Connect Health will strengthen the presence of health innovation from Catalonia at MWC Barcelona and 4YFN.
Biocat, along with other organizations in the sector, collaborates on this initiative. Since 2021, Biocat has also brought healthcare innovation to 4YFN through its pavilion, which will return for the next edition.
GSMA and Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) have unveiled Connect Health, a new initiative joining MWC Barcelona and 4YFN to connect clinical and healthcare challenges with the technologies transforming the healthcare sector. The first edition will take place next year at MWC27 (March 1–4, 2027), bringing together healthcare professionals, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, technology firms, startups, investors, policymakers, and researchers.
The event will combine keynote presentations, panel discussions, networking activities, and technology demonstrations. It will have a dedicated space in Hall 7 at MWC Barcelona, featuring two stages, a demonstration area, and meeting spaces. 4YFN will also host dedicated sessions, startups, and networking activities for entrepreneurs, investors, and healthcare innovation professionals.
The initiative will focus on four key areas: healthcare data and artificial intelligence; new models of connected, preventive, and people-centered care; the application of artificial intelligence to research, drug development, and personalized medicine; and health equity, integrated care, digital therapeutics, and healthy aging. Connectivity and the scalability of solutions will be cross-cutting themes.
Featured speakers include Rafael Grossmann, surgeon and digital health pioneer; Lucien Engelen, founder and CEO of Transform.Health; Marlies P. Schijven, professor at the University of Amsterdam and expert in surgery and digital health; and Ricardo Baptista Leite, CEO of HealthAI, the global agency for responsible artificial intelligence in healthcare, among others.
Connect Health is being developed in collaboration with Barcelona City Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Spanish Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration. It is also supported by British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), the Asociación Salud Digital (ASD), AseBio, Biocat, Farmaindustria, Fenin, Fundación IDIS, and TIC Salut Social.
However, this will not be the first dedicated healthcare space at the event. Biocat and the TIC Salut Social Foundation, in collaboration with ACCIÓ and other key stakeholders in Catalonia's healthcare system, will coordinate a new edition of the Catalonia Health Innovation Ecosystem Pavilion. Located in Hall 8.0, the pavilion will once again bring together 16 Catalan startups developing innovative healthcare solutions.