Annual report 2004 - Compagnia di San Paolo

Oncology Programme
72
In April 2004 the “Oncology Programme”, launched by the Compagnia at the beginning
of 2001, reached completion. The overall sum allocated to the Programme over a period of 4 years
amounts to over 51 million euros. The multi-year programme has achieved important objectives in
the clinical/scientific field and in strengthening the healthcare system’s structural equipment and
facilities. The Compagnia’s Oncology Programme’s final objective was to safeguard the health and
well-being of citizens. The operational units’ qualifications upgrading, in particular in the Piedmont
region, the identification of centres of excellence on an international scale, together with an
effective meeting of basic and specialised needs, above all at regional level, were also identified as
intermediate goals. The implementation of guidelines for cooperation among actors has received
particular attention, with a view to avoiding waste of resources caused by duplication or by a failure
to comply with adequate scope thresholds. The Compagnia, in accordance with its Articles of
Association, appointed a “comitato tecnico di valutazione – CTV” (technical evaluation committee),
in charge of evaluating and monitoring all projects presented to the Compagnia, in addition to
supporting the development and implementation of the Oncology Programme itself. Within the
framework of the Programme, particular significance was attached to the call for proposals
(September 2001), with resources amounting to over 20 million euros to be awarded to Italian and
foreign non – profit organisations for projects in three main sectors, namely:
- Research in the various phases of specialisation, experimentation, the circulation of results and
the life – long training of staff (known as “Experimental research and training”)
- District and Hospital activities focusing on prevention, both as far as diagnosis and subsequent
cancer treatment are concerned (known as “Prevention, diagnosis and treatment)
- The purchase of innovative equipment and the creation of specialised structures of excellence, for
treatment and research (“Facilities and technological equipment”).
By December 2001, when the call for proposals was closed, the Compagnia had received 182
applications, with an approximate total request for funds amounting to 118 million euros. Funds
were awarded to 54 projects, 21 of which presented by Piedmont’s structures.
Among the initiatives funded by the Compagnia, some are markedly significant, and noteworthy for
having contributed to underpin one of the two main clinical/scientific poles in the Turin area
(Molinette and Candiolo). The initiatives are:
- The creation of the Centro di Ricerca in Medicina Sperimentale - CERMS (Research Centre in
Experimental Medicine) dealing with translational research - which obtained the most
considerable sum (3 million euros), within the framework of the Programme’s call for proposals
- The creation of a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) centre, a Cyclotron and a radiochemical/
radiopharmaceutical laboratory at the San Giovanni Battista Hospital in Turin (also known as
Molinette Hospital);
- The completion of a building for the Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro di Candiolo
(Piedmont Foundation for Research on Cancer) that will host in-patients of the IRCC (Cancer
Research and Treatment Institute in Candiolo -Turin)
- The Research Project on “Post Genomic Strategies for the Diagnosis and Treatment of
Metastases“ for the Fondazione Piemontese per la Ricerca sul Cancro di Candiolo (Piedmont
Foundation for Research on Cancer).
As regards the Oncology Programme, not only did the Compagnia provide contributions to external