September picks: Barcelona, benchmark site for international events in the sector

Before going away for the summer, we gave you a sneak peek of the international events that will be held in Barcelona in the last four months of the year. This month, we’re highlighting two important ones: LSI Europe, which attracted renowned companies and executives in medtech innovation to the city, and BIOSPAIN 2023, one of the most anticipated events for the biotechnology sector, which saw record numbers of participants, collaborators and meetings. The Catalan capital being named second best city in Europe for investing in health is even more proof of the ecosystem’s global attractiveness. 

Here’s a selection of the top news stories from this past month: 

1. Out of the €43 million in grants awarded in the most recent national call for advanced therapy development grants, CERTERA, which was announced on Wednesday, 27 September, €27.3 million went to projects in Catalonia. This figure represents 63% of the total.
    
2. Digital health company IOMED raised €10 million to expand its artificial intelligence technology internationally.  
    
3. Medtech firm INBRAIN Neuroelectronics announced that its intelligent network modulation platform has been granted Breakthrough Device Designation (BDD) from the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA) as a complementary therapy for Alzheimer’s disease. 
    
4. We’re celebrating the success of UAB spinoff Tramontane Therapeutics, acquired by Kriya.
    
5. The CRAASH Barcelona business acceleration program kicked off with a presentation of the six projects chosen to participate. Learn more about them.
    
6. The Subcommittee on Innovation Adoption in Healthcare, coordinated by Biocat, presented its Operating Plan, a much-anticipated roadmap to get innovations into the healthcare system. 
    
7. Vall d’Hebron Hospital and Hospital Clinic are among the top 100 private and public hospitals in the world, according to the World’s Best Hospitals 2024 ranking, published by US weekly Newsweek. 
    
8. Three noteworthy operations by specialized investment funds in the BioRegion: Invivo Capital closed a €65 million Series A investment in French company Corteria Pharmaceutical, Caixa Capital Risc led a €27.3 million round in Belgian biotech firm AbolerIS Pharma, and Asabys led a €14 million round in French startup Gradient Denervation Technologies, the third from its second investment fund where the ICF just invested €10 million to continue support for biomedical research.  
    
9. We also have news from the Catalan pharma pipeline: Ferrer is currently preparing to launch new products for the nervous system and lungs in Italy, France and the United Kingdom, and Almirall has received approval from the European Medicines Agency for its latest drug to treat atopic dermatitis: lebrikizumab.
    
10.   To finish off, two highlights from hospital research: a study at the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has shown that breast milk from patients with breast cancer diagnosed during pregnancy or postpartum contains circulating tumor DNA that could be used in the future to diagnose tumors in the early stages. And a study from Vall d’Hebron to prove the efficacy, tolerability and acceptance of a drug produced for children using a 3D printer. The study will be the first clinical trial on a 3D-printed pediatric drug in Europe.