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Unimore coordina i lavori sulla Terapia delle malattie

genetiche dell’unico Centro nazionale in campo
medico finanziato nell’ambito del PNRR

CN3: Unimore coordinates the work of the only national centre in the medical field funded under the
NRRP

Professor Antonello Pietrangelo of the Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children ad Adults
is the Unimore contact person for the ‘CN3 Centre, National Centre for the development of gene therapy
and drugs with RNA technology’ project, funded under the NRRP by the Ministry of University and Research.
The CN3, organised as a Hub network, with management and coordination roles, and Spoke, as operational
and executing entities, involves 32 universities and research institutes and 16 biotech-pharmaceutical
industries. The focus is on gene and RNA therapy applied to the treatment of diseases with great epidemio-
logical impact by integrating advanced biocomputing skills and intelligent nanomaterials, with the ambition
of becoming excellence in our country and a reference point for Europe. The group from the University of
Modena and Reggio Emilia involved in the project, made up of medical and bio-medical researchers from
the Departments of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children and Adults and of Life Sciences, for years
at the forefront of research into rare genetic diseases and pioneers of gene and cell therapy in Italy, have
been entrusted with the leadership of Spoke 1 (Genetic Diseases), the aim of which is to provide a concrete
response to the needs of patients with rare diseases (around 7000 identified to date) of which only 5% have
an approved treatment; patients for whom gene therapy may represent the only definitive cure. Unimore is
also present in Spoke 2 on cancer, to which it contributes with an ambitious multimodal targeting project for
the treatment of rare solid and haematological tumours that are still orphaned of treatment due to immuno-
logical and/or chemotherapeutic resistance.

l Ministero dell’Università e della Ricer- ch-farmaceutiche. Il focus è la terapia genica e
ca ha finanziato nell’ambito del PNRR a RNA applicata alla cura di patologie a grande im-
la creazione di cinque Centri Naziona- patto epidemiologico (gli spoke “verticali”: malat-
li dedicati alla ricerca di frontiera, tra i tie genetiche, metaboliche-cardiovascolari, neu-
Iquali l’unico in campo medico è il CN3: rodegenerative, infiammatorie-infettive e cancro)
Centro nazionale sullo sviluppo di terapia integrando competenze di biocomputing avanzato
genica e farmaci con tecnologia a RNA, ora e nanomateriali intelligenti (gli spoke “orizzontali”),
costituitosi come Fondazione. con l’ambizione di diventare eccellenza del nostro
Paese e punto di riferimento per l’Europa.
Il CN3, organizzato in rete Hub, con ruolo di ge-
stione e coordinamento e Spoke, come soggetti Il CN3 annovera una compagine di 940 ricer-

operativi ed esecutori, coinvolge 32 Universi- catori, con ulteriori 200 Ricercatori di tipo
tà e istituti di Ricerca e 16 industrie biote- A ed altrettanti studenti e studentesse di

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