The BioRegion takes over from BIOSPAIN and prepares for the congress’s return to Barcelona in 2027
The thirteenth edition of BIOSPAIN has brought together more than 1,900 professionals from nearly 900 organisations across 32 countries in Bilbao. Biocat and several representatives of the BioRegion of Catalonia have actively participated in the conference programme, which concluded with the symbolic handover to Barcelona, host city of the next edition.
BIOSPAIN 2026 came to a close this Thursday, 1 October, after three days of meetings, sessions and activities at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre. Organised by AseBio, in collaboration with the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, the Basque Government and the Basque Health Cluster, the conference brought together more than 1,900 attendees from nearly 900 organisations across 32 countries.
The event also welcomed 95 investors from 50 national and international investment organisations and generated more than 4,000 one-to-one meetings, consolidating its position as one of Europe’s leading meeting points for the biotechnology sector.
Biocat and the BioRegion take part in key sector discussions
Biocat played a prominent role in the BIOSPAIN 2026 programme, bringing the perspective of the BioRegion of Catalonia to some of the main discussions on the future of biotechnology.
Biocat’s Director of Acceleration and Business Development, Núria Martí, took part in the session Boosting Biotechnology Development Accelerators, focused on the role of acceleration programmes in driving the development of biotechnology projects.
For his part, Biocat’s CEO, Robert Fabregat, moderated a panel on the sustainability of advanced therapies and the criteria that determine which projects secure funding, scale up or are acquired. Fabregat also took part in two sessions focused on the role of clusters in strengthening biotechnology ecosystems and on Spain’s potential in the face of emerging technologies and therapeutic modalities.
The panels also featured significant representation from professionals, companies and investors from the BioRegion, including Laura Rodríguez, from Invivo Partners; Avencia Sánchez Mejías, from Integra Therapeutics; and Montserrat Vendrell, from Asabys Partners.
Barcelona to host BIOSPAIN 2027
The closing session was marked by the announcement of Barcelona as the host city for BIOSPAIN 2027, during a handover ceremony attended by representatives of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, AseBio and Biocat. The next edition will also feature Mexico as guest country.
Representing Catalonia, Robert Fabregat symbolically received the handover from Bilbao and highlighted the opportunity represented by hosting the conference once again: “hosting the next edition of BIOSPAIN will be an exceptional opportunity to showcase the scientific, business and clinical strengths of the BioRegion and to continue connecting research, industry and investment. At Biocat, we are approaching this edition with great enthusiasm and with the ambition of once again making Barcelona and Catalonia a meeting point for biotechnology at both national and international level”, said Biocat’s CEO.
Barcelona will thus once again become the epicentre of BIOSPAIN following the 2025 edition, which brought together more than 2,400 attendees and welcomed 750 participants from more than 300 Catalan companies.
Barcelona’s designation as host city for 2027 comes at a time of growth for the BioRegion of Catalonia, which comprises 1,650 companies and 94 research institutions, according to the 2026 BioRegion of Catalonia Report. In 2025, the sector’s startups and scaleups raised €517 million, the highest investment figure recorded to date. Hosting BIOSPAIN will help showcase these capabilities internationally and strengthen the ecosystem’s connections with companies, investors and innovation stakeholders from around the world.