the President of the Italian Republic Sergio Mattarella attended the presentation ceremony.
Rome, 22 October 2021 – Investment in scientific research for employment and economic development in Southern Italy, integration between research and care to improve the people’s life and health, Italy-USA agreements for scientific research, and strategic assets linked to innovative models of public-private partnership: these are the pillars of the new Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center that will be built in Carini, near Palermo.
This afternoon, in the Sala Capitolare of Palazzo Minerva, in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, Sergio Mattarella, and of the President of the Senate, Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, the senior management of the Ri.MED Foundation and of its founding partners, presented one of the most innovative translational research hubs in Europe. The goal of translational research is to transfer basic research discoveries into clinical practice.
“The construction site in Carini is now clearly starting to look like a research campus that will also host the new ISMETT hospital. This is an important result that brings us closer to our goal to accomplish in Sicily one of the most significant public investments ever made in Southern Italy,” says Paolo Aquilanti, President of the Ri.MED Foundation. A place where new products and methods of care will see the light, creating new jobs and attracting investments. The successful partnership between public institutions such as the Italian Government, the Region of Sicily, and the Italian National Research Council, and private foreign institutions like the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC, allowed to turn an ambitious idea into a reality.
The new ISMETT hospital will be built next to the BRBC, offering a formidable integration of research and care to accelerate the transfer of scientific innovations to the bedside and ensure the safe management of patients even in the event of pandemics.
The project is based on the so-called “village-road” model and is characterized by an extremely flexible organization of space: an area of 52,464 square meters including 17,070 square meters of laboratories, common spaces, conference rooms, offices, auditorium, guest houses, and a direct connection with the hospital.
The advanced laboratories and technological platforms of the Ri.MED center will be dedicated to research and development of new vaccines and drugs, cellular therapies and organ and tissue engineering, for early diagnosis of end-stage organ failure, tumors, infectious diseases, and age-related diseases, with a special focus on neurological diseases. The integration with UPMC and the University of Pittsburgh, leaders in clinical and scientific research, will foster a virtuous cycle of exchange of know-how.
In full operational status, the BRBC will staff approximately 600 researchers, technicians and administrative employees dedicated to the study and development of innovative diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. The total value of the investment is €196,350,000.
The event took place in the presence of the President of the Italian Republic, under the patronage of the Italian Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, and was attended by:
- Maria Elisabetta Alberti Casellati, President of the Senate
- Bruno Gridelli, Vice-President of Ri.MED Foundation, Executive Vice-President of UPMC International
- Leslie Davis, President & CEO of UPMC
- Renzo Piano, Senator of the Italian Republic (in video conference)
- Mariangela Zappia, Italian Ambassador in U.S.A. (in video conference)
- Sebastiano Musumeci, President of the Region of Sicily
- Maria Chiara Carrozza, President of CNR
- Paolo Aquilanti, President of the Ri.MED Foundation
From the Senate Youtube channel it is possible to review the event in English
