This second edition of the Joan Roget Knowledge Transfer Awards, organised in the framework of the Barcelona Deep Tech Summit and organised by the Department fo Research and Universities of the Generalitat de Catalunya, through the General Directorate of Knowledge Transfer and Society (DGTSC) and the Catalan Foundation for Research and Innovation (FCRi), has highlighted the contribution of the team of Dr. Pablo Menéndez and the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute in the economic and social development through the success of the spin-off OneChain Immunotherapeutics.

The research group led by Dr. Pablo Menéndez became part of the Josep Carreras Institute in 2013 and initiated the development of CAR-T immunotherapies against minority subtypes of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Specifically, they work on the development and validation of a specific CAR-T against the CD1a protein in patients with cortical T-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (CoT-ALL), a very rare subtype of leukaemia, mostly paediatric and with a poor prognosis.

To further develop this technology, in June 2020 the Institute, a public CERCA centre of the Catalan Government, created its second spin-off, the company "OneChain Immunotherapeutics", with the aim of developing new CAR-T therapies in oncology. Now, three years after creating the company, OneChain has raised 9.7 million euros in investment funds and has brought its first therapy to patients.

OC-1, the young company's first drug, has led to the licensing of two patent families and research collaboration framework contracts to continue developing and generating new future technologies. OC-1 is currently in clinical stage with an active Phase 1 trial in the US and Europe, and has just been granted Orphan Drug status by the Food and Drug Administration, the US pharmaceutical regulatory agency.

Dr. Menéndez, ICREA research professor, co-founder and current scientific director of OneChain, is a world-renowned expert in the field of childhood leukaemia and leads the Stem Cell Biology, Developmental Leukaemia and Immunotherapy group at IJC. He has published more than 300 papers in the world's most prestigious scientific journals and his extensive professional career includes three grants from the European Research Council (ERC), the most important funding body for science in Europe.

The jury of the Joan Roget Award has decided to give their Joan Roget Award to OneChain Immunotherapeutics for the best knowledge transfer success story of the year 2023. This award recognises cases of business or institutional success where the knowledge transferred has reached its final recipients, in the form of a product or service with real application. The award ceremony was held on Tuesday 28 November and was attended by the Vice-President of the Parliament of Catalonia, Ms. Alba Vergés i Bosch, who closed the ceremony; and the Director General of Knowledge Transfer and Society of the Catalan Government, Ms. Laia Arnal, who presented the awards to the winners.

This recognition highlights the work of many people, such as the researchers, the research support staff of the Josep Carreras Institute, the institutions behind the project and the investors who support it financially. The success of the OneChain is also due to the incorporation of leading entities of the biotech ecosystem, with the investment of three venture capital companies such as Invivo Venturas, Nara Capital and Clavo; together with the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, (CDTI-Innvierte) and the Josep Carreras Foundation; as well as the collaboration of research centres such as ICREA, IGTP, UB, BST, Hospital Clínic and Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, CSIC, iBET; and the support of AGAUR, the PCB, Barcelona City Council, Barcelona Activa, Biocat, MICINN, AEI, MINCOTUR, ICEX, ENISA, CDTI, the Unoentrecienmil Foundation, and the European Innovation Council (EIC).