• The ImmuMSA project, led by Dr Pablo Mir Rivera of Virgen del Rocío University Hospital (Seville) and the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), will investigate the role of the immune system in disease progression and seek biological markers to improve its detection.

Dr Pablo Mir Rivera at the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville – IBiS-FISEVI Communications Unit

BARCELONA-SEVILLE, 8 October 2026

The Pasqual Maragall Foundation has announced the research project that will be supported through the first call of the Carles Colomer Prize for Multiple System Atrophy Research. With up to €600,000 in funding, the programme supports clinical and translational research in Spain into multiple system atrophy (MSA) – a rare neurodegenerative disease – while also raising public awareness of the condition.

The selected project is led by Dr Pablo Mir Rivera, neurologist at Virgen del Rocío University Hospital, and will be carried out at the hospital in collaboration with the Institute of Biomedicine of Seville (IBiS), research centres managed by the Fundación para la Gestión de la Investigación en Salud de Sevilla (FISEVI), the beneficiary organisation of the funding, in collaboration with Dr Antonio Heras Garvin, a researcher at the Medical University of Innsbruck. The researchers will investigate the role of the immune system in the progression of MSA and seek biomarkers that could improve disease detection and help distinguish it from Parkinson’s disease, with which it shares several symptoms. To this end, they will analyse immune cells and proteins associated with inflammation and neurodegeneration in both diseases, combining the results with clinical and neuroimaging data to gain a more comprehensive understanding of MSA.

“Thanks to this funding, we hope to advance our understanding of this rare disease, for which there is still no treatment capable of slowing its progression. The results will allow us to gain deeper insight into the progression of multiple system atrophy and help lay the foundations for future advances in its diagnosis and treatment,” explains Dr Pablo Mir Rivera.

The Pasqual Maragall Foundation and the Colomer family’s commitment to research into a rare neurodegenerative disease

The Carles Colomer Prize for Multiple System Atrophy Research was established thanks to the commitment of Carles Colomer, a businessman recognised for his support for innovation who, following his diagnosis of MSA, developed a strong desire to make a tangible and lasting contribution to the scientific community and advance understanding and the clinical management of the disease.

“For the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, this call represents another step towards our goal of overcoming neurodegenerative diseases, such as multiple system atrophy, through research. The Colomer family’s commitment to science enables us today to support the project led by Dr Pablo Mir Rivera, whose results could contribute to advancing our understanding of this disease and improving its diagnosis and treatment,” explains Arcadi Navarro, Director of the Pasqual Maragall Foundation.

“I wanted to find a way to contribute to research into this disease, which we still know very little about. Through the Pasqual Maragall Foundation, which has extensive experience in supporting research into neurodegenerative diseases, we found the best way for us to do so and to support those working to advance our understanding of the condition. Knowledge and science are the most powerful drivers of progress and hope. There is currently no treatment, but we must continue researching so that one day there will be,” says Carles Colomer.

About Carles Colomer

Carles Colomer Casellas is a Catalan businessman with an extensive career, particularly in the cosmetics and beauty sector. In 2016, he was awarded the Creu de Sant Jordi by the Government of Catalonia in recognition of his contribution to the region’s economic fabric. His career has been characterised by a consistent commitment to innovation and a strategic vision focused on creating social value. His diagnosis of multiple system atrophy strengthened his commitment to promoting biomedical research and supporting the scientific community. The prize bearing his name was established as part of this commitment to promoting knowledge, supporting the development of new therapies and raising public awareness of the disease.

About the Pasqual Maragall Foundation

The Pasqual Maragall Foundation is a non-profit organisation established in April 2008 in response to the commitment made by Pasqual Maragall, former Mayor of Barcelona and former President of the Government of Catalonia, when he publicly announced that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The Foundation’s mission is to promote research into the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and contribute to social transformation by improving the quality of life of people affected by the disease and their families, while raising awareness of the condition among the wider public.

Source: Pasqual Maragall Foundation