10 Catalan startups join BIOMED ISRAEL business mission
<p>A selection of <strong>startups from the health sciences, biotech</strong> and <strong>medtech </strong>arena went to Israel as part of the BIOMED ISRAEL business mission organized by ACCIÓ and BIOCAT, with collaboration from Inveniam, to connect with the<strong> Israeli life sciences and healthcare ecosystem</strong>.</p>
Israel is currently ranked the seventh most innovative country in the world and the third best startup ecosystem, with Tel Aviv the eighth best city for emerging companies. A leader in private R&D spending and venture capital investment in startups, Israel has more companies traded on the NASDAQ than any country other than the USA and China. There are currently 7,100 emerging and tech companies, 360 venture capitalists, over 80 accelerators and 37 incubators, more than 400 R&D centers, 17 technology transfer offices, and 9 public universities.
On the whole, there’s no question that these figures make Israel very attractive to international companies and startups looking to develop beyond their borders and looking for investment.
In this context, and coinciding with the 21st annual BIOMED Israel (May 16-18), ACCIÓ and Biocat, with collaboration from Inveniam, organized a business mission with 9 startups from the health and life sciences sector (Ability Pharma, Aortyx, Biel Glasses, Biointaxis, Emily, Nanoligent, Pharmacelera, Trialing and Vitala) and 2 investment companies (Capital Cell and Inveready). The participants got to scout for and strengthen collaboration with local partners and investors.
Startups from the BioRegion during BIOMED ISRAEL
In addition to the fair, the mission participants also learned more about the health ecosystem in a seminar titled ‘Overview of the Israeli Health Ecosystem’ by a panel of experts from Inveniam, Startup Nation Central, IATI (Israel Advanced Technology Industries), Israel Innovation Authority and Pearl Cohen, and got to visit the Meir Hospital Innovation Center and MEDX Xelerator.
The over 110 partnering meetings held over the 3 days of the mission, plus the collaboration (pre)agreements that most participants have on the table are proof of its success. The organizers gave very positive feedback and ACCIÓ explained that the mission had boosted the Catalan life sciences ecosystem and allowed Catalan startups to validate their technology with renowned venture capital funds and hospitals in Israel, and get a firsthand look at one of the most powerful technology ecosystems in the world in the medtech and biotech sector.
BIOMED Israel is the most consolidated life sciences conference in Israel. For the 21st edition, the activities and talks focused on key topics for this year: the aging population and AI technology. These topics reflect the biomedical demands associated with an aging population with a variety of chronic diseases, the lack of medical professionals, an abundance of data that must be analyzed to judge its potential value, issues tied to quality of life and increasing healthcare costs.