Key growth indicators
Employment, turnover and investment figures for the BioRegion haven’t stopped growing over the past five years, as the number of companies has increased (+17%). Employment in the industry (nearly 60,000 jobs) is up 12% since 2017. The joint turnover of companies in the life sciences and healthcare sector grew 20% between 2017 and 2021, and the investment secured by startups increased x4 between 2018 and 2022.
€1.144 billion secured by startups and scaleups in five years
The most significant growth in the BioRegion has been in investment. While the amount secured by startups and scaleups in the BioRegion in 2021 (€238 million) doubled that of 2019, before the pandemic (€123 million), in 2022 investment once again saw an increase x2, reaching €445 million, with the first megaround in the sector (€122 million in medtech firm Impress).
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) also increased significantly (x7) between 2018 and 2022, with a total of €689 million in direct investment, generating over 2,900 jobs. According to the prestigious report published by the Financial Times, the FDI European Cities and Regions of the Future 2022/2023, Catalonia and Barcelona stand out as the region and city with the best strategy for attracting investment in Europe.
The BioRegion has over 60 investors and growing participation from international venture capital funds.
Growth in all investments
247,600 jobs and nearly €40 billion in turnover
One quarter of employment generated by the life sciences and healthcare sector (59,598 jobs) is in industry, a figure that is up 12% since 2017. Furthermore, 188,000 people work at healthcare institutions that provide diagnostic and medical treatments. The sector as a whole represents 7% of all employment in Catalonia.
The industry generates 56% of turnover in the sector (€21.97 billion in 2021), which has also increased steadily over the past 5 years (+20%). Nearly half of this revenue is from pharmaceutical companies (€10.37 billion) and, although with much lower turnover, the digital health (+16%) and suppliers (+37%) segments saw noteworthy growth in 2021.
