7 startups and spinoffs from the BioRegion of Catalonia take part in 32nd Barcelona Healthcare Investment Forum
<p>The event, held on March 29, was a meeting point for the entrepreneurial ecosystem and health venture capital managers in Catalonia. Biocat co-organized the event with the Col.legi de Metges de Barcelona (COMB), Barcelona Activa-Barcelona City Council and ESADE-BAN.</p>
The Catalan startups and spinoffs that took part in 32nd Barcelona Healthcare Investment Forum were:
- Medtech: Manina MedTech and Breaz
- Digital: VincerAI and Dana- A thousand colibris
- Biotec: Endolipid Therapeutics, Nanobots Therapeutics and NoctuRNA TX
During the event, the companies got the chance to pitch to venture capital managers in the life sciences and healthcare sector.
- Endolipid Therapeutics: a biotechnology spinoff of the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) that is developing a platform of peptides to reduce ectopic fat. They currently have two peptides in the pipeline, EDL3D for cellulite and EDL6D to treat NASH.
- Nanobots Therapeutics: spinoff created by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) that proposes to develop technology based on nanorobots with unique capacity to penetrate tumors.
- NoctuRNA Therapeutics: : spinoff of the UPF that has developed antivirals based on an RNA platform. These drugs are circular RNA that target RNA structures generated at an unprecedented speed, which allows them to stop viral outbreaks.
- Manina Medtech: startup that has developed an instant test that, paired with artificial intelligence, determines the exact moment when a woman’s uterus is most receptive to embryo implantation, boosting the success rate of the process. The team took part in the Biocat d·HEALTH Barcelona program and the Biocat acceleration program CRAASH Barcelona.
- Breaz: spinoff of the Institute for Health Science Research Germans Trias i Pujol (IGTP) that is developing a fast, precise medical device to improve diagnosis and prognosis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The team took part in the d·HEALTH Barcelona program.
- Vincer AI: spinoff of the UPC Research Center for Biomedical Engineering that has developed a series of tools that can audit and certify AI systems for any health-related application. They took part in the Biocat acceleration program CRAASH Barcelona.
- DANA-A thousand colibrís: startup that offers holistic solutions based on AI for a better start in life by maximizing the health and wellbeing of parents and children.
In recent years, the event has become a benchmark in the Catalan biomedical ecosystem, promoting innovation and entrepreneurship in the community to bridge the gap between entrepreneurs and investors in the healthcare sector.
Biocat CEO Robert Fabregat took part in the event, highlighting in his speech the investment raised by startups and spinoffs in 2022:
“Investment in 2022 surpassed all expectations, a record total of €445 million, with 75% from venture capital and a notable presence of international capital, which in 2022 took part in 56% of all operations. This upward trend in international investment is a sign of the ecosystem’s maturity, both in terms of the solid science and technology of the startups and spinoffs and the talent of their teams, some of which we saw here today in this Forum.”
The startup pitches from this year’s event are available on the Col.legi de Metges de Barcelona YouTube channel, along with those from all the forums held since 2015.