CaixaImpulse Innovation in Health Program funds i3S therapy to treat lower back pain
The new CaixaImpulse Innovation in Health program, launched by the “la Caixa” Foundation in partnership with the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), has awarded €50,000 each to seven biomedical research projects in Portugal—one of which is from i3S.
Led by researcher Joana Caldeira from the “Biofabrication” group, the funded project aims to develop an innovative therapy to treat lower back pain—a condition affecting millions worldwide. Current treatments are often invasive and insufficient, failing to offer long-term solutions for many patients.
Inspired by the regenerative potential of fetal environments, Joana Caldeira explains, “Our goal is to develop a safe, standardized material that provides a reliable and lasting solution for patients with chronic lower back pain, potentially replacing the need for surgery.”
Designed as an injectable therapy, the treatment “recreates the conditions that promote natural regeneration and uses personalized materials to stimulate tissue rejuvenation and repair, to relieve pain and restore the function of the intervertebral disc,” says Caldeira. “At the same time, it significantly reduces intervention time and hospital stays.”
By replacing invasive procedures with a scalable, safer, and more effective alternative, this project could pave the way for healthier, more active aging. It offers new hope for millions suffering from chronic lower back pain and represents a significant breakthrough in healthcare. According to Joana Caldeira, the project also “includes rigorous testing in animal models to ensure safety and effectiveness, laying a solid foundation for future clinical trials.”
Beyond treating lower back pain, this approach shows “potential to regenerate other tissues such as cartilage, skin, cornea, lung, and heart,” says Caldeira. This could enable broader applications across various fields, such as regenerative medicine, bringing advanced healthcare solutions to more people.
The team led by Joana Caldeira includes researchers Raquel Gonçalves (i3S and ICBAS), Mário Barbosa (i3S and ICBAS), Catarina Milheiro (i3S and ICBAS), Leonor Moura (i3S), Irina Amorim (i3S and ICBAS), Hugo Prazeres (i3S), and neurosurgeon Paulo Pereira.
About the CaixaImpulse Program
This year, the “la Caixa” Foundation received 428 applications for the CaixaImpulse program and selected 31 biomedical projects from research centers, hospitals, and universities in Spain and Portugal, awarding a total of €3.8 million in funding.
The CaixaImpulse program supports biomedical innovation and knowledge transfer projects by helping researchers validate their technologies and develop strategies for commercialization, aiming to bring research closer to the market. In addition to financial support, the program offers mentorship, consulting, and guidance from international experts across the innovation ecosystem.
Since its launch in 2015, the “la Caixa” Foundation has invested €28.8 million in 263 projects through CaixaImpulse, resulting in the creation of 54 spin-off companies. These spin-offs have collectively raised over €180 million through additional competitive grants and private investors.
About Joana Caldeira
Joana Caldeira earned her degree in Microbiology from the School of Biotechnology at the Catholic University of Porto. She began her scientific career in 2005 with a project at São João Hospital (Biochemistry Department) studying the molecular mechanisms regulating yeast enzymes. Later, she moved to Seville (CABD) on a research fellowship to explore the fruit fly as a model for cancer research and started her PhD in Biomedicine in collaboration with Ipatimup, supervised by Raquel Seruca and Fernando Casares.
During her postdoctoral work, she studied extracellular matrix modulation in cancer and tissue regeneration. In 2012, she joined INEB (now part of i3S along with Ipatimup and IBMC), where she began focusing on intervertebral disc research.
Since developing therapies aimed at regenerating the intervertebral disc and treating lower back pain, Joana Caldeira has received numerous awards and honors. She was recognized by Eurospine—The European Spine Society (2018), awarded an Honor Medal by the Orthopaedic Research Society (ORS), and received the L’Oréal Portugal Women in Science Award (2018). She is part of the team behind the startup Fetalix, won an EIT Jumpstarter prize in 2020 from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), received the Amyris Innovation BIG Impact Award in 2021, and secured funding from the European Commission under the Women TechEU program (2023), as well as support from AOSpine, ON Foundation, and the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).