R&D assets in the BioRegion
Catalonia is considered one of the main European hubs of health research of excellence, with unique capacities in genomics and structural biology, medical chemistry, nanomedicine, omic sciences and bioinformatics.
Research in oncology stands out, with a wide range of capacities from basic to clinical research. Catalan hospitals are international benchmarks in treating cancer, but also in thoracic, cardiac and opthalmologic surgery, and in kidney transplants.
Research excellence and business vibrancy
The research excellence of the BioRegion of Catalonia’s research institutions has driven the life sciences and healthcare sector. In the 2020–2024 period, Catalonia ranked 5th in Europe in scientific publications (54,521) and 1st in percentage of Highly Cited Papers (3.3%).
However, it is the ability to generate new business projects (startups) and to develop new products and therapies by companies and institutions (clinical trials, pipeline) that is determining the success and growth of the BioRegion of Catalonia.
In 2025, the BioRegion’s pipeline includes 71 assets under development (51 molecules and 20 advanced therapies), nearly doubling the figures from 2020.
The number of products developed by healthtech companies (medical technologies and digital health) is increasing, with 69% being medical devices and 31% apps and digital platforms.
The AI ecosystem applied to healthcare in Catalonia continues to expand, reaching 172 companies in 2025, an 11% increase compared to 2024. Of these, 116 are startups (67%), and an emerging subsegment of 12 generative AI companies has been identified.
Catalonia, 4th in Europe and 7th worldwide in active clinical trials
Catalonia conducts 92% of Spain’s clinical trials (with 5,368 active trials), placing it internationally in 4th position in Europe and 7th worldwide.
The quality of the healthcare system, the excellence of its hospitals, and the international recognition of its healthcare professionals attract multinational companies such as AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Roche, Sanofi, Amgen, Bayer, and Pfizer to Catalonia to carry out their trials.
1st position in the pipeline of new therapies and in clinical research
A significant number of the 94 research entities in the BioRegion of Catalonia include cancer among their priority research areas. Some, such as VHIO, the ICO, or the Fundació Josep Carreras, focus exclusively on oncology and hematology; others—such as IRB Barcelona, a leading expert in metastasis, and the main hospital research institutes: Idibaps, VHIR, Idibell, IGTP—have extensive programs with a strong focus on the genetic and molecular bases of cancer and on precision oncology.
Oncology is by far the main area of clinical trials conducted in Catalonia (5,768 active in 2025, of which 1,667 are in oncology). Cancer is also one of the disease areas with the highest number of therapies under development by pharmaceutical and biotech companies in the BioRegion. Ascil Biopharm, Peptomyc, Grifols, Cebiotex, IDP Pharma, Oryzon Genomics, and Ability Pharma have products in this area in phases I, II, and III.
76 therapies in clinical development
Oncology and the central nervous system are the two clinical areas where companies and research institutions in the BioRegion are developing the most therapies.
Biocat has identified 54 therapies promoted by pharmaceutical and biotech companies and 21 treatments in advanced therapies. The entity that promotes the most studies is the Hospital Clínic (FCRB-IDIBAPS), a reference center in advanced therapies at a national and European level. Also noteworthy this year are the phase I CATHERINE study promoted by VHIO in collaboration with the IMIM and the BST (second cell therapy promoted by entities in the BioRegion against breast cancer together with the TILS-001 study promoted by the Hospital Clínic), and the new phase I/II study by SpliceBio for Stargardt's disease.
Benchmarks in care, teaching and research
Of the approximately twenty Catalan university hospitals, Hospital Clinic and Vall d’Hebron Hospital are at the top of national and international rankings, followed by Hospital Sant Pau and Bellvitge University Hospital. All of them are benchmarks in care, teaching and research, which they channel through their healthcare research institutes. IDIBAPS (Clinic), VHIR (Vall d’Hebron), IIB Sant Pau, IDIBELL (Bellvitge), IGTP (Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital), IMIM (Hospital del Mar) and IRB Lleida (Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and Hospital Santa Maria in Lleida) are the seven Catalan healthcare research institutes accredited by the Carlos III Health Institute, which lead clinical and translational research in the BioRegion.