This year's final Science Café presented the CREATIC center of excellence
An evening dedicated to the CREATIC centre of excellence highlighted how Czech science contributes to modern medicine.
The autumn Science Café, held at the Prague House in Brussels, focused this time on modern medicine and the latest trends in the development of advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs). The discussion evening presented the CREATIC (Central European Advanced Therapy and Immunotherapy Centre) project, which aims to become one of the most important Czech research centres in the field of cell and gene therapy. The last Science Café of 2025 explored the use of advanced treatments and a personalised approach to treating rare and ultra-rare diseases, which are currently incurable.
Professor Regina Demlová, director of the CREATIC centre of excellence and head of the Department of Pharmacology at Masaryk University's Faculty of Medicine, and Professor Ondřej Slabý, head of the Department of Biology at the Faculty of Medicine and researcher at CEITEC MU, accepted the invitation to the event. The discussion was moderated by Táňa Hálová Perglová, Director of the section in the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic and the Czech representative on the Horizon Europe program committees.
In her introduction, Professor Demlová presented the research focus of the CREATIC project and its role in building European research infrastructure in the field of advanced therapies. She mentioned that the centre was built in collaboration with leading institutions such as Fraunhofer IZI, Leipzig University, and the University of Copenhagen, which enables the international exchange of knowledge and technology. She emphasised that the centre thus connects the academic and clinical environments and strives to build a bridge between basic research and practice. "Our goal is not commercial production, but academically led research that will help translate laboratory results into real-world treatments," said the professor.
Professor Slabý then presented the molecular and genetic aspects of the development of new therapies and explained how research into rare diseases paves the way for understanding broader biological principles. There are more than 7,000 diseases that fall under the term rare diseases, affecting less than 1 in 2,000 people, but the availability of treatment is very limited. As Professor Slabý pointed out, up to 80% of rare diseases are genetic in origin, but most remain undiagnosed. "Personalised medicine brings hope that patients with these diseases will not just be exceptions to the system, but its driving force," he added.
The debate also raised the issue of the sustainability of such centres and the possibility of linking them with biotechnology companies. Speakers mentioned the need to build a long-term, sustainable operating model that would combine public funding and partnerships with smaller biotechnology companies. According to the panellists, the centre must not only have scientific excellence, but also a clear strategy for transferring results into practice and the ability to build on European and industrial initiatives. Sustainability, therefore, lies not only in finances but also in building research capacities, research teams, and partnerships that will ensure that research results actually help patients. CREATIC does not focus solely on individual cases but strives to create universal solutions and standards that can be used across diagnoses.
The event was co-organised by the CZELO office together with the Prague House in Brussels, the South Moravian Region Representation in Brussels, and the CREATIC centre.