Innovation, nutrition, private healthcare, supercomputing, 5G and rare diseases were the focus of the debates at the 2019 UnConference hosted by CataloniaBio & HealthTech on 28 November at Masia de Sant Pere de Clarà in Argentona (Barcelona). The second annual event brought together over 50 executives and entrepreneurs to reflect on the future of solutions for healthcare.
"There are small companies and large companies that have to start working together to add more value to the medical solution they offer. We have to work together to transform the sector, with shared leadership, and looking 10 years out,” highlighted César Velasco, director of Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS). During the session moderated by Marta Aymerich, vice-rector for Strategic Planning and Research at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC), participants noted that shifting from procurement of products to procurement of services would make the system more efficient and that innovation, undeniably, entails a good digital health system, above all thinking of the younger generations.
The debate led by Eduardo Fargas, Global Business Operations Officer at Nestlé Health Science, and Montserrat Daban, Scientific Director and International Relations at Biocat, noted that nutrition is one of the pillars for achieving a more sustainable public health system and preventing disease. Some of the challenges for the coming years include the trend towards personalised nutrition, improving relations between the public system and industry, and training medical professionals. Taking into account that nutrition is a field that can be plagued by pseudo-sciences, it is also important to foster nutritional awareness among society in general.
At the same time, in another space at the UnConference, participants discussed the role of private healthcare management with Gabriel Masfurroll, chairman of the board at Mi Tres Torres and of the UAB Social Council, and Benet Iñigo, head of Society at RAC 1. The participants agreed on the hurdles the public system faces in introducing new services and innovative products and, on the contrary, the flexibility and openness of private and mixed centres. They proposed promoting and sharing the advantages of private management and encouraging procurement strategies not solely based on financial criteria.
During the debate led by Josep Maria Martorell, deputy director of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC-CNS), and Xantal Llavina, director and host of the programme Revolució 4.0 on TV3 and Catalunya Ràdio, participants made it clear that the European Union needs to establish advanced digital facilities and set up a top-notch network of supercomputers, as none of today’s digital giants (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) are European. The Marenostrum supercomputer, Martorell explained, can store biomedical data that allows researchers to simulate drugs, analyse tumours and genomic data, analyse and sequence the genome, and model biomolecules, among other tasks. China, the United States and Japan are leaders in this field, so Europe has to get moving if it wants to become a dynamic data-driven economy.
Gonzalo Fernández, director of Smart Cities, Big Data and Health for the Public Administration at Vodafone, and Pipo Serrano, director of Digital Contents for the programme Aquí, amb Josep Cuní on SER Catalunya, opened the debate on data and 5G connectivity. Participants highlighted the change in patient behaviours and society: 54% of Europeans would have an appointment with their family physician via webcam, according to Stada Health Report 2019. With regard to collecting data, they believe it isn’t very useful yet, meaning we need to implement Good Data. Another issue on the table was digital medical records, which should contain both clinical data and social and lifestyle information, so doctors have a more holistic view of the patient. Additionally, patients noted that 5G opens the doors to new ethical responsibilities.
There are only treatments for 5% of rare diseases. Alba Ancochea, managing director of the Spanish Federation of Rare Diseases (FEDER), defended patients’ role in researching and developing new drugs: “It is important to build bridges for communication between patients and the biomedical industry. On the one hand, so patients understand how research works and at what pace, and, on the other, so the industry understands what patients really need.” It is also important to continue encouraging patients to work together. The debate, which saw great turnout, was moderated by Daniel Arbós, director of Communication at August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBAPS).
What is an UnConference?
UnConference is a day of debates and discussions on the future of solutions for healthcare promoted by CataloniaBioHT since 2018. The event aims to raise awareness, perspectives and insight of the sector’s needs and opportunities, and the best way to tackle them.
Following the unconference methodology, this event doesn’t have presentations and conferences. It has various debate spaces where significant figures from science, business, patients or society are invited to propose topics for joint reflection. From there, the debates are based on the opinions and knowledge of the participants (entrepreneurs, CEOs, CSOs and executives at pharmaceutical, biomedical and digital health companies).
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