10 proposals to strengthen the BioRegion of Catalonia over the coming years

How can the BioRegion of Catalonia transform its scientific, clinical, business and investment strengths into sustained growth and greater impact on people’s health? This was one of the issues addressed during the round table with business associations organised as part of the presentation of the 2025 BioRegion of Catalonia Report.

This reflection takes on special relevance this year, coinciding with the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Biocat and the BioRegion of Catalonia. Based on the challenges chapter included in the sector report and the contributions shared by business associations, ten proposals are put forward to strengthen the sector over the coming years, with a focus on international competitiveness, business growth, access of innovation to the health system, and economic and environmental sustainability.

“The proposals put forward by Biocat and the associations share the same goal: to overcome the obstacles that still limit competitiveness, the growth of the business sector and the arrival of innovation in the health system. In the year of the 20th anniversary of Biocat and the BioRegion, these proposals allow us to look to the future with a shared agenda and with the ambition of multiplying the economic and social impact of the ecosystem,” says Robert Fabregat, CEO of Biocat.

The 10 proposals to strengthen the BioRegion of Catalonia over the coming years

1. Promote an incentive-based, stable and predictable tax framework

One of the most widely shared proposals is to move towards an internationally competitive tax framework, with clear, agile incentives adapted to the different players and areas of health innovation. The aim is to strengthen investment in R&D&I and attract capital and business activity.
This proposal is linked to a concern expressed by Farmaindustria during the round table: “One of the things that concerns us most is the transformation and geopolitical dynamism we are seeing at the moment, as well as the data showing that Europe is losing competitiveness.” In this context, the business association argues for the need to review the instruments available to attract investment: “We need to rethink how we do this and what kind of incentives we put in place pragmatically to attract this investment in a competitive world.”
The proposal is also linked to Catalonia.health, which highlights the growing role of venture capital and the need to continue attracting investment to consolidate business growth.

2. Strengthen strategic sovereignty and industrial resilience

Another proposal is to promote the local production of medicines, therapies and health technologies through measures that support new plants and the expansion of existing ones, prioritising areas such as bioproduction, advanced manufacturing, advanced therapies, diagnostics and medical technologies.
Fenin Catalunya stresses the importance of consolidating the health sector as an industrial sector and economic driver: “We have managed to make Catalonia’s health sector the country’s third-largest economy and, moreover, to ensure that we are truly seen as an industrial sector.”
The same organisation argues for the need to continue attracting productive investments and strengthening the sector’s industrial base: “We are able to constantly bring in new investments, of course in research, but also in machinery, factories and attracting talent that becomes established in Catalonia.”

3. Establish stable funding to adopt innovation

Finally, the proposal is to establish a stable and recurring fund or budget line to finance the purchase, implementation and scale-up of high-value solutions beyond pilots, European projects or local initiatives. Resources should be allocated according to health outcomes, clinical and systemic impact, cost-effectiveness and sustainability, incorporating value-based procurement models and interregional collaboration mechanisms.
The proposal is linked to the need to transform the ecosystem’s potential into sustained growth and effective adoption of innovations. On this point, Catalonia.health highlights the role that different sources of funding are already playing in this maturation: “What has been achieved [in investment in health startups and scaleups in Catalonia in 2025] is a major milestone, but beyond the figure itself, we need to analyse what lies behind it, because ultimately it is the record level of grants secured, the growing role of Venture Capital…”.

4. Strengthen validation, certification, assessment and market access capacities

Another line of action is to strengthen capacities for clinical validation, certification, assessment and market access for medical technologies and digital health, in order to overcome the bottlenecks that hinder their development, adoption and scale-up.
It would be necessary to facilitate validation in real-world settings, improve coordination among the stakeholders involved and assess, if legally and operationally feasible, the promotion of a notified body.
The proposal reflects the concern of Catalonia.health and Fenin Catalunya that the scientific and technological potential and the investment raised should translate into growth and scalability. In this regard, Catalonia.health highlights that the evolution of companies towards later rounds shows the maturation of the ecosystem: “If we also add to this the data that has been shared on the progression rate of companies to later rounds, which is also above the European average, I think it demonstrates the growth potential and the solid step the ecosystem is taking.”

5. Consolidate a coordinated Catalan model for the development of advanced therapies

In the field of advanced therapies, the proposal is to consolidate a coordinated Catalan model that brings together existing capacities, infrastructures and services, avoids duplication and completes the insufficient links in the value chain. The model should facilitate translation, GMP manufacturing, the transition from academic to industrial capacities, scale-up, regulation, clinical trials and patient access to these medicines.

6. Accelerate access to and responsible secondary use of health data

Another proposal is to accelerate the operational rollout of the European Health Data Space and the mechanisms for accessing health data in Catalonia, especially through the Health Data Access Body for Secondary Use (ODAS). Clear governance, timelines, procedures and predictable access criteria must be established, while ensuring interoperability, data quality, legal certainty and responsible secondary use.
Farmaindustria points to the use of data as an opportunity that is still not being fully leveraged: “Technology is an opportunity. We believe that the opportunity around data and making decisions with data that allow us to be efficient is an opportunity that, with a bit of self-criticism, I think we are somewhat failing to seize.”

7. Deploy a strategy for healthcare, scientific, technological and entrepreneurial talent

In terms of talent, the proposal is to deploy a strategy coordinated with existing initiatives and aimed at training and consolidating hybrid profiles capable of working across clinical practice, data, regulation, technology, business, transfer and implementation.
The strategy should include career pathways, incentives, accreditation, recognition and mechanisms for attracting, retaining and developing professionals. The availability of specialised talent is a necessary condition for the BioRegion of Catalonia to consolidate new industrial capacities, scale innovative companies and facilitate the adoption of high-value solutions within the health system.

8. Create a Catalan fast track pathway for strategic innovations

It is also proposed to explore the creation of a Catalan fast track pathway for strategic, high-impact innovations, with clear criteria for eligibility, assessment, funding, implementation and scale-up.
The pathway should combine agility and rigour, and prioritise solutions according to clinical value, organisational impact, cost-effectiveness, health outcomes and the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the system.
 

9. Promote a 2030 Strategic Framework for Health Innovation

The proposal also includes promoting a 2030 Strategic Framework for Health Innovation, in line with European priorities and with the capacity to align government departments, public administrations and ecosystem stakeholders.
This framework should establish shared priorities, clear governance, resources, instruments, indicators and monitoring mechanisms. The proposal responds to the need to better coordinate the policies and initiatives that affect health innovation, especially in an ecosystem with a high density of scientific, clinical, business and institutional stakeholders.
 

10. Generate, assess and validate evidence in real-world settings

The system should be provided with more resources and instruments to generate, assess and validate evidence in real-world settings, through pilots, testing spaces, sandboxes or testbeds linked to assessment criteria and a subsequent decision. Each project should have a clear pathway towards adoption, scale-up, procurement or discontinuation, in order to bridge the gap between proof of concept and the effective incorporation of innovation into the health system.

The ten proposals presented point to the same idea: the BioRegion of Catalonia has reached a level of scientific, clinical, business and investment maturity that opens up a new stage. The challenge is no longer only to generate knowledge and innovation, but to ensure that this innovation can be validated, scaled up, brought to market and incorporated into the health system with real impact.