Biocat leads mission to Boston to promote healthcare innovation in Catalonia and explore new synergies

A Catalan delegation, led by Biocat, took part in a mission to Boston (Massachusetts) to strengthen Catalonia’s life sciences innovation ties with this leading region in healthcare innovation in the United States. During the visit, which took place the last week of September, the delegation took part in the World Medical Innovation Forum, the top event in the Boston innovation ecosystem, which is the main biotech hub in the world, which every year explores the most innovative, transformative approaches to healthcare, focusing on sustainability, aging and the biology behind the most common diseases.

The mission featured representatives from 12 key institutions in the BioRegion, members of the Advanced Therapies Network of Catalonia, including the Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol, Sant Pau Research Institute (IR Sant Pau), Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), Leitat Technology Center, Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) and companies MIMARK, Reig Jofre and Farmahispania, led by Biocat and the Catalan Ministries of Health and Foreign Action. The Catalan delegation was the largest of the foreign groups at the World Medical Innovation Forum (WMIF). Biocat CEO Robert Fabregat and Strategic Foresight and International Relations Director Montse Daban attended on behalf of the organization.

At WMIF, the delegation noted that the 2,000 participants were top notch: C-level executives and CEOs from pharmaceutical and biotech companies, heads of Massachusetts research and healthcare institutions, and partners from all over the US, Europe and Asia. Of the content, two main topics stand out: analyzing the 10 challenges that should guide healthcare innovation over the coming years, and the US federal agency ARPA-H, which funds frontier research that other funds don’t cover, with a challenge-based moonshot model, accelerating solutions for a world full of healthcare challenges.

Other highlights of the mission include the meeting with the Massachusetts General Brigham MESH Incubator, where the Catalan delegation got to learn first hand about their innovative incubation model integrated into the hospital system, and the visit to Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research in Cambridge. In this meeting, the delegation got to hear about the strategy behind the research being done at this Novartis hub and discuss future collaboration lines with Catalonia in clinical research, clinical trials and knowledge transfer between the Advanced Therapies Network of Catalonia and Novartis USA, led by Catalan Víctor Bultó. The common goal is to develop new therapies and get them to patients faster. 

To delve deeper into the ecosystem and begin to forge collaborations with the BioRegion, with support from the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the United States, Biocat hosted a networking dinner for Catalan researchers and professionals in the sector who live in the area. All the participants found this event highly valuable, both to update their knowledge of Catalonia’s capacities in innovation and healthcare and raise awareness of new transversal initiatives like the Advanced Therapies Network of Catalonia.

Biocat CEO Robert Fabregat said, “This mission was a success and a unique opportunity to showcase the potential of the BioRegion of Catalonia and forge connections that can drive high impact projects in the future.”

Biocat and the other mission participants are already working to turn the ideas that arose from the visit into specific projects to strengthen Catalonia’s position as a world class healthcare innovation hub. The mission, which lasted nearly a week and focused on science and technology, was organized by Biocat with the Catalan Ministry for European Union and Foreign Action, Catalan Ministry of Health and Catalan Ministry of Research and Universities.