InnovationEcosystem
Picks of May: PASS presentation, startup news, business partnerships and acquisitions
For this month, which included International Clinical Trials Day, we’re highlighting Catalonia’s position on European and global rankings in this arena, as well as this selection of notable news stories from the ecosystem. Here we go!
- Let’s start with the presentation of the new Healthcare System Access Program (PASS), a tool that will help streamline and facilitate access to the Catalan Healthcare System for innovation and technology by identifying, prioritizing and guiding innovation with the highest value and priority for the system. A groundbreaking project in Catalonia, with collaboration from AQuAS and the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut).
- Turning to new projects and landings, the US investment fund XY Booster Group has chosen Catalonia for its new innovation hub: a new epicenter of innovation from which they aim to support local startups and attract international talent. Plus, Novartis has inaugurated new offices in Barcelona, where 675 people currently work.
- Regarding investment funds established in the BioRegion of Catalonia, Ysios Capital took part in a €46 million round in Nemo Therapeutics, a Swiss company that is developing antibodies to fight viral diseases that currently have no treatment. Columbus Venture Partners closed its fourth fund with €150 million, surpassing the initial goal of €100 million.
- In news from startups in the sector, Grupo Catalana Occidente invested in Cuideo; Dycare closed a partnership deal with pharmaceutical company Reig Jofre to advance joint treatment; and Loop Diagnostics, a company from the Biocat d·HEALTH Barcelona program, has been granted UKCA marking as an in vitro diagnostic tool for its SeptiLoop device, making it eligible for clinical use in the United Kingdom.
- Several startups have secured funding: ABLE Human Motion closed an operation for €875,000 and several other companies got funding (€40,000) through the “Activa Startups” initiative in Catalonia. They are: The Blue Box, RMS Rapid Manufacturing Systems, Peptomyc, Kinea Pharmaceutical Engineering, ISERN Medical Telecom, Initeb, GRIT Porgramming, DiNA Sciences, Chemplate materials, Chemipol, Breaz Medical, Blue Ocean Nutrition and Actia.
- To strengthen knowledge transfer, the Catalan Ministry of Research and Universities announced it will be awarding grants for a total of €9 million.
- Examples of the excellence and innovation at hospitals in the BioRegion come from Bellvitge University Hospital, which carried out the most effective and complex bariatric surgery using robotic surgery for the first time in Catalonia, and Hospital Clinic, which is recognized as a pioneer in Spain in offering non-pharmacological therapies for neurodegenerative conditions. Additionally, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau has led research that proves there is a genetic form of Alzheimer, not previously recognized.
- In terms of the pipeline, two new oncology therapies developed by companies and organizations in the BioRegion were in the news this month: OneChain Immunotherapeutics (OCI), a biotech firm that is developing CAR-T cell therapies for oncology diseases, began its first clinical trial on OC-1. And GigaGen, a subsidiary of the Catalan multinational corporation Grifols, also kicked off a clinical trial on its first oncology drug to treat metastatic or locally advanced solid tumors.
- Looking to large corporations in the BioRegion, the Esteve pharmaceutical group boosted its internationalization last year and announced that it will increase its productive capacity by expanding its factory in Celrà (Girona) to meet the growing demand for job production. Additionally, Uriach acquired German natural medicine company Pascoe to reinforce its leadership in Europe in the natural consumer healthcare segment.
- This month, two interesting reports were presented: first, the CYD Foundation report on universities’ contribution to economic and social development, which recognizes five Catalan universities (Autonomous University of Barcelona (1), University of Barcelona (5), Pompeu Fabra University (6), Rovira i Virgili University (9) and Ramon Llull University (10)) among the top ten universities in Spain for various indicators, including transfer; and second, the FCRI report on the state of science in Catalonia, which concludes that Catalonia stands out as a hub for attracting and producing high quality knowledge in medicine, biochemistry and environmental sciences, but is less successful in terms of investment and R&D support.