MedCity visits Barcelona to discover strength of its life sciences and healthcare ecosystem first hand
A delegation from MedCity, the organization that represents London’s life sciences cluster, visited Barcelona to get first hand insight into the assets that make the Catalan capital a leading hub for healthcare and innovation. The mission gave them the chance to explore more than 30 infrastructures, hubs, research centers, hospitals and companies in the sector. Biocat facilitated the visit, helping connect the delegation with the Catalan ecosystem.
This week, Barcelona welcomed a delegation from MedCity, the organization that represents London’s life sciences cluster and acts as a cohesive voice for the sector in the British capital. Supported by the Mayor of London, MedCity works to showcase the strengths of its ecosystem and support companies in the sector in getting established there, growing, connecting and finding partnership opportunities.
The mission, which took place from March 23 to 26, combined two parallel but closely connected lines of work. On one hand, the delegation from Grow London Global (GLG) focused on SMEs and companies with high growth potential, led by Senior Trade Manager for the Life Sciences Rikesh Patel. On the other, the MedCity ecosystem delegation, led by Senior Investment Manager for the Life Sciences Wael Muselmani. The visit aimed to give participants first hand knowledge of the Barcelona life sciences and healthcare ecosystem, its facilities, innovation spaces and model for connecting research, care, business and investment. In this context, Biocat played a facilitating role, helping shape the agenda and connect the delegation with some of the main stakeholders in the sector in Catalonia.
The official program kicked off with an institutional session at the British Consulate and an introductory welcome at ACCIÓ. This was followed by a presentation on the Catalan ecosystem, with Biocat sharing the main indicators for the BioRegion of Catalonia from the recently released Report. In the words of Howard Dawber OBE, Deputy Mayor for Business and Chair of London & Partners: “London is open for business. We want to be partners with places like Barcelona. As global hubs, we have very complementary economies, particularly in life sciences, and there is a real opportunity to strengthen existing relationships and collaborate even further". The first day concluded with an immersion at the Barcelona Health Hub, where the delegation also got to learn about corporate initiatives linked to this environment, like Siemens Healthineers.
The second day continued with visits to some of the sector’s key assets in the city and its metropolitan area. These included AstraZeneca and Hospital Clinic Barcelona, as well as the Barcelona Science Innovation District (SID), where Bayer and the Health BioCluster/IDIBELL environment presented their projects and initiatives. The day ended at Norrsken Barcelona, which has become a key meeting point for innovation and entrepreneurship.
The delegation also got the chance to visit leading science and technology facilities like the Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) and Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC), and to take part in a session on investment and the financial environment with Asabys Capital.
In the final stage of the visit, the focus shifted to large corporations and innovative companies in a session at CBRE Barcelona featuring Almirall, Grifols, Sanitas, Deepull Diagnostics, Inbrain Neuroelectronics, SpliceBio, Top Doctors, Qida, Teladoc and more. The program also included a session featuring Sony AI and a meeting with Almirall.
In total, the mission showcased more than 30 facilities, hubs, research centers, hospitals and companies in the sector.
According to Grow London Global Senior Trade Manager for the Life Sciences Rikesh Patel, “Barcelona is not only a key hub for accessing the Catalan and Spanish markets, but also an important gateway to opportunities around Europe.” In this regard, he highlighted that this environment is particularly attractive for London-based life sciences SMEs with high growth potential, interested in showcasing their innovative solutions and finding strategic collaborations.
Additionally, Wael Muselmani from MedCity explained, “The aim of the visit was to offer an immersive experience of Barcelona’s life sciences ecosystem, showcasing its world class facilities, innovation hubs and collaborative culture.” According to Muselmani, the mission also allowed them to analyze the factors behind Barcelona’s success in attracting research funding and investment, identify relevant lessons for London’s clusters and lay the groundwork for potential partnerships and future collaborations.