Manel Balcells leaves the presidency of Biocat Executive Committee

BY BIOCAT

Manuel Balcells Díaz (Ripoll, Barcelona, 1958) leaves the presidency of Biocat Executive Committee after four years in the position. Balcells leave is one of the changes in Biocat governing committees as consequence of the restructure of different departments of the Government of Catalonia which are represented in the BioRegion of Catalonia Board.

Balcells was nominated as president of Biocat Executive Committee in December 2006, at the proposal of the vice president of the Catalan Government and with agreement of the Executive Council of the Government. He is Doctor specialized in orthopaedic and traumatologic surgery and in sport medicine. Before, he occupied several public positions. He was Minister of the Department of Universities, Research and Information Society (2006), Secretary of Strategy and Coordination of the Department of Health (2005), Director of Strategy and Coordination of this same department (2004) and Deputy Mayor of Health and Social Welfare of the Granollers City Council (1995-2001), position which he made compatible with that of medical director of the General Hospital of Granollers (Barcelona).

In this new stage, Biocat continues under the direction of Dr. Montserrat Vendrell, who is leading Biocat team since 2007. She has highlighted that "the experienced development of the biotechnological and biomedical sectors in these last four years sustain the coordination task and impulse done by Biocat. The current crisis context makes it still more necessary that the different system agents can articulate projects to extract all its potential, from basic research to the market. Biocat can promote them because it has the transversal vision of the challenges and opportunities, with the support of public and private institutions and with the confidence of the sector."