Healthcare Investment Forum Barcelona marks 35th edition with launch of new investor network

In 2025, Healthcare Investment Forum Barcelona hit a significant milestone: its 35th edition. The latest event, held on 30 October at the Barcelona Medical Association (CoMB), once again consolidated its position as a key meeting point for innovation and knowledge transfer in Catalonia’s life sciences and healthcare sector. 

The session opened with remarks from the organizers’ institutional representatives: Participants included CoMB Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Georgina Sorrosal, Barcelona Activa Director of Business Services Juan Baselga, Biocat Director of Innovation and Business Development Núria Martí, and EIT Health Public Affairs and Stakeholder Relations Lead Ángeles Barrios. Martí highlighted the strategic role of forums like this one in “identifying and showcasing the sector’s entrepreneurial talent, facilitating their access to early-stage funding, and promoting investment aligned with today’s healthcare challenges.” 

Six startups selected by an expert committee pitched their projects to an audience of investors, entrepreneurship support organizations and industry representatives:

• Telara Pharma has developed a therapy based on cilastatin (a neuroprotective compound administered as eye drops) to treat glaucoma.
• Miwendo has created an endoscopy accessory medical device that automatically detects polyps or lesions in the colon in real time to improve colorectal cancer diagnosis.
• Succipro has designed a therapy aimed at modulating succinate to treat metabolic and inflammatory diseases like inflammatory bowel disease.
• Neomente has implemented software to support clinical decision-making in the field of mental health that integrates genetic, blood and clinical parameters to help choose the best pharmacological treatment for each patient.
• Debios Diagnostic has produced a diagnostic kit that detects the degree of kidney fibrosis from a urine sample, facilitating diagnosis of chronic kidney disease.
• Violet Pharmaceuticals has designed an mRNA-based nanotherapy for metastatic cancers, initially focused on breast cancer, that enhances the efficacy of approved immunotherapies.

MedAngels: a new network of doctors investing in healthcare

Some of the biggest news this edition was the presentation of the MedAngels initiative, a new investor network promoted by CoMB. The project invites doctors and healthcare professionals to play an active role in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by contributing funding and expertise to early-stage healthcare startups. Membership is free and open to all on the CoMB website. 

The event also spotlighted two promising entrepreneurial initiatives still in development but with great potential: Foresee, a remote monitoring system for patients with heart failure, and Brainmapp, a digital tool for intraoperative brain mapping. 

The day finished off with a networking session that allowed entrepreneurs and investors to exchange insights and forge new connections within the healthcare innovation community.