Mariano Barbacid raises 3.5 million

The fundraising campaign started by the Cris Against Cancer Foundationwhich aims to continue financing the project of the director of the Experimental Oncology Group of the National Cancer Research Center (CNIO) and head of the CRIS Pancreatic Cancer Project, Dr. Mariano Barbacidwith which it has been achieved remove pancreatic tumors in experimental mouse models, has reached its goal of 3,500,000 euros.

Blow to pancreatic cancer: they manage to completely eliminate the tumor in mice with triple therapy

According to data from the Spanish Network of Cancer Registries (REDECAN) and the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), Cancer is the first cause of death due to illness in Spain. In fact, in 2026 they will be diagnosed more than 300,000 peopleof them 8,000 young adults and 1,500 boys and girls.

From CRIS Against Cancer, they explain in the fundraiser that “Our work does not replace public financing, but rather complements and reinforces ithelping to accelerate scientific progress where additional resources are needed to provide continuity to high impact projects. Cancer research requires years of work, complex infrastructure and multidisciplinary teams, and is usually developed thanks to the joint efforts of multiple public and private funders.” For all this, they are committed to “public-private collaboration and a network research modelcollaborating closely with research centers and hospitals of the National Health System to guarantee that scientific advances reach all patients, regardless of their socioeconomic situation. Because Cancer research is a collective commitment in which every contribution counts“.

Given the support received, Lola Manterolapresident and co-founder of CRIS Against Cancer, wanted to thank “all the people, patients, families, young people, the incredible number of young people who have participated, all the people who have contributed to those 3,500,000 million euros that we have raised for allocate 100% to the project of Dr. Mariano Barbacid and his team“.

For his part, Dr. Barbacid has also highlighted that “the involvement of young people has been exciting because This progress is the inheritance for future generations“.

The results in the laboratory are consistent, but before a clinical trial it is essential to complete new stages.

Thank you for being part of this collective commitment 💛 pic.twitter.com/d2t3yQZjiJ

— CRIS Against Cancer (@criscancer) February 13, 2026

Specifically, Barbacid and his team have achieved completely eliminate pancreatic tumors, one of the deadliest cancers, in experimental mouse models using a triple therapeutic combination, which opens the door to treatments in patients.

This study has therefore shown magnificent resultsas indicated by the organization. Therefore, they confirmed their decision to expand financing for ensure its continuity and complete a key experimental phase before reaching clinical trials with patients.

The aforementioned research will develop the advanced preclinical phasewhich will allow refine and optimize an innovative triple therapy, improve its effectiveness and ensure its safety before reaching the patients. Of all this, among the fundamental objectives is to optimize the treatment to maximize its antitumor efficacy, adjusting doses, combinations and administration guidelines.

As Cris Contra el Cancer stated, one of these three therapies is a very novel type of compound called PROTACcapable of searching for and destroying the protein of interest inside tumors, something that until a few years ago was unthinkable. In this regard, they have clarified that This type of treatment requires significant additional pharmacological development before it can be administered in humans, both to make its production viable and to define a formulation compatible with clinical trials.

Along with the above, this organization has explained that the Barbacid team must test the therapy in more experimental models that reproduce the different genetic alterations associated with pancreatic cancer, in order to increase its antitumor potency, avoid or overcome possible resistance mechanisms that may appear in some tumors and identify which types of tumors or biological profiles respond best to treatment. Precisely as a result of this, and to achieve the financing required for this research phase, this fundraising began, in which any citizen has been able to make contributions and obtain their donation certificate, valid for deducting taxes in the income tax return.