Today, Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Indian company ImmunoACT, the National Polytechnic Institute (IPN) and the Salvador Zubirán National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition (INCMNSZ), which will allow these institutions to develop state-of-the-art technology for cancer treatment.
The Foreign Secretary said that the agreement would give Mexico access to one of the most innovative technologies in the world. “This technology is used with immunotherapy to combat cancer. Instead of using chemotherapy or radiation therapy, this activates cells in our own body against cancer. This is an important step in our country's medical history," he said.
The agreement was signed between IPN head Arturo Reyes Sandoval and INCMNSZ head José Sifuentes Osornio, as well as by Prime Minister Modi and Minister Jaishankar. It formalizes cooperation between Mexico and India for research, knowledge exchange, capacity building and technology transfer on novel cell therapies for the treatment of different types of cancer in the Mexican population. Cancer is the third leading cause of death in the country.
Last April, Secretary Ebrard traveled to India with a delegation of health and education officials to strengthen Mexico's health system by negotiating technology transfer agreements.
At the Foreign Ministry, Director General Arturo Reyes said the IPN, together with the INCMNSZ, would contribute to the basic science and initial development of cell therapy technology.
"In the IPN we are going to see how to prepare the cells initially, how to have the viral vectors ready to transduce cells and increase their ability to kill neoplastic tissues," he said. He added that there would be a symbiotic relationship with the INCMNSZ, since they will be in charge of managing the cells. He noted that these therapies, in addition to being an innovative treatment, make it possible for the most needy people in Mexico to have access to them and that, with this agreement, they will now be available in our country.
ImmunoACT develops chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, which have innovated the treatment of various types of cancer and other diseases such as autoimmune diseases. Currently there are no such therapies in Mexico and they have a very high cost for patients. The company is designing therapies with more accessible prices.
The event was held remotely from the ImmunoACT headquarters in Mumbai, India, and from the Mexican Foreign Ministry. It was attended by Carlos Javier Castillo Pérez, Director General of Planning and Evaluation, Foreign Ministry, as honorary witness, and Javier Dávila Torres, Director General of International Cooperation Policy, Mexican Agency for International Development Cooperation (Amexcid), in addition to former INCMNSZ Director David Kersenobich and InmunoACT DirectorGeneral Rahul Purwar.
On behalf of the Foreign Ministry, Amexcid promotes these actions of international development cooperation to encourage and promote the development of science and technology and to link the health, academic and research sectors in order to address the great global health challenges and directly benefit Mexican society.
