Picks of June: investment, industrial capacity and transfer drive month of major milestones for BioRegion

Investment was the biggest news in June. Ona Therapeutics closed a €74.2 million Series B round to advance clinical development of its drugs targeting resistant cancers. Capital has also reached earlier stage companies like Aortyx, which closed a €15 million funding round to bolster development of its bioabsorbable patch to treat aortic dissections. Meanwhile, Rob Surgical received €15 million in funding from Scranton to launch its surgical robot. Plus, Indian pharmaceutical company Shilpa Biocare invested 7 million euros in Gate2Brain and acquired 30.4% of the Catalan biotech company; and INBRAIN Neuroelectronics announced it is preparing a €100 million Series C round to accelerate the launch of its graphene based brain implants and advance towards its goal of becoming a company valued at €1 billion.

June also brought significant advances for health startups and scaleups, with CONNECTA Therapeutics beginning a Phase IIa trial on CTH120 in adults with fragile X syndrome. Additionally, AbilityPharma will bring its drug ibrilatazar to a first European clinical trial in children and teens with aggressive solid tumors, following promising results in adults. In women's health, Oriva Therapeutics appointed Agnès Arbat its new CEO and Chief Medical Officer to accelerate development of its treatments for endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

A study by IRB Barcelona and the Barcelona Supercomputing Center published in Nature provides a new perspective on the origin of complex cells. And in the cardiovascular arena, Research Institute of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau (IR Sant Pau) and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Cardiovasculares (CIBERCV) have identified a potential therapeutic target to prevent thrombi with a lower bleeding risk than current antiplatelet agents. Although still in the preclinical research stage, the discovery could pave the way for safer alternatives to aspirin.

As for hospital news and milestones, Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona removed a kidney through a single incision, in the first surgery of its kind in Europe. Also, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital is doing the first research in Europe on a cervical lymphatic-venous bypass intervention in patients in the early stages of the disease, and Vall d'Hebron Hospital has also strengthened its care capacity by inaugurating a new Pediatric Oncohematology Area.

The ecosystem has also strengthened its tools to drive entrepreneurship, talent and innovation adoption. Six new projects have been added in the second call of ATMP Catalyst, the program that supports advanced therapy initiatives in their development and transfer process. Plus, the tenth edition of d·HEALTH Barcelona culminated with its Graduation Day, which highlighted new projects created based on real clinical needs identified during the program. And INNOPASS opened its second call to help innovative solutions reach the Catalan Healthcare System and accelerate their adoption.

In the corporate arena, Ferrer agreed to sell Gelocatil and the rest of its over-the-counter drug portfolio to French company Cooper, an operation that will allow the Catalan company to focus on its priority therapeutic areas. Grifols also announced that it plans to increase its own investment in the project it is working on in Egypt to €225 million, as part of a joint venture that will invest a total of €460 million by 2030. Plus the Towa Pharmaceutical plant in Martorelles received authorization to export medicines to Brazil. Hipra also made headlines for surpassing €500 million for the first time, driven by animal health.

The other major corporate milestone in June was the laying of the cornerstone for the new Grifols plant in Lliçà de Vall, where the company will initially invest €160 million to increase its plasma fractionation capacity by three million liters a year. And not far away, also in the Vallès area, Net-Pharma Barcelona opened its facilities, with 8,000 m2 of offices and laboratories. In Barcelona, Australian multinational CSL inaugurated its new headquarters for Spain and Portugal after integrating CSL Vifor and CSL Behring, reinforcing the Catalan capital as a strategic center for biomedical operations.

The BioRegion's international projection also reached two notable milestones. Firstly, Biocat took part in a high level debate on advanced therapies and clinical trials at the European Parliament, as part of PRECISEU. The meeting conveyed the challenges these treatments face to the European institutions. And, secondly, BIO International Convention 2026 was held this month in San Diego, where the BioRegion of Catalonia once again had a prominent presence at the world's leading gathering of the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry.

To round off the month, an initiative was launched to reduce the environmental impact of the healthcare system. For World Environment Day, the Catalan Institute of Health launched an initiative called "– guants + sostenibles" (fewer gloves, more sustainable), a challenge that encourages not using gloves unless clinically necessary. The ICS estimates that the change could save about 375 tons of CO₂ annually.