Prof. Villaverde and Prof. Vázquez present nanomedicine advances in cancer therapy and drug delivery at Nanomat 2025, supported by NANBIOSIS.
Barcelona, September, 2025 — Two leading scientists from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), Prof. Antonio Villaverde and Prof. Esther Vázquez, participated last week as invited speakers at Nanomat 2025, an international conference on nanomaterials and nanobiotechnology. The event brought together experts in nanomedicine, healthcare, energy, and advanced materials to foster scientific debate, collaboration, and innovation.
Targeted Protein Nanoparticles for Cancer Therapy
Prof. Esther Vázquez Gómez, Senior Researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine (IBB-UAB) and Principal Investigator of the Nanobiotechnology group at CIBER-BBN, presented her lecture: “Targeting metastatic CXCR4+ cancers through self-assembled, self-delivered cytotoxic proteins.”
Her team develops protein-based drug delivery systems with the goal of translating innovative nanomedicines into clinical practice. Prof. Vázquez is also co-founder of Nanoligent, a UAB spin-off focused on therapeutic nanomedicine. With more than 190 high-impact publications, 11 patents (six licensed), and extensive collaborations with industry, her work is a reference in cancer nanotherapeutics.
Implantable Depots for Sustained Drug Release
Prof. Antonio Villaverde, Chair of Microbiology at UAB, leader of the Nanobiotechnology group at IBB-UAB, head of the Innovative Biodrugs Team of the Catalan Government, and Strategy Director of NANBIOSIS Protein Purification Platform, presented the talk: “Artificial amyloids as implantable depots for the slow delivery of protein nanoparticles and therapeutic proteins.”
His research focuses on protein nanomaterials for controlled drug release and long-term therapeutic delivery. With over 340 peer-reviewed articles, several books and patents, and as founder of the Open-Access journal Microbial Cell Factories, Prof. Villaverde is recognized internationally as a pioneer in biopharmaceutical nanotechnology.
NANBIOSIS Contribution: Protein Production Platform (PPP)
Both research lines showcased at Nanomat 2025 are supported by NANBIOSIS through its Unit 1: Protein Production Platform (PPP).
The PPP is a state-of-the-art service that provides recombinant protein production, purification, and characterization for biomedical and nanobiotechnology applications. It supports both academic and industrial projects, ensuring access to high-quality protein biomaterials for nanomedicine, biopharmaceutical development, and preclinical research.
As Strategy Director of Unit 1, Prof. Antonio Villaverde plays a key role in shaping the scientific strategy of the Unit he leads, and ensures the impact of NANBIOSIS on nanotechnology innovation, cancer therapy, and drug delivery solutions.
What is NANBIOSIS?
The goal of NANBIOSIS is to provide comprehensive and integrated advanced solutions for companies and research institutions in biomedical applications. All of this is done through a single-entry point, involving the design and production of biomaterials, nanomaterials, and their nanoconjugates. This includes their characterization from physical-chemical, functional, toxicological, and biological perspectives (preclinical validation).
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NANBIOSIS has worked with pharmaceutical companies of all sizes in the areas of drug delivery, biomaterials and regenerative medicine. Here are a few of them:
