Barilla Group supports “the cure alliance” for research on covid-19

The Barilla Family, together with the Barilla Group, has made a total donation of 500,000 US Dollars to “The Cure Alliance” (www.thecurealliance.org), a non-profit association of scientists and innovators whose mission is to find faster and more effective cures for all diseases. The whole donation will go to fund a COVID-19 therapy based on mesenchymal stem cells developed by an international team of scientists led by Italian professor Camillo Ricordi.

The clinical trial has already received approval from the Food and Drugs Administration (the US government agency that deals with the regulation of food and pharmaceutical products). Camillo Ricordi is a professor of surgery and director of the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) and of the Cell Transplant Center at the Miller School of Medicine of the University of Miami. He is joined by a group of specialists in infectious diseases, pulmonary medicine, intensive care and cell therapy experts.

“We thank the supporters of The Cure Alliance for this initiative against COVID-19 and in particular Barilla, which has been our main “invisible supporter” since the start of this project” – said Prof. Camillo Ricordi. – “We are also very grateful to the FDA and its offices for having authorized the trial in just one week.”

According to Luca Barilla, Deputy Chairman of the Barilla Group, “Scientific research is the most important tool for the well-being and progress of Humanity. Today more than ever we need to lend a hand to ensure this terrible crisis that is affecting the whole world is resolved as soon as possible”.

The Cure Alliance has leveraged all its resources to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The clinical protocol has already been shared with other academic institutions in the United States and around the world to assist other centers wishing to implement similar treatments as quickly and efficiently as possible. If the clinical trial proves safe and effective, The Cure Alliance will continue to fund this initiative, to support the future production and distribution of cell therapies at no cost to the treated patients.