AseBio and Biocat present in Barcelona BIOSPAIN 2023, the edition with the most potential in its 20-year history

Barcelona, ​​January 17th, 2023. – The Spanish Association of Biocompanies (AseBio) and Biocat presented this Tuesday BIOSPAIN 2023 at the Barcelona Science Park, in collaboration with the Generalitat de Catalunya and Barcelona City Council. Celebrating just 20 years since the first edition, BIOSPAIN is consolidating itself as an international reference event for the biotechnology sector. The congress constitutes a complete showcase of the potential of this industry and its presence in all areas of society, offering concrete solutions to the new challenges that may arise on a day-to-day basis.

BIOSPAIN 2023 will be held between September 26th and 28th face-to-face in the Catalan capital, the epicenter of biotechnology in Spain. Barcelona has been chosen as the venue for this congress since, as reflected in the AseBio 2021 Report, Barcelona and Catalonia lead the international rankings in the number of startups, scientific publications or clinical trials, among others, in addition to having recognized centers research and hospitals. Also, according to this document, the territory brings together 45% of the total turnover of the sector in Spain.

"The biotech startups and scaleups established in Catalonia have once again stood out in 2022 as one of the most attractive segments for venture capital and have broken investment records this year", explained Robert Fabregat, CEO of Biocat, who, in addition , has advanced from a close of 2022 "extraordinary and above expectations taking into account the international context" in terms of operations and investments. The director of Biocat took the opportunity to remind that, during the presentation of the 2022 BioRegion Report on next February 13, the total investment received in 2022 will be announced, as well as the most relevant indicators of the ecosystem of life and health sciences in Catalonia.

For his part, the Secretary of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat of Catalonia and CEO of ACCIÓ, Albert Castellanos i Maduell, has assured that "the holding of events like BIOSPAIN in Barcelona highlight why we have consolidated as one of the major drivers of the biotechnology sector in Europe. This year's edition will be highly strategic to promote a key sector for our economy and society, which is the backbone of much of our country's innovation and technological development and which is a great bridge of connection between the field of research and the business fabric".

For this reason, holding the event in Barcelona will provide an impetus to position the Spanish biotech sector on the global agenda and for 2023, which urgently needs innovative solutions to build a more sustainable and resilient economic model.

As expressed by Fèlix Ortega, general director of Barcelona Activa, Barcelona City Council, "A sector such as life sciences and health (and especially biopharma or 'biotech') is one of those that attract the most investment, but above all from which invests more in R&D at European level. Some of these leading companies are part of our industrial fabric, promoting quality employment and the administrations - including the local ones - must accompany the growth of this sector with policies of effective support. And Barcelona City Council is fully committed to technological and scientific innovation, to innovation in health and sustainability." 
 

 
Ion Arocena, CEO of AseBio, Albert Castellanos, Secretary of Business and Competitiveness | CEO of ACCIÓ, Generalitat de Catalunya, Ana Polanco, president of AseBio, Fèlix Ortega, Director General of Barcelona Activa, Barcelona City Council, Generalitat de Catalunya and Robert Fabregat, director general of Biocat 

 

 
Robert Fabregat, CEO of Biocat 
 

 
Paula Olazábal, partner and D&I Officer of Ysios Capital, Laura Soucek, CEO of Peptomyc, Ion Arocena, CEO of AseBio and Richard Borreani, Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability of Bayer Hispania 
 

Challenges of the biotech sector in a context of crisis 
 

Biotechnology has shown in times as hard as the pandemic that it can offer real solutions to problems that can arise suddenly and in areas as vital as health.

In this 2023 edition, one of the objectives is to show that, in addition to continuing to work to deal with health challenges such as antimicrobial resistance or the aging of the population, the biotech industry is also working to deal with change climate, a fundamental aspect of our daily life, thanks to the development of more resistant and sustainable crops, new sources of protein or alternatives to fossil fuels, among others. All this with the firm aim of moving towards the green transition.

In the words of Ana Polanco, president of AseBio, faced with this context of crisis and uncertainty, biotechnology "brings and will bring progress. BIOSPAIN 2023 will be a showcase and a key moment to promote the work of a strategic sector for the construction of a new, more sustainable and resilient economic model.” For this reason, Polanco has considered that this edition will be "like no other" and that there is an urgent need for "commitment with the science and innovation of biotechnology companies".

Paula Olazábal, Partner and D&I Officer of Ysios Capital, also participated during this BIOSPAIN 2023 presentation event; Laura Soucek, CEO of Peptomyc and Richard Borreani, Director of Public Affairs and Sustainability of Bayer Hispania, in a round table moderated by Ion Arocena, CEO of AseBio. In this space, the participants have pointed out the importance of BIOSPAIN, as well as the good expectations they have regarding the celebration of this new edition in 2023.

BIOSPAIN: Business Opportunity 

BIOSPAIN is one of the sector's leading events at European level. It brings together more than 850 innovative entities working in the fields of health, sustainable agri-food and industrial transformation to find solutions against climate change. In previous editions, more than 1,500 professionals from 30 different countries have attended, and the event has had more than 200 exhibitors and more than 50 national and international investors. All this, added to the strategic enclave that is Barcelona, ​​with a great capacity to attract international companies, will favor new business opportunities in the sector, helping participating companies or those in the process of creation, to explore new ways of business, as confirmed by the speakers of the day.

AseBio and Biocat are very clear that biotechnology still has a lot to contribute and even more so in a context like the one we live in now. For this reason, the celebration of BIOSPAIN 2023, thanks to the joining of forces between companies and/or professionals and the impetus of innovation, science and collaboration, can foster new ideas and opportunities to fulfill a common goal: to improve people's lives and protect the planet at the hands of Spanish biotechnology.