The Government of Cantabria presented this morning, at the Gómez Durán Hall of the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, the Cantabria Genomics Strategy 2025–2029, a roadmap that sets the course for advancing personalized medicine, healthcare innovation, and the integration of genomics into the regional public health system.
The opening event featured the participation of the Minister of Health, César Pascual; the Director General of Planning of the Ministry of Health, Óscar Fernández; and the Deputy Director of Healthcare of the Cantabrian Health Service (SCS), Pablo Serrano, who outlined the main pillars of the plan: governance, service portfolio, healthcare pathways, investments, indicators, and the creation of the Cantabria Genomics Platform.
During the session, specialists from different areas of the Cantabrian Health Service discussed progress in medical oncology, hematology, genetics, microbiology, and pharmacogenomics, highlighting the role of technological innovation in early detection and treatment of diseases.
Research and Data: The Role of IDIVAL
One of the key moments of the day was the presentation by Javier Crespo, representing the Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL), who focused his talk on the Cantabria Cohort, which “was born as a research project, but is much more: it is a population-based, longitudinal, multidimensional, and participatory infrastructure driven by the Government of Cantabria, IDIVAL, and the Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital.”
Dr. Crespo emphasized that the Cohort has already achieved its ambitious goal of 50,000 volunteers, representing around 20% of Cantabria’s population between 40 and 70 years old, “an extraordinary figure that consolidates Cantabria as a benchmark in citizen participation for biomedical research.” He added that this platform “enables clinical follow-up and the collection of anonymized health data, opening the door to large-scale collaborative projects.”
The researcher highlighted two fundamental milestones that will shape the future of the project: the secondary use of healthcare data for research purposes, and conversely, the clinical application of data generated through research—“a feedback loop that will transform the care model and the way we understand precision medicine.”
The day concluded with remarks from Valdecilla’s manager, Félix Rubial, who underscored the hospital’s corporate role in centralizing the SCS Genomics Platform.
