Navarra awards its first Public Procurement of Innovation contract worth €3.5 million.

Navarrabiomed-Miguel Servet Foundation has awarded a contract for the development of an innovative platform for the purification and production of small molecules in research environments under the INNOVA3PM project. The outcomes of this initiative will support research into new cancer immunotherapies, among many other studies, representing a strategic milestone for the Chartered Community of Navarra in advancing clinical research and personalized medicine within the public healthcare system.

The biomedical research centre has awarded the tender to the Fast Green Platform for Pharmaceutical Development consortium (UTE) for a total budget of €3.5 million (VAT included). The project is expected to be completed in 2028.

The award of this first pre-commercial public procurement project fulfills the primary objective of Public Procurement of Innovation (PPI), a mechanism that enables public administrations to stimulate innovation through demand-driven approaches by posing challenges for which market solutions do not yet exist.

This is the first initiative of its kind promoted in Navarra, reinforcing the region’s position as a national leader in innovation through the collaboration of the Government of Navarra, particularly the Departments of Health and University, Innovation and Digital Transformation.

INNOVA3PM was conceived in response to the shortage identified by Navarrabiomed of clinical-grade small molecules in sufficient quantities to continue its clinical research programmes, both within its Oncoimmunology Unit and other research groups. Following the discovery of the potential of oleuropein in cancer treatment, as reported in a study published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2024, the research centre proposed applying for support under the FID funding programme of the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, which Navarra accessed for the first time last year. As a result, the project was designed to achieve the purification of various small molecules, using oleuropein as the initial use case.

The project is structured into three phases:
1.    Solution Design Phase: Demonstrating the technical, financial, and commercial feasibility of the proposed solution.
2.    Prototyping Phase: Construction of the pilot platform and production of an initial technical batch for non-clinical evaluation.
3.    Validation Phase: Verification that the platform meets the requirements and standards established during the previous phases.

INNOVA3PM Project

The main objective of INNOVA3PM is to develop an optimized platform capable of purifying and producing small molecules of natural origin, starting with oleuropein, a compound found in olive leaves and fruit.
When combined with conventional immunotherapies in preclinical mouse studies, oleuropein has been shown to enhance clinical responses in animal models resistant to PD-1/PD-L1 checkpoint blockade immunotherapies. This could enable the development of more patient-directed immunotherapy strategies and improve treatment responses across different types of cancer.
Beyond oleuropein, the availability of a platform for the purification and production of small molecules opens new avenues for research, both for the development of additional therapeutic approaches and for the discovery of novel drugs.

The project has received €2 million in co-funding from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities through the FID Programme, which promotes innovation through demand-driven procurement under the Spain Multi-Regional Programme 2021-2027 and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The Government of Navarra is also contributing to the project through a combined investment of €3 million, distributed as follows: €2 million from the Department of Health and €1 million from the Department of University, Innovation and Digital Transformation. Through INNOVA3PM, Navarra is taking a significant step forward in strengthening its biomedical research capabilities, fostering innovation in drug development, and advancing personalized medicine through public-sector driven innovation.