Laureano Molins, academician of RAED, warns of the lack of resources and tax benefits in donations for research projects
Dr. Laureano Molins
Laureano Molins, head of Thoracic Surgery at Clinic Hospital in Barcelona, president of the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) – Catalonia Against Cancer and full academician of the Royal European Academy of Doctors-Barcelona 1914 (RAED), alert the lack of resources in the fight against cancer and calls for the implementation of legal mechanisms that guarantee that donation and private investment in institutions that fight this disease, public or private, don’t have the fiscal burden they still have. Molins makes these and other reflections in an interview published by the Spanish economic newspaper “Expansión” in its edition of March 5.
“The reform of the law of Patronage, which has not arrived in Spain, is very important for companies that want to contribute to the fight against cancer. In France, companies are deducted about 60% of contributions to causes like this, but in Spain it does not reach 10%”, says the academician. In this same line, Molins explains that the Spanish Association Against Cancer (AECC) – Catalonia Against Cancer has set the goal of reaching 20 million euros only in Catalonia for R&D projects in 2020, compared to the current 18. In Spain as a whole, this figure currently stands at 56 million, which allows for the total or partial payment of more than 300 projects. In terms of effectiveness, Molins points out that the great challenge is that in the year 2030 a 70% survival rate will be reached in those affected by this serious disease in its most diverse affectations.
Beyond the clinical battle against cancer, Molins has focused his mandate in the AECC-Catalonia Against Cancer, which he assumed only six months ago, in its prevention. It is, for the academician, another of the pending subjects on the part of the different Spanish administrations. “In Spain there has been a lot of interest in prevention actions, but the incidence of smoking, for example, continues to rise, and it is important to continue along these lines”, he said in the interview.
The academician of the RAED is a prestigious medical professional of international recognition. Doctor in Medicine and Surgery from the Autonomous University of Barcelona and postdoctoral in Thoracic Surgery by the Mayo Clinic of the United States, is also a member of the European Board of Cardiothoracic Surgery, the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Molins joined the Royal Academy in early 2017, which merited the personal congratulations of Spanish King Juan Carlos I, both to the recipient and the institution.
