Raquel Yotti, PERTE’s commissioner for Vanguard Health, visited Cantabria to learn first-hand about advances in healthcare innovation in the region. During her stay, Yotti toured the facilities of the Marqués de Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL), where she was briefed on the progress of the VALDATA project, an initiative that seeks to transform the use of health data in Cantabria.
Yotti also held a meeting with the Cantabria Regional Minister of Health, César Pascual, in which they discussed the opportunities and challenges presented by the VALDATA project. Both agreed on the importance of this initiative to position Cantabria as a benchmark in the health data economy and highlighted the importance of collaboration between institutions for the success of the project.
Yotti’s visit underlines the commitment of PERTE for Vanguard Health to projects that promote the digitisation and efficient use of data in the health sector, aligning with the European Data Strategy and strengthening the regional and national health system.
The Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for Vanguard Health is a Spanish Government initiative aimed at transforming the healthcare sector through science, innovation and digitalisation. It aims to improve prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of patients, strengthening the National Health System (NHS) and promoting the creation of quality employment. Its strategic objectives are the implementation of Personalised Precision Medicine: Integrating genomic, clinical and environmental data to offer more effective and personalised treatments, developing Advanced Therapies and Innovative Drugs, generating an Innovative Data system and promoting the Digital Transformation of Healthcare.
The VALDATA project: Cantabria towards a Health Data Economy is an ambitious initiative that seeks to integrate the region into the European Health Data Space (EEDS) and position it as a reference in the digitalisation of healthcare in Europe.
VALDATA’s main objective is to promote the secondary use of health data in a secure, reliable and ethical way, enabling advances in biomedical research, technological innovation and healthcare improvement.
The project, which is part of the €1.7M PERTE for Vanguard Health, has been awarded to the Marqués de Valdecilla Health Research Institute (IDIVAL) within the Sectoral Data Spaces 2023 call, funded by the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – NextGenerationEU, under the management of the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Function, through the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence. Valdata will implement four strategic pilots that will address challenges such as the monitoring of bacterial multi-resistances, personalisation of treatments and the connection between primary and secondary data to strengthen the quality of healthcare.
The project will count on the collaboration of key actors in the regional ecosystem, including the Cantabrian Health Service, academic institutions, technology companies and business associations. In addition, it will draw on the resources of the Cantabria Cohort, which integrates data from more than 38,000 volunteers, combining information on lifestyle, clinical tests and advanced biomarkers, becoming an essential basis for enriching research.
The expected impact is significant: VALDATA will not only enhance clinical research and promote innovation in healthcare, but will also act as a driver of socio-economic development in the region. It is expected to generate new business opportunities, skilled employment and strengthen the competitiveness of Cantabria and the national industry in the field of the data economy. This initiative reinforces Spain’s commitment to the European Data Strategy and leadership in the health digitalisation sector.
