”la Caixa” Foundation has announced the results of the 2025 CaixaImpulse program, supporting 31 biomedical projects from research centers, hospitals, and universities across Spain and Portugal. A total of €3.8 million will be allocated to this initiative, aimed at accelerating the translation of innovations to market and bringing them closer to the patients who need them. CaixaImpulse also fosters the creation of new products, services, and companies in the life sciences and healthcare sectors.
The winning projects —selected from among 428 applications— were evaluated by six panels of international experts and professionals in the field.
Dr. Joan Seoane, ICREA professor, Director of the VHIO’s Immuno-oncology and Tumor Microenvironment Program, and Principal Investigator of VHIO’s Gene Expression and Cancer Group, has been awarded one of these grants, endowed with €150,000, to develop safer and more precise advanced therapies for solid tumors.
Advancing safer and more precise treatments for solid tumors using engineered immune cells
Many cancer patients have already benefited from therapies that harness their own immune cells to fight disease. While such treatments have achieved excellent results in blood cancers, they still face major challenges in solid tumors, such as those that develop in the brain.
“This project is developing a new strategy to help immune cells find and attack hidden cancer cells, while ensuring that treatment is as safe as possible,” explains Dr. Seoane.
The main goal is to help immune cells better recognize and destroy cancer, and to equip them with a special system to escape the tumor’s immunosuppressive environment.This approach could make treatment significantly more effective for patients with solid tumors, who often have limited options. At the same time, it reduces the likelihood of dangerous side effects, since the therapeutic substances act precisely where they are most needed. The technology is flexible, meaning it can be adapted to different tumor types and could also be used in combination with other immune cell therapies in the future.
“If successful, this technology could bring new hope to patients whose cancers have not responded to other therapies, helping them live longer and with a better quality of life,” concludes Dr. Seoane.
CaixaImpulse program
By business area, 14 of the selected projects belong to the field of therapies; 12 focus on medical devices with strong potential to improve healthcare; 4 proposals target diagnostics with the ability to transform early disease detection; and 1 focuses on digital health.
In terms of funding, projects receive between €50,000 and €500,000 depending on their maturity stage, to be developed in the coming years. In this call, 17 projects entered phase 1 (up to €50,000), 11 reached phase 2 (up to €150,000), and 3 were awarded phase 3 grants (up to €500,000). Projects can move into subsequent phases with greater funding upon achieving specific milestones and following evaluation by the committee.
Training and expert support for projects
CaixaImpulse provides support for biomedical innovation and technology transfer, helping researchers validate their assets and define exploitation and valorization strategies to bring research results closer to the market. Alongside financial support, participants also benefit from mentoring, consultancy, and guidance from international experts across the innovation ecosystem.
Moreover, researchers leading phase 2 projects will receive specialized training over four weeks on technology transfer, intellectual property legislation, pitching to investors, and closing commercial agreements.
The program is conducted in collaboration with Criteria Bio Ventures, CriteriaCaixa’s venture capital fund specializing in biotechnology and health sciences.
