Going from strength to strength

The recent release of the latest BioRegion Report brought with it some very welcome news for Catalonia, as the autonomous northeastern region of Spain consolidated its place as one of the country’s main drivers of innovation and economic and social development, with record investment in healthcare startups and scaleups. The report also stated that other indicators like exports, foreign investment, scientific publications, and participation in clinical trials are all up, making Catalonia, particularly Barcelona, one of the most competitive biotech hubs in Europe.

“Catalonia’s biotech sector is experiencing significant momentum, with strong investment activity, a robust pipeline of innovative technologies, and an expanding presence in global markets,” commented Maite Malet, an investor with Asabys Partners, a venture capital (VC) firm based in Barcelona.

In this article, we take a deeper look at Catalonia’s burgeoning biotech sector and overall life sciences hub, including the key drivers behind its success and the central role of Barcelona in its growth.

Strong investment activity: A key driver behind Catalonia’s biotech success

Naturally, strong investment activity is generally what drives any successful biotech sector. Fortunately, Catalonia has this in abundance. This can be seen in the fact that, despite a difficult geopolitical and economic context, healthcare startups and scaleups in the region secured almost €350 million ($379 million) in 2024 – the second-highest figure it has ever recorded. 

“Catalonia benefits from a mature investment environment, with increasing participation from both national and international venture capital firms,” said Malet. “The region’s ability to attract global players, whether through partnerships, foreign direct investment, or acquisitions, continues to fuel its growth as a biotech hub.”

VC is the primary source of investment for startups and scaleups in Catalonia. Last year, this type of funding contributed nearly €278 million ($300 million) to the sector, making up 80% of the total amount of investment put into these companies. According to the BioRegion report, the amount contributed here is an increase from the previous year, largely thanks to renewed interest from international investment firms, of which there are now more than 150, mainly from Europe and the U.S. In fact, 75% of private capital in 2024 included international investment.

On a national level, Malet pointed to Asabys as being a key player in helping to spin off several companies, including biotech companies Ona Therapeutics, INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, ALLOx, and Nuage, from research centers such as the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB), the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA). These companies have raised more than €100 million ($108 million) between them, attracting investors such as Sofinnova Partners, Merck, and Novartis Venture Fund, among others.

The second source of funding for startups after VC investment in 2024 was competitive grants, which also significantly helped to scale up entrepreneurial projects in healthcare, contributing €55 million in total. 

Meanwhile, when looking at the investment landscape in Catalonia by subsector, the majority of the investment last year went toward medtech companies, mainly due to the megaround by dental health startup Impress. Investment in biotech firms was also a popular trend, as companies in the sector received a total of €143 million ($155 million) from investors, which was slightly more than the previous year. Comparatively, digital health dropped nearly 40% from 2023.

It is also worth noting that companies that apply artificial intelligence (AI) to healthcare have been attracting a lot of investment recently. There are 155 life sciences companies working with the technology in Catalonia, 112 of which are startups and scaleups that between them received €347 million ($376.66 million) in funding in 2024, representing 51% of the total investment brought in by startups and scaleups as a whole. This comes off the back of the local government’s push to promote AI with initiatives such as the Catalonia.AI strategy, which emphasizes the development of AI technology and its ethical application, fostering economic growth, and improving quality of life.

The BioRegion report states that other key indicators that show Catalonia’s life sciences ecosystem’s scalability are the number of investment operations between €4 million ($4.34 million) and €50 million ($54.27 million), which continues to grow; the number of Catalan companies acquired or licensed, which saw an all-time high of 11 last year, and merger and acquisition (M&A) activity. 

It also helps that Catalonia ranks as the third European Union (EU) region to attract the most EU funding for research and innovation projects during the first half of the current framework program, Horizon Europe 2021-2027. The region received a total €1.015 billion ($1.10 billion) in competitive EU funding over the first three years of the program, representing 3.54% of the total European funds and twice what would be expected for Catalonia based on population size. Many sectors will have certainly benefited from this funding, including the life sciences and biotech sector in Catalonia. 

The Catalonia BioRegion: A “mature” sector with strong competition and business activity

As well as a flurry of investment activity, the 2024 BioRegion report points out that Catalonia now has a very mature life sciences sector, making up 7.6% of Catalonia’s gross domestic product (GDP). The region exports more than 40% and imports more than 32% of Spain’s life sciences and healthcare products, giving it the second largest foreign trade volume in this arena of any autonomous community. 

The region is also home to 1,500 life sciences companies, 90% of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. Furthermore, the competition for talent is extremely high, and the sector currently employs more than 280,000 people in Catalonia, which equates to 7.3% of the working population. 

One of the reasons it is full of local talent is due to its longstanding position in the pharma industry. This, along with the fact that it is constantly welcoming new international innovation centers and multinational corporations – mainly in the Barcelona metropolitan area, where 23 new hubs have been created in recent years – has made Catalonia the home for nearly half of the pharmaceutical industry in Spain, including companies like AstraZeneca, which led in foreign direct investment and job creation in 2024 for the second year in a row. 

Catalonia: A world leader in clinical trial participation and research

Along with Spain as a whole, Catalonia is a world leader in clinical trial participation, ranking fifth in Europe and eighth in the world. In fact, 87% of all active clinical trials carried out in Spain take place in Catalan centers. According to the BioRegion report, the pharmaceutical industry is the main driver of this activity, promoting nearly 80% of all trials in Catalonia.

In terms of the main clinical areas for these trials, oncology is the leading area of research and accounted for 32% of the trials in 2024. There was also significant growth last year in clinical trials on metabolic diseases, mental health, and hematology.

Meanwhile, the impact of research on patients can be seen in the sector’s pipeline, with 75 therapies being developed in a wide variety of clinical areas, led by oncology, dermatology and minority diseases. Some 65% of these treatments are in advanced phases, approaching commercialization and ready to benefit the wider population. 

Catalonia is also considered one of the main European hubs of health research, with unique capabilities in genomics and structural biology, medical chemistry, nanomedicine, omic sciences, and bioinformatics. Research in oncology, in particular, really stands out, with a wide range of capacities from basic to clinical research, and Catalan hospitals are considered to be benchmarks in treating cancer. 

The BioRegion’s research institutions have played a pivotal role in boosting the life sciences and health sector. Between 2014 and 2023, Catalonia ranked fifth in Europe in scientific publications (54,460) and first in percentage of Highly Cited Papers (3.15%).

“This strong academic foundation, combined with well-established technology transfer mechanisms, has led to the creation of a dynamic ecosystem where cutting-edge discoveries are rapidly translated into high-potential biotech startups,” said Malet.

She considers Catalonia’s ability to bridge the gap between academia and commercialization as one of the most exciting aspects of the region’s biotech ecosystem. “The region has a strong track record of spinning out high-quality companies from its research institutions, with increasing support from venture capital and corporate partners.”

Catalonia: The standout region for biotech in Spain, with Barcelona at its heart 

In addition to the amount of clinical trials held in Catalonia, the region hosts almost 25% of the total number of biotech companies, making it the clear leader in Spain’s biotech industry, as Madrid comes second with 17.25% of companies. Furthermore, biotech companies in Catalonia contribute toward 35.21% of the total business revenue of the biotech sector in Spain.

“Catalonia and Madrid are the two key drivers of Spain’s biotech sector, with both regions playing a crucial role in advancing life sciences innovation,” explained Malet. “While Madrid has historically led in pharmaceutical exports and corporate headquarters, Catalonia has emerged as a leader in biotech innovation, particularly in synthetic biology, where it is the dominant hub in Spain. The region’s strength in early-stage company creation and its ability to attract international investment set it apart as a key engine of growth within the national biotech landscape.”

According to Malet, Barcelona is the epicenter of biotech activity in Catalonia, thanks to its dense concentration of research institutions, hospitals, and startups. “There were 24 new innovation hubs, 17,500 new jobs created, 2,374 Highly Cited Papers, and 32 patents created in the past year. However, innovation is not limited to the capital. Other areas like Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona are also developing strong biotech ecosystems, particularly in niche areas such as synthetic biology and medical technology.”

Ultimately, Malet believes that the growth of synthetic biology, the expansion of healthtech solutions, and the push toward advanced therapies all point to Catalonia’s potential to not just lead nationally, but to strengthen its position as a leading European biotech hub. 

Robert Fabregat, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Biocat, which works to drive the growth of the life sciences and health innovation ecosystem in Catalonia, said in the BioRegion report press release: “Catalonia’s leadership in high-impact research in healthcare, the competitiveness of our hospitals and research centers, ability to attract top multinational corporations in the sector and the scalability of our startups and scaleups, among others, have made the BioRegion a European benchmark in healthcare innovation.” 

He added: “The goal is clear: to turn scientific advances into real solutions to global challenges that will improve society’s health and wellness.” 

It is fair to say that Catalonia’s life sciences and biotech sectors are certainly doing just that.

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