Picks of July: presentation of PRECISEU, new advances in research and projects to strengthen the ecosystem

Let’s start with the new projects to strengthen the ecosystem that have been announced. First, Badalona announced it will be expanding the Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital (Can Ruti) campus to 95,000 m² of buildable space in order to attract international research bodies and become a new “healthcare hub for southern Europe”. And, the Barcelona Science Park shared that it will be home to part of two research centers associated with Hospital Clínic de Barcelona: IDIBAPS and ISGlobal. This move is the first step towards the future Campus Clínic Barcelona on Avinguda Diagonal, which will have over 290,000 m² for healthcare, teaching and health research. 

Looking to funding, the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF) has created a €40 million fund for emerging companies: Venture Tech III. This body under the Government of Catalonia will use the fund to participate in larger rounds of funding, between €3 million and €10 million. Plus, Barcelona Deep Tech has injected €1 million into venture capital manager CRB Health Tech, which currently has €20 million to invest in digital health companies. This is the first time Barcelona Activa, the municipal economic promotion agency, has invested in a digital health fund. 

Turning to investment in healthcare startups, this month Integra Therapeutics secured €10.5 million to develop their first therapy for a serious pediatric liver disease. The Catalan biotech firm, a member of the Advanced Therapies Network of Catalonia, will receive a €2.5 million grant and direct investment of up to €8 million from the European Commission through the European Innovation Council (EIC) Accelerator program. Two other startups have also received public funding: Gene Vector Barcelona, securing €1.5 million and Qilimanjaro, also €1.5 million. Flomics has raised nearly €800,000 on Capital Cell. 

And in news from startups, highlights include the Nasdaq IPO of US company Anew Medical, a spinoff of the Autonomous University of Barcelona that is researching gene therapies for neurodegenerative diseases; the deal reached by deeptech firm Roka Furadada and French company SeventyOne Percent to launch a new line of sunscreens in France with a smart solar protection ingredient; and, finally, the efficacy of a non-hormonal oral drug developed by femtech firm Oxolife, which boosts embryo implantation, pregnancy and live birth rates among infertile women undergoing assisted reproductive treatments. 

Looking at the hospitals, a new integrated area has been created at Vall d’Hebron Hospital to treat heart conditions, which have increased in number and complexity, and voice based artificial intelligence has been incorporated for the first time in Spain at Bellvitge University Hospital to monitor patients with serious asthma. These innovations reflect Catalan healthcare institutions’ commitment to excellence and continuously improving their standard of care. Also, the first uterine and ovarian transposition surgery in Spain was completed at Hospital del Mar Barcelona. This way, women with pelvic cancers can still have children.

Another example of excellence at research centers is approval from the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices (AEMPS) for CAR-T ARI0002h developed by Clínic-IDIBAPS for patients with multiple myeloma. And the innovative liquid biopsy technique developed at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) in Barcelona that is the first that can detect which genes are active in a cancer at any given time. The breakthrough will allow doctors to find out whether a treatment is working in a specific patient in real time or whether they need to try something else, and will help them decide the best therapy for each case. Finally, we also want to highlight a study published with participation from the Neurobiology of Dementia research group and the Memory Unit at the Sant Pau Research Institute that identifies the first biomarker that can be used to detect the underlying neuropathology of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and differentiate two proteins that build up in the brain in patients with this disease.

In order to continue strengthening the healthcare ecosystem and making science a driving force for Barcelona’s economy, the Barcelona City Council also presented the Strategic Plan for Science and Innovation 2024-2027, a roadmap to consolidate Barcelona and the metropolitan area as benchmarks in research, innovation and knowledge transfer.

Another initiative that is working to raise awareness and promote the healthcare innovation ecosystem in Catalonia is the third annual Barcelona Health Innovation Week, which will be held from February 17 to 21, 2025. It will kick off with the presentation of the 2024 BioRegion of Catalonia Report on Monday, February 17 at Auditori L’illa in Barcelona. Save the date!

Turning to pharmaceutical corporations, Esteve has acquired HRA Pharma Rare Diseases, the minority diseases division of Perrigo Company, for €275 million. And we are still following news of the potential delisting of Grifols following a request from family shareholders.

And, finally, we’re celebrating the announcement of the PRECISEU European macro-project, which Catalonia has been awarded through Biocat. The news was announced at the Palau de la Generalitat with acting President of the Government of Catalonia Pere Aragonès and Catalan Minister of Health Manel Balcells. The project, with nearly €23 million over 5 years, aims to get personalized medicine and advanced therapies to the people faster. Don’t miss the video presentation with all the details of the project!