The presentation: FBS between launch of the national strategic project and future challenges

‘Science and Research for Public Health'. With this mission, the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena (FBS) presented itself at the event ‘Towards a European network against pandemics’, which was held in the Sala delle Lupe of Siena's Palazzo Pubblico, moderated by journalist Paolo Russo.  The meeting represented an important opportunity to show institutions, organisations, companies and journalists the path undertaken in these months of work and to make an analysis of future challenges, also in the light of the significant goals already achieved at international level.

Speaking from Rome were the Minister of Health, Orazio Schillaci, the Minister of University and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, and the Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso. 

At the centre of the meeting were the themes of research, education and skills, but also the management and administrative activities that have made it possible to provide the Country with a structure capable of responding to possible future epidemic-pandemic risks.

‘Italy has internationally recognised scientific excellence, but doing excellent research is not enough, we need continuous investments, adequate infrastructures, and above all a stable link between public research and private industry,' explains Gianluca Polifrone, General Director of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena ’A connection that is too weak today and that risks limiting our Country's ability to innovate and compete. Added to this is the problem of uncompetitive salaries, which drive many young researchers to go abroad. With the Biotecnopolo, we are working to provide our Country with a structure that uses skills, tools, and technologies to conduct innovative scientific research, attracting the best expertise, selecting the best industrial partners, and activating valuable scientific collaborations to protect public health and limit the economic and social impact of possible future pandemics'.

Scientific research and highly qualified education are essential elements for the growth of the entire country, even more so in a field with a high concentration of scientific and specialised skills such as the life sciences.

‘Scientific research plays a fundamental role in the development of society, which is why it is indispensable to invest in the training of young researchers,’ states Marco Montorsi, President of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena. ’The Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena, thanks to a network of national and international collaborations, represents a unique opportunity for the growth of a new class of researchers who will be able to contribute to the scientific progress of our Country. The Foundation's framework agreement with the University of Siena and the thirty doctoral scholarships co-funded in collaboration with the University of Siena are part of this direction. This is a commitment that we will also renew on a national and international scale by encouraging the exchange of expertise in the field of education, and the development and implementation of joint research programmes for the valorisation of research results’.

Within this framework, Fondazione Biotecnopolo therefore uses its skills, tools and technologies to conduct innovative scientific value research to the entire community. This is even more true for the National Anti-Pandemic Centre (CNAP), which works according to a preparedness strategy aimed at ensuring a timely and effective response to epidemic/pandemic emergencies, including bacterial resistance to antimicrobials (AMR), a global emergency that represents a serious threat capable of wiping out a century of progress in the field of health.

‘The National Pandemic Centre (CNAP), the branch of Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena, has among its priorities the study of the following pathogens: Klebsiella pneumoniae, H5N1 avian influenza, Monkeypox, respiratory viruses and Shigella,' states Rino Rappuoli, Scientific Director of the Fondazione Biotecnopolo di Siena. 'To support our research, we can count on technologies such as reverse and digital vaccinology, synthetic biology, and mRNA. A network of international collaborations and a wealth of knowledge, which, also thanks to important grants such as those that the Biotecnopolo has already obtained, will enable us to make a decisive contribution to the management of future public health risks'.