The Royal European Academy of Doctors (READ), together with the General Foundation of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), the Ramón Areces Foundation, and the Requena Foundation, held the 4th Conference on Creativity and Innovation on 21 April this year, focused on personalised medicine. The Ramón Areces Foundation itself hosted at its Madrid headquarters a meeting which, in this fourth edition, aimed to reflect on how creativity and innovation are driving new solutions to current healthcare challenges, on the different approaches to the practical application of emerging technologies in the health sector, and on the strategic role of innovation in economic and social development, as explained by its Organising Committee.
The opening lecture was delivered by journalist Carlos Franganillo, who introduced the scientific sessions, structured around two main axes: the use of data in clinical practice as support for decision-making and the development of advanced therapies, analysed from the perspectives of their transformative potential, key actors, and evolution. These topics were explored through different spaces for dialogue, an expert analysis session, the presentation of a strategic surveillance report prepared by the CSIC Foundation, and a round table with researchers, biotechnology companies and knowledge transfer managers, which made it possible to examine the scientific, technological and social implications of all these innovations.
The conference was chaired by the Director-General of the Ramón Areces Foundation, Raimundo Pérez-Hernández, and the Vice-President for Scientific and Technical Research of the CSIC, José María Martell. After their introduction, the Director of the Vision and Ophthalmology Research Group at the Complutense University of Madrid, Celia Sánchez Ramos, opened the meeting with a talk centred on the importance of data in personalised medicine. She was joined by other experts, such as Professor of Surgery Julio Mayol and Professor of Statistics Rosa Elvira Lillo. Data analyst Víctor Valcárcel, for his part, presented the report prepared by the CSIC Foundation.
A round table on advanced therapies was then held, with the participation of José María Frade, researcher at the Cajal Neuroscience Centre of the CSIC; Ángel Lucio, Chief Executive Officer of the spin-off Tetraneuron; Rafael Oriol, Chief Operating Officer of the R&D&I investment firm Captug; and Gemma Cañas, Head of the Knowledge Transfer Area of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities. The debate was moderated by Augusto Silva, a scientific researcher at the CSIC. The conference concluded with a humorous monologue by science communicator Daniel Orts and the closing lecture by Ramón Torrecillas San Millán, Director-General of the General Foundation of the Higher Council for Scientific Research.
