Pedro Pierluisi announced Monday the beginning of the construction of a center dedicated to research and entrepreneurship in the areas of science and technology, along with two other initiatives that, with an allocation of federal and state funds, seek to promote economic development through the Molecular Sciences Research Center of the University of Puerto Rico (UPR).

The Advancing Science and Technology Research and Entrepreneurship Innovation Center (ASTRE Center) is being developed through a $10 million allocation from the federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) and $6 million in state funds.

"For the ASTRE Center, we are remodeling the fifth floor of this facility (the Molecular Sciences Research Center) to convert it into a business incubator space, where Puerto Rican scientists and researchers can develop and commercialize their research projects, new treatments and medicines," the governor said at a press conference.

Another project on the agenda is the creation of the UPR Incubator and Technology Transfer Center (UPRCITT) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which received an $8 million grant from that federal entity, and an additional $2 million from the Puerto Rico government.

The third initiative is the inauguration of the Center for Preclinical Studies, dedicated to completing the trial phases in the development of a treatment or a drug prior to the commercial process.

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