With three months until the end of 2020, the life sciences and healthcare sector in Catalonia is flexing its muscles, in spite of expectations it would be a challenging year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Start-ups in this ecosystem, the most dynamic in Spain and one of the most active in southern Europe, have managed to raise €120 million in investment, well above the previous record from 2019, which was €112 million. This data is from the BioRegion of Catalonia Life Sciences and Healthcare Outlook 2020 - Challenges Ahead, the report presented today by Biocat and CataloniaBio & HealthTech.
The president of the Government of Catalonia, Quim Torra, presided the presentation of the report (a few hours before its disqualification). "Probably no human activity brings us as much light at the moment as research and innovation in the life sciences and health. Thanks to the whole sector. Is clear that it can be one of the most strategic biomedical hubs on the continent. It is one of the great strengths of Catalonia", he said.
1 in 4 rounds have had foreign participation
The main driving force for this growth has been venture capital with international participation, mainly from Europe and the United States, which is up 67.1% to over €50 million for the first time. According to the Financial TimesfDi Markets databases, Catalonia has been the southern European region with the most foreign investment since 2016, which can be seen in the pool of specialized investors that co-invest with international investors.
Potential of a sector that is a driving force for innovation
As Biocat CEO Jordi Naval highlighted, these indicators show that “Covid-19 has only accentuated the importance of a crucial sector that is a driving force for innovation in Catalonia.” He also added, “we have to launch actions and mechanisms to maximize the assets in our research and innovation system, which are extremely competitive. In five to ten years, we can be one of the main European biotech hubs.”
For her part, Judit Anido, president of CataloniaBio & HealthTech and general manager of Mosaic Biomedicals, noted that "the sector’s success is based on a research model of excellence, education, entrepreneurship and innovation, and we have to take measures so we don’t drop down the European innovation ranking". Barcelona is the European city most chosen by start-ups, after London and Berlin, and is fifth in venture capital attracted by biotech companies.
Cutting-edge research
One of the main assets that channels investment towards the ecosystem is the quality of its research. Researchers in Catalonia have been awarded over one hundred European Research Council (ERC) grants, more than countries with similar populations and GDPs like Finland and Denmark and nearly on par with Austria.
A total of 41 therapies are in the clinical phase in Catalonia. Furthermore, Catalonia is ranked among the top 15 globally and the top 10 in Europe in volume of clinical trials, with 776 active studies in 2019. In 2020, 82 trials began in the field of Covid-19, more than half of the Spanish total (159).
A rich ecosystem
Catalonia has 1,200 companies working in the life sciences and healthcare sector and nearly one hundred research institutions. 98% of this ecosystem is located in the Barcelona metropolitan area. The life sciences and healthcare sector makes up 7.3% of the GDP and employs 230,000 people.
50% of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry is located in Catalonia, which gave rise largest companies, including Grifols, Almirall, Ferrer, Esteve and Reig Jofre.
Despite the positive evolution of the indicators, the report also stresses the importance of looking at some of the challenges the ecosystem will have to tackle in order to boost its impact on the economy and its role as a driving force for innovation. One of the measures proposed is eliminating fiscal barriers and creating tools that guarantee public investment in proof of concept, in order to attract more foreign investment.
Report will be available on 29 September on the Biocat and CataloniaBio & HealthTech websites.
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