The Centre for Biotechnology and Fine Chemistry at the Faculty of Biotechnology of Universidade Católica Portuguesa (CBQF) leads the Microbiome and Health area of the new Regional Smart Specialisation Platform (PREI) in Life and Health Sciences, called Bridges4Health, which has just been launched and brings together over 100 participants from 43 institutions representing the scientific, clinical, business and institutional ecosystem of Northern Portugal.
The event, held on 3 March at Espaço Vita in Braga, marked the formal launch of a strategic initiative aimed at supporting the Northern Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR-N) in strengthening innovation, accelerating technology transfer, and consolidating the region’s position as a national and European reference in health and life sciences.
Co-financed by the European Union through the NORTE 2030 Regional Programme and Portugal 2030, the platform is coordinated by the Institute for Research and Innovation in Health at the University of Porto (i3S) and the Academic Clinical Centre of Braga (2CA-Braga), in collaboration with the Applied Biomolecular Sciences Unit (UCIBIO) of the Faculty of Pharmacy at U.Porto (FFUP) and CBQF of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
At the opening session, the president of 2CA-Braga emphasised the consortium’s collaborative vision: “The project’s name says it all: Bridges4Health [bridges to health]. That is exactly what we are here to build with the relevant stakeholders.” Jorge Pedrosa also highlighted the importance of connections between academic centres, local health units and industry, stressing the need to share knowledge along the entire value chain — from applied science to entrepreneurship.
Claudio Sunkel, director of i3S, highlighted the platform’s strategic framework: “We are responding to a challenge from CCDR-N to anchor investments regionally. The four areas of this PREI [Precision Medicine, Clinical Research, Microbiome and Health, and Biomedical Devices and Technologies] are interconnected and include 27 strategic actions to be implemented over the next 36 months,” he revealed.
He further noted that Bridges4Health partners will submit action proposals to CCDR-N by summer, and that international conferences are planned to reinforce the initiative’s global dimension.
The PREI domain “Microbiome and Health”, led by CBQF, “is emerging, unlike the other domains which are already more mature,” said Manuela Pintado, CBQF director, adding that “this is reflected in the strategic actions to be developed throughout the project, which are more focused on research and capacity building for people and institutions in this area.” She continued, “For CBQF, being involved in this strategic project of high added value for the region demonstrates the leadership role the centre has played in the microbiome field in Northern Portugal.”
“We call for regional mobilisation around this project”
Representing CCDR-N, Cláudia Guimarães highlighted the project’s economic and social impact: “This platform will mobilise the existing scientific and technological potential and reinforce the regional positioning through the definition of investment priorities and high-impact projects,” she explained.
She emphasised CCDR-N’s commitment to a more strategic, coordinated and results-oriented innovation policy, calling for regional mobilisation.
The session included strategic presentations, roundtables and co-creation workshops dedicated to the four priority areas: Precision Medicine, Clinical Research, Microbiome and Health, and Biomedical Devices and Technologies. At the end of the event, contributions from all participants were collected and presented, including the priorities identified in each area and several concrete proposals for health innovation.