Coinciding with the inaugural event of the sixth edition of the VALLVIVA Festival and the beginning of the countdown to its celebration, which will take place from July 8 to 12 at Finca Les Brides, Vall d’Hebron is reviewing the impact of its collaboration with this solidarity initiative over the past three years.

Since 2023, the VALLVIVA Festival has raised a total of €60,000, which it allocates to oncology research projects led by the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) and the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO), establishing itself as a committed partner in advancing cancer research.

Founded by the VALLVIVA Foundation (now the Eudald Morera Foundation) and driven by the Garrotxa-based companies Royal Verd and Noel Alimentària, the festival combines top-level music, local gastronomy, and a culinary offering from four Michelin-starred restaurants, with the aim of generating a positive social impact. Year after year, the initiative has mobilized hundreds of volunteers, partner companies, and sponsors to contribute to the funding of biomedical research projects.

Solidarity turned into research

The funds raised have supported research focused especially on pancreatic cancer, one of the tumors with the greatest therapeutic challenges. In the case of VHIR, the funding has supported two interconnected projects that study how cancer cells communicate with the surrounding tissue in order to grow, spread, and resist treatments.

“The studies have enabled the identification of new cellular signaling pathways and potential therapeutic targets in breast, lung, and especially pancreatic cancers,” says Trond Aasen, principal investigator of the Translational Molecular Pathology group at VHIR.

In parallel, VHIO has allocated the donation to the project “Clinical and molecular predictors of response to chemotherapy in advanced pancreatic cancer,” led by Dr. Jaume Capdevila, head of the Hepatobiliary, Pancreatic and Endocrine Tumors Group.

The aim of this study is to advance toward more personalized medicine by identifying clinical and molecular factors that can help predict which patients will respond best to chemotherapy treatments.

“The support received is essential to continue advancing in pancreatic cancer research and to better understand how patients respond to treatments,” says Dr. Capdevila.

A collaboration with a future vocation

Although the 2026 edition will mark the beginning of a new line of collaboration with the Josep Trueta University Hospital in Girona, VALLVIVA will maintain its connection with Vall d’Hebron and will continue allocating part of its proceeds to the research projects it has supported until now.

This continuity will help further promote innovative initiatives in oncology and reinforces an alliance that contributes to advancing the fight against cancer.

The shared trajectory between VALLVIVA and Vall d’Hebron exemplifies how the involvement of civil society, companies, and the cultural sector can translate into real progress for biomedical research and for patients.