Ecosystem
Picks of April: new facilities, funding for startups, partnerships and acquisitions
We’ll look at the main news from the sector in April, plus book tips for Sant Jordi from 15 noteworthy professionals in the BioRegion of Catalonia.
- Let’s start with the new facilities and projects to strengthen the ecosystem that have been announced. First of all, the Government of Catalonia has finally approved the construction of the biomedical cluster in L’Hospitalet, a project that has been on the table for years and is now one step closer to reality. Vithas also announced it is building a new hospital in Esplugues de Llobregat, scheduled to open in mid-2025. The same year the cancer innovation center will begin operating at Hospital Sagrat Cor, created by Pangaea Oncology and NG Oncology. Called the HUSC Oncology Innovation Cancer Center, it will bring together medical care, innovation and a clinical trial unit to test innovative oncology treatments and devices.
- In terms of new sources of funding, CaixaBank announced it has granted a loan to the first private science and innovation hub in Barcelona, two months after the announcement that there will be a new BaSID science district.
- Turning to investment in healthcare startups, this month three companies secured funding to continue developing their solutions. Moowot, a company created out of the Biocat d·HEALTH Barcelona program, received €2.2 million in Next Generation funds to develop a solution for irritable bowel syndrome. Also, Emily.AI closed a round of funding for €480,000 led by Banc Sabadell BStartup, and HumanITCare received €200,000 from Google for an AI project focusing on enhancing cancer care.
- And in news from startups, highlights include CE marking for the clinical exoskeleton from ABLE Human Motion and Time is Brain’s announcement that it will launch its stroke device to market in 2025, providing an innovative solution to this serious medical condition affecting the brain. SocialDiabetes, a groundbreaking company in digital transformation of healthcare, has launched Listen. Doctor, a tool that uses artificial intelligence to turn medical visits into processable knowledge.
- Both of these companies took part in the Biocat CRAASH Barcelona acceleration program, which is now accepting applications for its seventh edition. The program will start on September 17, 2024 and, through December, participants will receive training on clinical validation, investment and communication skills, as well as mentoring from CIMIT experts and knowledge of the Catalan and German life sciences ecosystems. The Life Science Accelerator will be in charge of the training on the German system. Hurry, you can still apply through June 14!
- An example of the excellence and innovation at hospitals in the BioRegion comes from Hospital Sant Joan de Déu and Hospital Clinic, which have created a center that applies robotic cardiac surgery to children and young adults. Hospital Clinic Barcelona was also in the news as the first hospital in Spain to use endoscopic surgery to remove middle ear tumors, and Bellvitge University Hospital and Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital used immersive virtual reality for surgical training in an international course, for the first time in the world.
- More and more companies are joining forces to advance research. Biotechnology company Ferrer is working with Verge Genomics to develop a therapy for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Barcelona-based biotechnology company Regenera Activa Worldwide and Italian firm Rigenera HBW have decided to partner up under the Remedi brand to become a global benchmark and leader in the field of regenerative medicine.
- Looking to the big corporations in the BioRegion, Reig Jofre has invested €5.8 million in Leanbio. This new investment will allow Leanbio to bolster its current facilities by starting operations at a new plant to produce biotechnology-based active ingredients in Sant Quirze (Vallès Occidental) in 2023. And Palex Medical acquired Belgian company Duomed just one month after acquiring a division of Werfen.
- In appointments, former external board member Nacho Abia is taking over as the new CEO of Grifols, in a context marked by attacks from short-seller Gotham City Research.
- And to finish off, Redefining Early Stage Investments (RESI) is coming up quickly. This is the first time the conference has been held in Europe and it will take place in Barcelona from June 17 to 19. It is expected that more than 300 international investors will attend. Check out the special conditions for organizations in the BioRegion!