VIEW FROM THE TOP |
BASIC RESEARCH A PILLAR FOR HEALTHCARE JOSÉ MUSTRE DE LEÓN Director General of CINVESTAV
Q: How can greater investment in research change the
working with Neolpharma in the development of two new
local healthcare sector?
medications. However, our relationship with these players
A: Basic research is essential for the development
could be stronger.
of many economic sectors but it is often discounted because its effects are not seen immediately. However,
Q: How can public research help alleviate Mexico’s
delaying investment in basic research will lead us to
epidemiological burden?
fall behind other economies and might worsen current
A: A research group at CINVESTAV’s Genomics Center in
healthcare problems or create new ones. CINVESTAV has
Irapuato is studying genomic traits in ancestry to identify
tried to maintain a constant investment flow in research
genetic markers that make Mexicans prone to certain
and even to compensate for the lost resources that were
diseases. Mexicans have a mixture of South European and
once given to us by the federal government. We do not
indigenous ancestry, so treatments developed for other
want any of our research projects to stop.
populations may affect Mexicans differently. This research group has the largest genomic database of indigenous
Q: How is CINVESTAV directly contributing to the
American population, from Canada to Argentina, in the
improvement of healthcare in Mexico?
world. Due to the size of this project, federal funding
A: We have two key projects. The first has a strong social
was insufficient so it is also being funded by England
impact in that it focuses on the development of a vaccine
and the EU.
for Chagas disease, which is not a priority for developed economies. This project has received an annual stipend
Q: What is the status of CINVESTAV’s Center for
from the Carlos Slim Foundation of MX$10 million
Aging Research?
(US$52,604) for the past four years, which the company
A: In 2018, we finalized the construction of the center and
just renewed for the coming four years. We are close to
we are now working to obtain all necessary certifications.
clinical trials and continuing this project is essential for
The center has allied with several international institutes,
the population.
including the University of Barcelona and the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging. However, the Center for
The second project focuses on several analgesic properties
Aging Research is being financed by a joint fund between
of stem cells. In March 2019, we signed an agreement with
Mexico City and CONACYT and the latter is reconsidering
a South Korean company to commercialize these cells
several projects that it had supported in previous years,
and cell growth factors in the Asian country for analgesic
so we are uncertain whether they will continue to fund
and dermatological purposes.
the center.
Q:
How
has
C I N V E S TAV ’ s
relationship
with
Our goal for 2019 is to finish the Center for Aging
pharmaceutical companies evolved?
Research’s certification processes, to focus on the
A: We need a strong collaboration with other players
commercial aspects of the stem cell project and to lead
to ensure researchers have direct contact with the
our research projects into the creation of commercial
immediate medical needs of the population. CINVESTAV
solutions.
achieves this through several associations with public and private hospitals, which we aim to reinforce. Many of our graduates are already working in the healthcare
The Center for Research and Advanced Studies (CINVESTAV)
sector and in hospitals within the Ministry of Health’s
is a Mexican public institution dedicated to the development of
network. Alliances with pharmaceutical companies are
science, technology and education at the graduate level. Up to
extremely important for the center. For instance, we are
30 percent of CINVESTAV’s research is in the healthcare sector
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