10 innovative Catalan solutions to receive personalized support to help enter Catalan Healthcare System
The Healthcare System Access Program (PASS) is a groundbreaking initiative in Catalonia, led by the Catalan Ministry of Health and Biocat. With the Agency for Health Quality and Assessment of Catalonia (AQuAS), the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut) and TIC Salut Social Foundation, they are working to identify, prioritize and support innovations with the greatest value for the healthcare system.
A total of ten innovative solutions from the BioRegion of Catalonia were selected in the first INNOPASS call and have received the Innovation Passport, granting them access to a one-year personalized guidance pathway to help them reach the public healthcare system.
The selected proposals are: Aims Medical, Aniling, eVISIO, Inbiomotion, LoopDX, MAP-AD Test, Mediktor, MiWEndo Solutions, Reveal Genomics and Signatera.
This call is part of the Healthcare System Access Program (PASS), led by the Catalan Ministry of Health and Biocat. Biocat is working with AQuAS, CatSalut and TIC Salut Social Foundation to accelerate the adoption of innovations with a high potential for impact on clinical practice, helping make the healthcare system more efficient, personalized and sustainable.
“With this first call, we are taking a decisive step toward a more innovative, sustainable, results oriented healthcare system. This program provides a clear, streamlined, structured channel for priority innovations to have an impact on clinical practice and people’s wellbeing,” said Biocat CEO Robert Fabregat.
These initiatives were selected for their technological maturity and potential impact in priority areas identified by the Catalan Health Service (CatSalut). These include transforming care to make it more efficient, personalized and proactive; improving management of care processes, coordination across levels of care and reducing low value tasks; promoting diagnostics and treatments tailored to each person using clinical and genetic data; and using real time information to anticipate needs, improve safety and optimize resource planning. They also address the need for a more accessible and equitable system across all regions and groups, as well as promoting healthy habits and disease prevention throughout life to support active, independent aging.
Additionally, the priority areas highlight the integration of mental health as an essential component of care, ensuring preventive approaches, emotional support and more holistic care models for both patients and professionals. Finally, the focus also includes improving communication between the healthcare system and the people, boosting transparency, understanding of clinical information and patient participation in decision-making. As a whole, these lines of action aim to build a more humane, efficient, sustainable system focused on people’s real needs.
“The Catalan Healthcare Service believes PASS is an essential step in strengthening the connection between the innovation ecosystem and the real needs of the public system. The program allows us to identify, in a structured way, solutions aligned with priority challenges and provide collaborative guidance that fosters their maturation and impact on clinical practice. The information generated throughout this process will be key to assessing the selected initiatives’ potential for adaptation and transformation within SISCAT,” said Ignasi Carrasco, director of the Healthcare Area at the Catalan Healthcare Service (CatSalut).
A total of 61 applications were submitted, of which 59 were accepted, reflecting the strong interest and maturity of the country’s innovation fabric. The selected solutions have high potential for clinical, organizational or social impact and are aligned with the priority areas established by the Catalan healthcare system.
“At AQuAS, we helped assess these proposals based on their potential for real impact on clinical practice. The quality and maturity of the solutions selected reflect the strength of the Catalan innovation ecosystem and will help us move toward a more efficient, sustainable, people centered healthcare system,” said AQuAS Director Sandra García-Armesto.
A diverse call with a high level of maturity
The call demonstrated the richness and diversity of the innovation fabric in the BioRegion, Catalonia’s life sciences and healthcare ecosystem, with a wide range of mature solutions focused on the healthcare system’s real needs.
The proposals received included medical technologies (44%), digital health solutions (44%), healthcare process innovations (7%) and biotechnology (5%). In terms of participant profiles, startups and spinoffs led the way (54%), followed by SMEs (22%), healthcare centers (12%), large companies (5%) and research centers and universities (7%), clearly reflecting the public-private partnerships driving the ecosystem.
Regarding maturity, nearly half of the innovations (48%) are at TRL 7, while 25% have already reached TRL 8 and 27% are at TRL 9, ready for implementation. Plus, 45% of the technological proposals already have CE marking, reinforcing their readiness to enter the market and the public system.
The territorial distribution of the applications shows a high concentration in the province of Barcelona (85%), followed by proposals from Girona (9%), Tarragona (4%) and Lleida (2%).
Pilot experiences that consolidate the PASS support model
Before the INNOPASS call opened, companies like Able Human Motion, Doctomatic, GoodGut, Rob Surgical, acceXible, MiMARK, Time is Brain and OneChain Immunotherapeutics had already taken part in the testing phase of the PASS Guidance Unit, reporting very positive feedback on the experience and its impact. These early collaborations helped validate the guidance model and tailor it to the real needs of innovative organizations in the healthcare sector.
One notable example is ABLE Human Motion, which got its robotic exoskeletons into six public hospitals in Catalonia through a public tender, in accordance with applicable regulations on public sector procurement. Participation in the PASS program allowed the company to strengthen its technical and strategic capabilities to be competitive in public procurement processes, allowing it to roll out its technology in Catalonia’s public healthcare system.
PASS is a direct response to longstanding challenges facing Catalonia, a region with a vibrant innovation ecosystem and growing capacity to create startups and spinoffs. Nevertheless, adoption of these innovations has been limited by a lack of efficient mechanisms and connections. This program seeks to reverse the situation and ensure that the most promising innovations reach patients faster and more efficiently.
List and description of the ten innovative solutions selected
The company has developed artificial intelligence software that automatically analyzes medical records to detect dysphagia risk in hospitalized elderly patients, improving their safety and nutritional status.
Aniling provides a comprehensive genomic and epigenomic solution that improves diagnosis, prognosis and treatment selection for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
This project from Empordà Health Foundation features a digital platform to conduct automated eye exams in primary care, facilitating screening and efficient referral to a specialist (ophthalmologist or optometrist).
The company is developing the MAF Test, a precision medicine diagnostic tool for breast cancer that predicts the risk of bone metastasis and guides oncologists in the use of adjuvant treatments.
LoopDX is developing SeptiLoop, a rapid diagnostic solution that identifies early sepsis risk by analyzing the patient’s functional immune response, accelerating therapeutic decisions in the emergency department and ICU.
ADmit Therapeutics offers the MAP-AD Test, an in vitro diagnostic tool that uses novel blood biomarkers and an artificial intelligence algorithm to predict early Alzheimer progression in patients with mild cognitive impairment.
This firm offers an AI based medical assistant that accurately triages symptoms to route patients to the most appropriate level of care, optimizing healthcare resources.
MiWEndo Solutions has created a medical device that combines microwave imaging and artificial intelligence to improve polyp detection during colonoscopies, strengthening colorectal cancer prevention.
The company is marketing HER2DX, a molecular test specific to HER2+ breast cancer that predicts relapse risk and therapeutic response, helping personalize treatment and avoid unnecessary toxicities.
Palex Medical’s Signatera provides highly sensitive liquid biopsy technology to detect minimal residual disease (MRD) in solid tumors, which is key to anticipating relapse and making informed clinical decisions.
