Ecosystem
Picks of December: a great time to raise awareness of femtech firms in the BioRegion of Catalonia
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas... Christmas is just around the corner and we’re about to take some time off after celebrating one of the most active months of the year in terms of funding. These latest operations close the book on investment this year and start the countdown to the presentation of the 2023 BioRegion of Catalonia Report, featuring the main macroeconomic data on the sector, healthcare innovation and investment secured by startups and scaleups in the BioRegion of Catalonia. Don’t miss it! Check out the program and sign up!
- Femtech firms in the BioRegion of Catalonia are ranked fifth among European companies for women’s health. Biocat is working to raise awareness of these companies that are developing solutions to improve the health and wellbeing of the female population, coinciding with the theme of La Marató de 3Cat this year.
- InBrain Neuroelectronics secured €20 million from EIB for R&D in neurotechnology and has announced a round of funding for next year. Another of the big operations this year was also announced this month: SOM Biotech secured €17 million from EIB and Prevail Partners.
- Other operations this month included FreeOx Biotech SL (€1.7 million); Oryzon, with a grant of $500,000 for ORY-4001; and biotech firm Oniria Therapeutics, which received a €335,000 grant through the 2023 Neotec program CDTI Innovation - Center for the Development of Industrial Technology (Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation).
- In news on startups and scaleups in the BioRegion of Catalonia, Inbiomotion closed a deal to market their test in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Zymvol and MJN have been recognized for their innovation by the European Commission.
- Hospital Clinic was named the second best public hospital in Spain by the Health Reputation Monitor. Five of its units are ranked first: Digestive System, General and Digestive Surgery, Hematology, Nephrology and Diagnostic Imaging. Plus, the hospital has announced its new Cancer Institute, which it is kicking off to become a benchmark center and leader in oncology.
- Looking at European grants, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center has secured more NextGenerationEU funds than any other in the sector in Catalonia or Spain. In Catalonia, for all sectors, they are ranked fourth behind TMB, Seat and QEV.
- Also in the news this month was the presentation of the action plan for the Advanced and Emerging Therapies Hub to more than 150 professionals from the sector, explaining the five main directions for positioning the BioRegion of Catalonia in this field internationally.
- In pharma, Amgen has signed a collaboration agreement with PostEra, a biotechnology company based in Boston that specializes in using artificial intelligence to discover new small molecule therapies. Plus, Grifols has been given the go-ahead for a US trial on its oncology drug and Almirall has moved into the RNA business. The Gallardo family, which owns Almirall, announced it is setting up a venture capital fund called Healthgrower.
- Leanbio, a pharmaceutical company that specializes in developing and manufacturing biological and biosimilar drugs, will invest €35 million to build a new factory in Sant Quirze del Vallès.
- Biocat couldn’t miss the celebration of the tenth anniversary of Tech Barcelona and helped organize two sessions on artificial intelligence and healthcare data at Tech Spirit Barcelona 2023.