i3S joins Iberian research consortium for healthy aging

Formed by 14 public-private entities, five universities, five research centers, including the Institute of Research and Innovation in Health of the University of Porto (i3S), and four companies from the Euroregion of Galicia-North of Portugal, the Institute of Biofabrication in Network for Healthy Aging (IBEROS+) was recently funded with 2.2 million euros by the INTERREG VA Spain-Portugal cooperation program and co-financed by the ERDF.

Until 2026 this consortium of more than 150 researchers has as its main objective to improve the health and quality of life of the population of these regions and the European Union - with a special focus on diseases associated with aging.

Under the coordination of the University of Vigo, the 14 entities will work in a network to consolidate excellent skills in the area of biomanufacturing, oriented towards organ and tissue engineering and personalized medicine. At the same time, experts will aim to find solutions to the shortage of organ and tissue donations, develop low-cost medicines, reduce animal testing, and advance the model of personalized medicine, using tissues and organoids biofabricated from the patient’s own cells.

This cross-border center of excellence is committed to a collaborative network and the transfer of results to the market and intends to recruit 13 researchers, publish more than 20 scientific articles in collaboration, submit at least three patent applications, establish dozens of contacts with companies in the sector, and develop three R&D contracts with companies as well as licensing agreements.

The i3S Biofabrication group led by Pedro Granja will receive a budget of almost one hundred thousand euros, which will allow it to hire a junior researcher to complete the team made up of around 15 researchers and students. The group of Portuguese scientists will contribute with engineering technologies for the stomach, skin, and intervertebral disc.

Collaboration between centers of knowledge and companies

One of the new features of this project is the incorporation of companies into the work. From Galicia, the consortium was joined by BFlow, which develops microfluidic devices capable of imitating the behavior of an organ in the laboratory, Arbinova which, under the Beta Implants brand, designs and manufactures implants for veterinary surgery, and iBoneLab, specialized in pre-clinical testing of biomaterials in living tissues. The Portuguese company that is part of the consortium is Intelligent Lab on Fiber, which offers an intelligent platform for the development of personalized medicines.

The universities involved are the Spanish universities of Santiago de Compostela and Vigo, and the Portuguese universities are Católica and Minho. The consortium also includes the Fundación Biomédica Galicia Sur, the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas del CSIC, the Servizo Galego de Saúde, the Institute of Research and Innovation in Health of the University of Porto (i3S), the Iberian International Nanotechnology Laboratory, and the Porto Instituto Superior de Engenharia.