BioRegion of Catalonia startups and scaleups that marked 2025

ABLE Human Motion, a company specializing in robotic exoskeletons for neurorehabilitation, was recognized twice at the 2025 EIT Awards, winning the EIT Venture Award and the EIT Public Award and consolidating its place as a European benchmark in assistive medical technology. Plus, the company also stood out this year for rolling out six neuromuscular rehabilitation exoskeletons in the Catalan healthcare system, with guidance from the Biocat PASS and CRAASH Barcelona programs.
 

Biotechnology company ADmit Therapeutics, a spinoff of Hospital Clinic–IDIBAPS, reached a major milestone in obtaining CE-IVDR validation for its MAP-AD® blood test, an innovative tool that predicts progression towards Alzheimer. At the same time, the company launched the test’s pre-commercial phase, a decisive step that opens up new opportunities for early diagnosis and clinical management of neurodegenerative diseases.

US-based multinational corporation BioIVT acquired BeCytes Biotechnologies, a spinoff of the University of Barcelona (UB) specializing in biobanks and cellular models. The transaction, which keeps the company and its operations at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), is particularly significant and reinforces Catalonia’s role as a hub for generating high value biomedical technology that can attract global market interest and investment. BeCytes Biotechnologies also inaugurated a new laboratory this year to accelerate production of in vitro cellular models.

This year, Inbiomotion, the IRB Barcelona spinoff successfully brought its MAF Test® to the hospital market. This groundbreaking test allows doctors to predict metastasis risk in patients with breast cancer and personalize oncology treatment. Already adopted by public and private centers in Barcelona and Madrid and marketed in several European countries, the test helps identify which patients could benefit from treatment with bisphosphonates while avoiding unnecessary therapies. 

Integra Therapeutics, a spinoff of IRB Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), led a groundbreaking advance published in Nature Biotechnology. For the first time, this study used artificial intelligence to design synthetic proteins capable of editing the human genome more efficiently than natural proteins, putting the company at the forefront of the sector globally.

Digital health company Methinks, which specializes in artificial intelligence for stroke diagnosis, forged the most notable strategic alliance in Catalonia’s healthcare sector in 2025 in an agreement with multinational corporation Medtronic. This collaboration seeks to integrate the Methinks AI technology into clinical workflows to improve early stroke detection, positioning the company as a key player in the digital transformation of neurology on an international level.

Minoryx Therapeutics, a biotechnology company focused on minority diseases of the central nervous system, received a €26.9 million grant in 2025 under the Important Project of Common European Interest (IPCEI) Med4Cure framework promoted by the European Commission to advance health research and innovation. This contribution from the European program was the most significant injection of public funding into the BioRegion of Catalonia in 2025.

Oxolife co-founder and CEO Agnès Arbat was awarded the 2025 European Prize for Women Innovators, recognizing her career in developing therapies to improve fertility and pregnancy in women with reproductive challenges.

Peptomyc, spinoff of the Vall d’Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) and Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) began a Phase 2 clinical trial this year on its innovative drug OMO-103, targeting MYC to treat advanced osteosarcoma. This is one of the most important clinical development milestones in the ecosystem in 2025, consolidating Peptomyc as an emerging oncology benchmark in Europe. Plus, this year Dr. Laura Soucek, co-founder of the company, received the City of Barcelona Award in the Life Sciences for the paper “MYC targeting by OMO-103 in solid tumors: a phase 1 trial”.

ReproNovo, an Austrian biotechnology company that specializes in reproductive health, announced it will open a subsidiary in Barcelona after raising €58 million in funding. The company has chosen the Catalan ecosystem as its base to launch clinical trials on its two fertility drugs, leveraging local expertise and the region’s strong hospital network.

SpliceBio closed a $135 million (€118 million) Series B round, the largest ever in the sector in Catalonia and Spain, which will allow them to advance clinical development of SB-007, a gene therapy for Stargardt disease. The funding will support the Phase 1/2 ASTRA clinical trial, launched this year, as well as the POLARIS observational study. SB-007 is the first gene therapy of its kind authorized by the FDA to enter the clinical phase for this indication. The company also received the European Lifestars Award for Best Series B round and was nominated for Biotech of the Year, consolidating its international projection.

The Blue Box Biomedical Solutions was awarded an EmprendeXXI Award for the startup with the most potential in Catalonia. The award, promoted by CaixaBank, ACCIÓ, Barcelona Activa, Tech Barcelona and Enisa, recognizes high potential entrepreneurial projects. Although currently in the development and certification phase, this device for early detection of breast cancer in urine samples continues to draw strong interest.

Vytrus Biotech, a company specializing in plant based active ingredients for cosmetics and health, announced it will invest €3.5 million to build a new 1,600 m² production plant in Terrassa between November 2025 and late 2026. The project will triple the company’s production capacity and bolster its international projection.