Barcelona, next venue of the international biotechnology conference BIOSPAIN 2023
AseBio, in collaboration with Biocat, Generalitat de Catalunya and Barcelona City Council, will hold one of the most important international meetings of biotechnology in southern Europe at Fira de Barcelona.
In its 10th edition, the event plans to bring together in September 2023 more than 1,500 professionals from more than 850 entities and 30 countries, who work in health, agri-food and solutions for a more sustainable industry.
The BioRegió de Catalunya leads the state biotechnological ecosystem both in terms of the number of biotechnological companies and in the volume of turnover and in attracting international investment.
The Spanish Association of Biocompanies (AseBio) announces this Tuesday that BIOSPAIN, one of the largest international biotechnology events in southern Europe, will take place from September 26 to 28, 2023 in Barcelona thanks to a coordinated collaboration with Biocat, Generalitat de Catalunya and Barcelona City Council.
For Robert Fabregat, general director of Biocat, the selection of Barcelona as the next seat of BIOSPAIN "confirms the strategic position of the capital of Catalonia as one of the main cities on the map of life sciences and health meetings in Europe". In this sense, he adds, "Barcelona and Catalonia lead the international rankings in the number of startups, scientific publications or clinical trials, among others, in addition to having renowned research centers and hospitals, which, together with entrepreneurial talent and business, they set up a very competitive ecosystem both nationally and internationally".
Indeed, according to advanced data from the annual study carried out by AseBio on the biotechnology sector, in 2021 Catalonia will once again lead the number of 'biotech' companies, with more than 24% of the total number of companies and more than 45% of the total turnover at the state level. Catalonia also has the companies with the highest average turnover in a strategic sector for the economy of the state as a whole, to which it contributes 0.91% of GDP.
Catalonia also stands out for exporting more than 50% of state health and life sciences products or concentrating 50% of the pharmaceutical industry. In other subsectors that emerged more recently, such as digital health, Catalonia has experienced exponential growth, multiplying the number of companies tenfold since 2010 (currently exceeding 200) and doubling investment since 2017.
As a whole, the BioRegion of Catalonia is made up of more than 1,300 companies and 91 research institutions that - together with health services - generate 8.7% of Catalonia's GDP and employ almost 9% of the employed population .
"Strengthening the biotechnology sector is a priority of the Government of Catalonia. We want it to continue growing and for the BioRegió to consolidate itself as the sector's reference in southern Europe. Holding this event in Barcelona is a strategic step in this direction and is consistent with the weight of the industry, turnover, exports or the ability to attract foreign investment from our country", underlines Roger Torrent, Business Councilor and Government Work.
A leading congress in Europe
“Per nosaltres és un plaer celebrar la propera edició de BIOSPAIN a Barcelona per seguir la tendència de creixement i consolidació que hem presenciat al nostre sector aquests darrers dos anys. De nou, aquest any hem marcat un rècord en inversió privada amb un augment del 20% i seguim al punt de mira dels actors internacionals. La nostra col·laboració amb Catalunya marcarà abans i després per a la biotecnologia al sud d'Europa”, assegura Ana Polanco, presidenta d'AseBio, principal organitzador de l'esdeveniment.
BIOSPAIN is one of the leading congresses in Europe that brings together more than 850 innovative entities working in health, sustainable agri-food and solutions against climate change. This event is attended by more than 1,500 professionals from 30 countries and has more than 200 exhibitors and more than 50 investors. AseBio expects to hold more than 3,500 one-to-one meetings during these days. The main objective of this event - made up of several days - is to promote innovation, investment, collaboration and new business opportunities.
"Barcelona is making a commitment to the economy oriented towards knowledge and science, to generate activities with more added value and also to facilitate the attraction of talent and the capture of new investments, positioning the city as a recognized scientific and technological hub internationally In this line is the impetus we are giving to scientific and technological startups through measures such as the Barcelona Deep Tech Node program, and for this reason we also celebrate that an event of the relevance of BIOSPAIN has chosen Barcelona as its headquarters its next edition. That professionals from the global scientific ecosystem want to come to the city is proof that Barcelona's economic strategy is working", points out Jaume Collboni, first deputy mayor for Economy, Work, Competitiveness and Finance of the City Council of Barcelona.
"For us it is a pleasure to celebrate the next edition of BIOSPAIN in Barcelona to follow the trend of growth and consolidation that we have witnessed in our sector these last two years. Again, this year we set a record in private investment with an increase of 20% and we are still in the crosshairs of international players. Our collaboration with Catalonia will set a precedent for biotechnology in southern Europe", says Ana Polanco, president of AseBio, main organizer of the event.
