Going from power to power

The current launch of the newest BioRegion Report introduced with it some very welcome information for Catalonia, because the autonomous northeastern area of Spain consolidated its place as one of many nation’s primary drivers of innovation and financial and social growth, with document funding in healthcare startups and scaleups. The report additionally said that different indicators like exports, international funding, scientific publications, and participation in medical trials are all up, making Catalonia, significantly Barcelona, some of the aggressive biotech hubs in Europe.

“Catalonia’s biotech sector is experiencing important momentum, with robust funding exercise, a strong pipeline of progressive applied sciences, and an increasing presence in world markets,” commented Maite Malet, an investor with Asabys Companions, a enterprise capital (VC) agency based mostly in Barcelona.

On this article, we take a deeper have a look at Catalonia’s burgeoning biotech sector and general life sciences hub, together with the important thing drivers behind its success and the central position of Barcelona in its progress.

Sturdy funding exercise: A key driver behind Catalonia’s biotech success

Naturally, robust funding exercise is usually what drives any profitable biotech sector. Fortuitously, Catalonia has this in abundance. This may be seen in the truth that, regardless of a tough geopolitical and financial context, healthcare startups and scaleups within the area secured virtually €350 million ($379 million) in 2024 – the second-highest determine it has ever recorded. 

“Catalonia advantages from a mature funding surroundings, with growing participation from each nationwide and worldwide enterprise capital companies,” stated Malet. “The area’s capability to draw world gamers, whether or not by partnerships, international direct funding, or acquisitions, continues to gasoline its progress as a biotech hub.”

VC is the first supply of funding for startups and scaleups in Catalonia. Final 12 months, any such funding contributed practically €278 million ($300 million) to the sector, making up 80% of the whole quantity of funding put into these corporations. In response to the BioRegion report, the quantity contributed right here is a rise from the earlier 12 months, largely because of renewed curiosity from worldwide funding companies, of which there at the moment are greater than 150, primarily from Europe and the U.S. The truth is, 75% of personal capital in 2024 included worldwide funding.

On a nationwide degree, Malet pointed to Asabys as being a key participant in serving to to spin off a number of corporations, together with biotech corporations Ona Therapeutics, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, ALLOx, and Nuage, from analysis facilities such because the Institute for Analysis in Biomedicine (IRB), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), and the Catalan Establishment for Analysis and Superior Research (ICREA). These corporations have raised greater than €100 million ($108 million) between them, attracting buyers akin to Sofinnova Companions, Merck, and Novartis Enterprise Fund, amongst others.

The second supply of funding for startups after VC funding in 2024 was aggressive grants, which additionally considerably helped to scale up entrepreneurial tasks in healthcare, contributing €55 million in whole. 

In the meantime, when wanting on the funding panorama in Catalonia by subsector, the vast majority of the funding final 12 months went towards medtech corporations, primarily as a result of megaround by dental well being startup Impress. Funding in biotech companies was additionally a preferred pattern, as corporations within the sector obtained a complete of €143 million ($155 million) from buyers, which was barely greater than the earlier 12 months. Comparatively, digital well being dropped practically 40% from 2023.

It’s also price noting that corporations that apply synthetic intelligence (AI) to healthcare have been attracting plenty of funding not too long ago. There are 155 life sciences corporations working with the know-how in Catalonia, 112 of that are startups and scaleups that between them obtained €347 million ($376.66 million) in funding in 2024, representing 51% of the whole funding introduced in by startups and scaleups as an entire. This comes off the again of the native authorities’s push to advertise AI with initiatives such because the Catalonia.AI technique, which emphasizes the event of AI know-how and its moral software, fostering financial progress, and enhancing high quality of life.

The BioRegion report states that different key indicators that present Catalonia’s life sciences ecosystem’s scalability are the variety of funding operations between €4 million ($4.34 million) and €50 million ($54.27 million), which continues to develop; the variety of Catalan corporations acquired or licensed, which noticed an all-time excessive of 11 final 12 months, and merger and acquisition (M&A) exercise. 

It additionally helps that Catalonia ranks because the third European Union (EU) area to draw essentially the most EU funding for analysis and innovation tasks throughout the first half of the present framework program, Horizon Europe 2021-2027. The area obtained a complete €1.015 billion ($1.10 billion) in aggressive EU funding over the primary three years of this system, representing 3.54% of the whole European funds and twice what could be anticipated for Catalonia based mostly on inhabitants measurement. Many sectors could have definitely benefited from this funding, together with the life sciences and biotech sector in Catalonia. 

The Catalonia BioRegion: A “mature” sector with robust competitors and enterprise exercise

In addition to a flurry of funding exercise, the 2024 BioRegion report factors out that Catalonia now has a really mature life sciences sector, making up 7.6% of Catalonia’s gross home product (GDP). The area exports greater than 40% and imports greater than 32% of Spain’s life sciences and healthcare merchandise, giving it the second largest international commerce quantity on this enviornment of any autonomous neighborhood. 

The area can also be house to 1,500 life sciences corporations, 90% of that are small and medium-sized enterprises. Moreover, the competitors for expertise is extraordinarily excessive, and the sector presently employs greater than 280,000 folks in Catalonia, which equates to 7.3% of the working inhabitants. 

One of many causes it is filled with native expertise is because of its longstanding place within the pharma trade. This, together with the truth that it’s continually welcoming new worldwide innovation facilities and multinational companies – primarily within the Barcelona metropolitan space, the place 23 new hubs have been created lately – has made Catalonia the house for practically half of the pharmaceutical trade in Spain, together with corporations like AstraZeneca, which led in international direct funding and job creation in 2024 for the second 12 months in a row. 

Catalonia: A world chief in medical trial participation and analysis

Together with Spain as an entire, Catalonia is a world chief in medical trial participation, rating fifth in Europe and eighth on the planet. The truth is, 87% of all lively medical trials carried out in Spain happen in Catalan facilities. In response to the BioRegion report, the pharmaceutical trade is the primary driver of this exercise, selling practically 80% of all trials in Catalonia.

By way of the primary medical areas for these trials, oncology is the main space of analysis and accounted for 32% of the trials in 2024. There was additionally important progress final 12 months in medical trials on metabolic ailments, psychological well being, and hematology.

In the meantime, the affect of analysis on sufferers might be seen within the sector’s pipeline, with 75 therapies being developed in all kinds of medical areas, led by oncology, dermatology and minority ailments. Some 65% of those remedies are in superior phases, approaching commercialization and able to profit the broader inhabitants. 

Catalonia can also be thought of one of many primary European hubs of well being analysis, with distinctive capabilities in genomics and structural biology, medical chemistry, nanomedicine, omic sciences, and bioinformatics. Analysis in oncology, specifically, actually stands out, with a variety of capacities from primary to medical analysis, and Catalan hospitals are thought of to be benchmarks in treating most cancers. 

The BioRegion’s analysis establishments have performed a pivotal position in boosting the life sciences and well being sector. Between 2014 and 2023, Catalonia ranked fifth in Europe in scientific publications (54,460) and first in proportion of Extremely Cited Papers (3.15%).

“This robust tutorial basis, mixed with well-established know-how switch mechanisms, has led to the creation of a dynamic ecosystem the place cutting-edge discoveries are quickly translated into high-potential biotech startups,” stated Malet.

She considers Catalonia’s capability to bridge the hole between academia and commercialization as some of the thrilling facets of the area’s biotech ecosystem. “The area has a powerful monitor document of spinning out high-quality corporations from its analysis establishments, with growing assist from enterprise capital and company companions.”

Catalonia: The standout area for biotech in Spain, with Barcelona at its coronary heart 

Along with the quantity of medical trials held in Catalonia, the area hosts virtually 25% of the whole variety of biotech corporations, making it the clear chief in Spain’s biotech trade, as Madrid comes second with 17.25% of corporations. Moreover, biotech corporations in Catalonia contribute towards 35.21% of the whole enterprise income of the biotech sector in Spain.

“Catalonia and Madrid are the 2 key drivers of Spain’s biotech sector, with each areas taking part in an important position in advancing life sciences innovation,” defined Malet. “Whereas Madrid has traditionally led in pharmaceutical exports and company headquarters, Catalonia has emerged as a frontrunner in biotech innovation, significantly in artificial biology, the place it’s the dominant hub in Spain. The area’s power in early-stage firm creation and its capability to draw worldwide funding set it aside as a key engine of progress inside the nationwide biotech panorama.”

In response to Malet, Barcelona is the epicenter of biotech exercise in Catalonia, because of its dense focus of analysis establishments, hospitals, and startups. “There have been 24 new innovation hubs, 17,500 new jobs created, 2,374 Extremely Cited Papers, and 32 patents created up to now 12 months. Nonetheless, innovation isn’t restricted to the capital. Different areas like Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona are additionally growing robust biotech ecosystems, significantly in area of interest areas akin to artificial biology and medical know-how.”

Finally, Malet believes that the expansion of artificial biology, the enlargement of healthtech options, and the push towards superior therapies all level to Catalonia’s potential to not simply lead nationally, however to strengthen its place as a number one European biotech hub. 

Robert Fabregat, the chief govt officer (CEO) of Biocat, which works to drive the expansion of the life sciences and well being innovation ecosystem in Catalonia, stated within the BioRegion report press launch: “Catalonia’s management in high-impact analysis in healthcare, the competitiveness of our hospitals and analysis facilities, capability to draw prime multinational companies within the sector and the scalability of our startups and scaleups, amongst others, have made the BioRegion a European benchmark in healthcare innovation.” 

He added: “The purpose is obvious: to show scientific advances into actual options to world challenges that can enhance society’s well being and wellness.” 

It’s honest to say that Catalonia’s life sciences and biotech sectors are definitely doing simply that.

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