The charity initiative "Vi per Vida" (Wine for Life) is launched to support research into metastasis

Mollerussa, Tuesday 29 April 2014.-  This morning in Mollerussa, the Catalan sommelier Xavi Ayala, is presenting the charity organisation “Vi per Vida” (Wine for Life), which seeks to support research into metastasis and to make the general public aware of the value of research. The first event organised by the charity will be the “I Tast Solidari Vi per Vida” (I Wine for Life Charity Tasting) for 500 people, which will be held at 13:00 h  on Saturday 31 May, World No Tobacco Day, in the Pavelló Pla d'Urgell (Pavelló Firal) de Mollerussa.

The press presentation will also include the participation of representatives from organisations that are supporting the initiative: the Mayor of Mollerussa, Marc Solsona; the director of INCAVI, Jordi Bort; and Elena Sancho, researcher devoted to studying metastasis at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona. IRB will be the beneficiary of the donations collected in the “I Tast Solidari Vi per Vida”. This centre develops projects endorsed by Joan Massagué, an international expert on metastasis and co-founder of IRB, together with Joan Guinovart, the director of the institute.

For only 5 euros–the smallest donation requested–the 500 participants, guided by Xavi Ayala, will taste seven wines, one from each of the subregions of “DO Costers del Segre” (Designation of Origin “Costers del Segre”). Reservations to participate in the event can be made through the blog Vi per Vida (http://vipervida.blogspot.com.es/) and donations will be collected on the day. Those unable to attend the tasting session but who wish to collaborate in the campaign can give donations through the “Vi per Vida” blog. They will enter a draw for three cases of wines classified as “DO Costers del Segre” that will be tasted on 31 May. “Vi per Vida” is also making a promotional video with the generous collaboration of celebrities from the world of sport, journalism, restaurant sector, music, science and show business. The illustrator Pilarín Bayés has designed the logo for “Vi per Vida”.

Launch of “Vi per Vida”

The Ayala – Cots family is behind the charity “Vi per Vida”. Twenty-three years ago, Xavier Ayala’s father, Josep Ayala, died from metastasis, caused by lung cancer produced as a result of smoking. Born in Mollerussa, Xavier Ayala set up the “Escola d’Hosteleria de Lleida” and in his professional career he has worked in the “Restaurant Ambrosia” in Lleida, the “Hotel Mas de Torrent” in the Costa Brava, “el Celler de Can Roca” in Girona, the “Restaurant Moo”, and the “Bar à Vins” in Barcelona. Thirty-four-year-old Ayala has chaired the Catalan Association of Sommeliers and he teaches at one of the main sommelier schools in the country. “Vi per Vida” came about from my passion for wine and my feelings upon the loss of my beloved father, which have always accompanied me, and has the objective to continue the fight against cancer,” explains Xavi Ayala, founder of the charity.

At the end of February, Joan Massagué–in a study in his lab at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York–identified some of the genes and mechanisms that regulate metastasis of tumour cells of breast and lung cancer to other organs, mainly the brain. This discovery opens up new avenues of research to tackle metastasis. The spread of tumour cells from the primary tumour to distant organs is the main challenge facing oncologists, since this dissemination of these cells causes around 90% of deaths by cancer.

“Philanthropy, both from large fortune holders and individual citizens, is a cornerstone for sustaining research. Activities such as the “Vi per Vida” event are among the most effective and attractive strategies to engage the public at large in a fight that involves us all,” says Massagué. Dr. Joan Massagué, together with Dr. Joan Guinovart, co-founded the Institute of Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona, nine years ago, at the end of 2005. Dr. Massagué has been fundamental in consolidating the centre and defining cancer and metastasis among its main lines of research, and attracting internationally recognised talent. “We congratulate Xavier on the “Vi per Vida” initiative and we are most grateful that he has chosen our centre as the beneficiary of the donations collected in the “I Tast Solidari,” says Joan Guinovart.

Research into metastasis at IRB covers pioneering aspects in international research. Studies are being performed on tumour stem cells–cells with the capacity to initiate metastasis, on the capacities that tumour cells acquire and require to facilitate metastasis to specific organs, and on the communication between tumour cells and the tumour environment that facilitates their survival and later growth in a different organ to that in which the tumour originally formed.

Some of these research lines have provided results with potential clinical applications, such as the possibility to measure a the metastatic capacity of a tumour, which would allow the development of diagnostic methods to predict those patients at risk of metastasis. The many groups at IRB are also addressing the mechanisms that allow interference with the metastatic properties of tumour cells with the aim to prevent these cells from occurring

Furthermore, research at IRB also deal with the molecular bases of cancer from different perspectives in order to decipher, for example, how cells manipulate the genetic information itself to acquire survival properties and to initiate metastasis, and how tumour cells remain latent, that is to say, without dividing during extended periods before initiating growth in a distant organ.

People and institutions supporting “I Tast Solidari Vi per Vida”:

Marc Solsona, Mayor of Mollerussa and Member of Parliament in Madrid. Jordi Bort, Director of INCAVI. Dr. Joan Massagué, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona. Dr. Joan Guinovart, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona.

Pilarín Bayés, Illustrator. David Caraben, Member of the band Mishima. Elisabet Carnicè, Journalist. Jordi Díaz, Actor. Nando Jubany, Restaurateur. Carlos Latre, Actor. Empar Moliner, Journalist. Joan, Josep and Jordi Roca, Restaurateurs of the “El Celler de Can Roca”.

“Vi per Vida” has also contacted Marc Coma, motorcycle rider in the Dakar Rally, Bojan Krkic, Football Player with the team Ajax, Amsterdam, and Marc Márquez, GP motorcycle racer.

PROGRAMME “I TAST SOLIDARI VI PER VIDA”

Day: Saturday, 31 May. World No Tobacco Day

Time: 13.00h

Venue: Pavelló Pla d'Urgell (Pavelló Firal), Av. del Canal S/N, 25230 Mollerussa

Length of event: 90 minutes

Organiser: Xavi Ayala

Involving:

Presentation: Marc Solsona, Mayor of Mollerussa and Jordi Bort, INCAVI

Guests: Dr. Joan Massagué, co-founder of IRB, researcher at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (live from NY) and Dr. Joan Guinovart, director of IRB.

The media and journalists interested in attending and covering the event on 31 May in Mollerussa should contact Sònia Armengou, armengou@irbbarcelona.org, and Xavi Ayala, vipervida@gmail.com.

Links to “Vi per Vida”:

INFORMATION, RESERVATONS AND DONATIONS:

Blog: http://vipervida.blogspot.com.es/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vi-per-Vida/545214145593566

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ViperVIda  #vipervida

For more information and interviews:

Sònia Armengou, Press Officer, Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), Barcelona. @IRBBarcelona. armengou@irbbarcelona.org / 93 403 72 55 / 618 294 070

Xavi Ayala, Vi per Vida, @ViperVida

vipervida@gmail.com; 662 399 888