Sanidad incrementa la inversión prevista y destinará 9,4 millones a consolidar ISABIAL como polo de referencia en investigación en Alicante
The construction of the new building will increase by an additional €5 million over the €4 million initially planned
Miguel Mínguez announced that the tender for the works will be published before the end of this year
The works are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023, with an execution period of 24 months
The new building will be integrated into Doctor Balmis Hospital and will expand its capacity to bring together research groups
Alicante (30.09.22). The Regional Minister of Universal Health Care and Public Health, Miguel Mínguez, visited the site where the new building that will house the Health and Biomedical Research Institute of Alicante (ISABIAL) will be constructed.
This center will be located on the grounds of Doctor Balmis Hospital in Alicante and will have a built area of 6,194 square meters, which will make it possible to bring together the different ISABIAL research groups, as well as expand the current surface area and facilitate research activities. To date, researchers are distributed across different clinical areas of the hospital.
During the visit, the Regional Minister of Health stated that the Regional Ministry of Health will allocate “five million euros more than initially budgeted, which will allow ISABIAL to consolidate its position as a health and biomedical research center in the province of Alicante”.
In this way, the budget for the construction of the new ISABIAL center rises to €9.4 million, compared to the €4 million initially planned. Miguel Mínguez has highlighted that “consolidating a center of this level will facilitate the integration of the 642 researchers that make up this entity, given the necessary resources for the development of research work, such as laboratories or teaching areas.”
According to Mínguez, “this effort consolidates ISABIAL as the third health research institute accredited by the Carlos III Institute in the Valencian Community and will enhance its national and international projection in the field of research”.
Likewise, the Regional Minister of Health has stated that “before the end of the year, the tender for the construction of this new center as the headquarters of ISABIAL will be published.” In fact, the forecast is that construction could begin in the first quarter of 2023, with an estimated execution period of 24 months.
More than 160 research projects and 250 studies
The Alicante Health and Biomedical Research Institute (ISABIAL) is established as a biomedical research space focused on clinical, epidemiological, and health services research, supported by research groups and entities that make up the Institute. The entities forming part of ISABIAL are the Alicante Health Department – Doctor Balmis General Hospital as the core of the Institute, the University of Alicante (UA), and Miguel Hernández University (UMH).
Currently, the center has 642 researchers, 67% of whom belong to Doctor Balmis Hospital, where more than 250 studies are being carried out, including Clinical Trials (CTs), Observational Studies (OS), Independent Clinical Research (ICR), and more than 160 active research projects.
Among ISABIAL’s main projects is the WATERFALL trial, published this September in the New England Journal of Medicine, studies on prediction based on the molecular profile of colorectal cancer using artificial intelligence technology, as well as improvements in the adequacy of prophylaxis in surgery, among others.
In addition, ISABIAL carries out research in collaboration with other institutions, such as the study on loss of smell in patients who have suffered from COVID‑19, which is conducted together with UMH.
A reference center in Alicante
The creation of a new center exclusively dedicated to ISABIAL will make it possible to boost biomedical research in Alicante. This building will be designed as a headquarters for the 43 research groups and will help to strengthen R&D&I activities, contributing to turning the center into a reference hub.
This building, located at Doctor Balmis Hospital, will consist of three floors with more than 1,300 square meters each. The ground floor will house waste management areas, toilet facilities, lifts, a data processing center, and a communications distribution hub. In addition, the Teaching Area will be located there, with various classrooms and simulation zones.
Finally, this same floor will house the High‑Resources Laboratory Area, where cell culture rooms, nitrogen tank rooms, a centrifugation and sequencing area, among others, will be installed. In addition, the Clinical Trials Unit will be located there, with a waiting room, a day‑hospital–type room, and medical consultation rooms.
On the other hand, the first floor will be allocated to the Research Support Laboratory, and on the second floor the Clinical Trials Unit will be located, along with the Research Support Area, the Multipurpose Area, and changing rooms.
Finally, the Regional Minister of Health visited the exhibition organized by ISABIAL on the occasion of the Mediterranean Night of Researchers, which is located at Espacio Séneca.