On 30 August, the third meeting of the management group for the national research programme in biomedicine, medical technology, and pharmacy (BioMedPharm, project no. VPP-EM-BIOMEDICINE-2022/1-0001) convened at the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis.

The meeting gathered members of the BioMedPharm management group, key project executors, members of the valorisation team, and representatives from the Latvian Council of Science (LZP) and the Ministry of Economics (EM).

At the outset, project leader and Director of the Institute of Organic Synthesis, Osvalds Pugovičs, provided an update on the project's organisational progress. He highlighted several important developments, including the establishment of the valorisation team, the creation of a data management plan, and strategies for the use and dissemination of project results. Additionally, he outlined the BioMedPharm implementation schedule and plans for the upcoming mid-term reports. Participants expressed enthusiasm for a joint conference with another IF-NPP project, FOTONIKA, scheduled for 8 November, which aims to inform policymakers and the public about the latest updates and achievements from both projects. Raimonds Lapiņš, Deputy State Secretary for Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economics, reiterated the ministry’s strong interest in the successful implementation of the IF-NPP programme and the BioMedPharm project. He stressed the importance of disseminating project outcomes and highlighting their practical relevance to the public.

Representatives from various sub-projects, including Prof. Andrejs Ērglis, Dr. Dāvids Frīdmanis, Dr. Raitis Bobrovs, Prof. Kaspars Tārs, Prof. Dagnija Loča, Prof. Aija Linē, Assoc. Prof. Zanda Daneberga, and Prof. Jānis Kloviņš, presented reports on their scientific research progress, focusing on the results achieved since the last management group meeting. Some presentations ignited engaging discussions among participants, particularly regarding the significance of the findings and their potential applications. These discussions fostered new ideas for collaborative research efforts and practical testing of the already obtained results. Professor Ērglis highlighted the importance of the BioMedPharm research platform in enhancing and strengthening inter-institutional collaboration, thereby promoting the advancement of interdisciplinary research.

In closing, Ineta Kurzemniece, Director of the Department of Research Programme Implementation and Monitoring at the Latvian Council of Science, commended the progress made thus far but emphasised the necessity of focusing more on the practical significance of the results achieved. Similarly, Mārtiņš Jansons, Deputy Director of the Department for Business Competitiveness at the Ministry of Economics, expressed confidence in the successful development of the BioMedPharm project. He noted, however, that ensuring the long-term sustainability of the IF-NPP programme would necessitate a strong emphasis on the practical importance of the results.

By uniting Latvia’s leading research organisations in the field of medicine, the BioMedPharm project aims to establish a national-level biomedical research platform to tackle public health challenges. The platform's objectives include improving the availability of therapies to enhance life expectancy and work capacity through the development of drug manufacturing technologies, drug delivery systems, and vaccines. Other vital areas of focus encompass drug repurposing, new drug discovery and development, identification of new biomarkers, and the advancement of precision medicine solutions.