and the Faculty of Pharmacy and it received the "Fernando Calvet Prats" award for a successful case of technology transfer for its project Fluorescent ligands as an alternative to the use of radioactivity in the pharmaceutical industry. The group, which is composed of Eddy Sotelo, Javier Sardina, from CiQUS; and Mabel Loza and José Brea, from CiMUS, was the driving force behind the company Celtarys Research, which exploits a novel alternative technology to the use of radioactivity in the early stages of drug discovery.
Making the technology's objectives visible
"The objective was to bet on fluorescence-based techniques as a safe, sensitive and versatile alternative to the routine use of radioactivity in HTS campaigns in the pharmaceutical industry," said Sotelo in his acceptance speech. "Our biggest challenge is to make the benefits of the technology visible, to commercially validate our ligands and to make space in the screening and HTS reagent market," he said of Celtarys Research.
The gala was chaired by RAGC vice-president Alicia Estévez. In addition to the award winners, also present were the director of the Galician Innovation Agency (Gain), María José Mariño; the rector of the University of A Coruña, Julio Abalde; the delegate for Knowledge Transfer of the University of Santiago de Compostela, Luís Otero; and the vice-rector of Communication and Institutional Relations of the University of Vigo, Mónica Valderrama; among other authorities and academic staff of the RAGC.
