InnovationResearch
Picks of October: Clinical Advances, Greater Industrial Capacity and New Research Tools
The BioRegion of Catalonia closes October with a combination of advances in clinical care, business investment and initiatives that strengthen the foundations of research and innovation. The month has seen a European milestone in robotic surgery at Bellvitge, new opportunities to harness health data for research, and industrial developments that expand the manufacturing capacity and international presence of pharmaceutical companies.
- We begin our round-up with investment in Catalonia's health startups and scaleups: Impress has secured €50 million from the EIB, Anaconda Biomed has received €5,201,000 from CDTI Innovation's Innvierte programme, while Flavii Therapeutics, a spin-off from the University of Barcelona (UB), has raised nearly €1 million. Meanwhile, the "la Caixa" Foundation has awarded €32.4 million to 80 biomedical and health projects, 36 of which will be carried out in Catalonia.
- Turning to business developments, Catalan biotechnology company Reveal Genomics, which specialises in genomic testing to personalise breast cancer treatment, has achieved a milestone among Catalan startups: it has been acquired by US company Hologic. Meanwhile, Qiagen has opened a new innovation centre in Esplugues, covering approximately 8,000 square metres, which will support the development of new tests and increase the production capacity of its QIAstat-Dx molecular diagnostics platform. At the same time, the Barcelona Supercomputing Center's AI Factory has launched an acceleration programme for around 100 startups, offering training, mentoring and access to technology.
- Research has provided new tools to understand and anticipate health challenges. An atlas of the 18 main respiratory viruses, developed by researchers from the Government of Catalonia, indicates that SARS-CoV-2 has recorded its highest incidence peaks in recent years during spring and summer, rather than winter, as previously expected. Meanwhile, the CRG will lead research into the factors that cause some cases of influenza to progress to pneumonia.
- In the field of advanced therapies, Histocell and Sant Joan de Déu Hospital have established a partnership to manufacture advanced therapy medicinal products, while the Blood and Tissue Bank (BST) will coordinate a European project to develop an immunotherapy against multiple myeloma. The initiative, known as iN-KEY, has secured nearly €10 million in European funding and will bring together twelve partners to develop a therapy using NK cells generated from stem cells.
- Catalan hospitals have been behind some of the month's most significant clinical advances. Bellvitge University Hospital has performed Europe's first living-donor kidney transplant using the Da Vinci SP robotic system, which allows the kidney to be implanted through a single seven-centimetre incision. Vall d'Hebron Hospital, meanwhile, has become the first hospital in Spain to treat paediatric portal hypertension through portal vein recanalisation using interventional radiology techniques. In addition, Sant Joan de Déu Hospital has created what is described as the world's largest registry of children with Brugada syndrome.
- The pharmaceutical industry has announced a series of expansion and restructuring operations. Noucor has acquired Germany's Helm Pharmaceuticals, aiming to approach €200 million in revenue. Laboratoris Ordesa, meanwhile, has sold its DonnaPlus brand to German group Aristo Pharma to focus its resources on infant and adult nutrition. Esteve has also announced plans to invest €75 million in a new plant in China, while Polish pharmaceutical company Adamed will invest €100 million to reactivate the former Sanofi plant in Riells i Viabrea (Girona).
- Public policy and data infrastructure have also featured prominently on the agenda. The Government of Catalonia has presented its Health Plan 2035, setting out 50 objectives and 135 interventions in areas including prevention, health inequalities, mental health, ageing and person-centred care. At the same time, Catalonia has moved ahead of European deadlines by launching a body that will facilitate secure access to health data for secondary uses, such as research and innovation, and connect Catalan researchers with the European Health Data Space.
- Biocat's programmes continue to connect clinical needs, talent and entrepreneurship. The 11th edition of d·HEALTH Barcelona has moved into the clinical immersion phase, during which participants observe hospital activities to identify unmet needs. The 9th edition of CRAASH Barcelona, aimed at medical device, diagnostics and digital health projects, has begun with an in-person kick-off event in Barcelona.
- October has also brought new awards and a change in leadership at Farmaindustria. The Blue Box received an award at ARA's inaugural FAR Awards, while HeliCure won first prize in the Bridge category at the Genesis Awards 2026. Meanwhile, Juan López-Belmonte has been appointed president of Farmaindustria, succeeding Fina Lladós.
- The month has also been marked by two decades of research and innovation. The Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has celebrated twenty years of oncology research integrated with patient care, while the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC) has also commemorated two decades of research. It is also worth remembering that Biocat will celebrate its 20th anniversary, alongside that of the BioRegion of Catalonia, next Monday, 2 November, with a programme exploring the past, present and future of the BioRegion of Catalonia.