IPN and Instituto Salvador Zubirán to develop cell therapy to fight cancer

• Both institutions sign general collaboration agreement
• This alliance will begin with the integration of a cell therapy project to treat cancer, specifically leukemias and lymphomas.

The Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN) and the Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición “Salvador Zubirán” (INCMNSZ) formalized a general collaboration agreement for the implementation of cell therapy in leukemias and lymphomas, as a more efficient treatment against cancer.

The agreement includes academic exchange projects; training of human resources in health care; promotion of scientific and clinical research, and the creation of biotherapeutic treatments for the benefit of the population.

In this regard, the head of the IPN, Arturo Reyes Sandoval, said that the INCMNSZ is an example in the training of doctors of excellence and in the study of medicine and scientific research. "It has trained doctors who have left a deep mark in Mexico and the world, for their contributions and discoveries, as well as for the implementation of the contraceptive pill, which has permeated the entire world," he said.

He assured that both institutions are working on projects of national and international relevance, such as the development of more efficient methodologies against cancer using state-of-the-art methods.

Reyes Sandoval commented that the first contact with INCMNSZ took place during the working visit of both institutions to India, which was led by the Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores (SRE) with the support of the Agencia Mexicana de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AMEXCID). He emphasized that the Politécnico has a great track record in the training of doctors and biotechnologists, and some of them even work in specialized areas of the Instituto Salvador Zubirán, so he is confident that the agreement will help to achieve the best results. For his part, the Director General of INCMNSZ, David Kershenobich Stalnikowitz, thanked the IPN for the opportunity to sign this agreement, which he described as a milestone in a very fruitful relationship for the country. "INCMNSZ has 199 full-time researchers who are eager to participate and offer their expertise in the field of medical care."

He explained that in this time of the COVID-19 pandemic, technological advances are very important. He said that primary health care will be radically transformed, because with technology it will not be limited to primary care (taking blood pressure or scanning a patient), but that personalized or high-precision medicine will be applied. Laura Arreola Mendoza, secretaria de Investigación y Posgrado del IPN, commented that as part of the specific collaborations envisioned between the IPN and INCMNSZ, the participation of biomedical engineers and biotechnologists focused on the creation of biotherapeutics is a priority.