ATMP Catalyst Program: Barcelona and Catalonia Drive European Innovation in Advanced Therapies

Biocat leads ATMP Catalyst, an accelerator for early-stage projects and research-based companies specialized in advanced therapies, with the support of Barcelona City Council and the Government of Catalonia as main economic promoters. The program introduced this Thursday, during its launch event, the six startups that will take part in the initiative over the next three years.

The ultimate goal of ATMP Catalyst is to promote technology transfer, development, and commercialization of advanced therapies, foster talent acquisition and specialized training, as well as support the internationalization of the health innovation ecosystem. With this aim, six projects have been selected, currently in early stages, to be supported and guided toward phases closer to clinical development. 

The Deputy Mayor for Economy, Housing, Finance, and Tourism, Jordi Valls, participated in the launch event and stated that, with the new program, Barcelona has the capacity “to influence and generate strategy at the European level in the most cutting-edge health sectors such as advanced therapies, digital health, or personalized medicine.” Valls concluded that “Barcelona is a living laboratory where ideas must be able to become reality. And the health sector is a constantly evolving field where innovation and research excellence stand out.” 

With the launch of the program, Barcelona and Catalonia are positioned at the forefront of advanced therapy research and development in Europe, and the city strengthens its existing role as a global benchmark in the biomedical field. ATMP Catalyst is a pioneering project at the European level because it combines training for participants, specialized mentoring, international connections, and offers incubation spaces for technology development in reference centers such as Leitat and Parc Científic de la Universitat de Barcelona. 

The acceleration will be carried out in phases. During the first phase, teams will formulate the concept and conduct in vitro preclinical trials. In the second year, startups will develop the first prototypes and carry out safety assessments, while in the third year, the first interactions with regulatory authorities will take place, and the final clinical trial design will be prepared. 

The program plans to open two new calls in the next two years, allowing up to six new projects per round, so the total number of companies benefiting from the program will reach 18.

Advanced therapies (ATMPs) are medicines for human use based on gene therapies, cell therapies, tissue engineering, and combinations with other medical and biological products. These personalized therapies have the potential to provide new alternatives for patients with many diseases, although they currently involve very high costs and risks in their development, making it difficult for health systems to finance them.

Biocat is the driving force of the health innovation ecosystem in Catalonia, working to scale and consolidate the sector by generating economic and social impact and positioning the BioRegion of Catalonia as an international benchmark. It was founded in 2006 at the initiative of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Barcelona City Council as a public-private foundation, and its governing bodies include representatives from all sector agents, both public and private. With this neutral position within the ecosystem and as a strategic instrument of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Biocat focuses its efforts on developing programs to accelerate the sector’s growth and competitiveness, facilitate access to and adoption of innovation in the Catalan Health System, foster the training of specialized talent, and increase the international projection and positioning of the BioRegion of Catalonia as one of the main health innovation hubs in Europe. 

Biocat’s General Director, Robert Fabregat, states that “ATMP Catalyst becomes a fundamental tool to continue strengthening, expanding, and consolidating the advanced therapies hub in Catalonia, within a global strategy that positions us as a European benchmark in this field, with Barcelona as the capital and engine of health innovation.” 

The new accelerator is born within the framework of the “ATMP Catalonia” initiative, the advanced therapies hub of Catalonia, also promoted by Biocat for just over a year and made up of nearly 70 companies and research entities working on or providing services for the development of these therapies. 

• THOR: Develops a modular CAR-T adaptable to various tumors, with initial success in glioblastoma. Its system allows changing targets without redesigning the therapy. 
• Phagocytic Synthetic Cells: Creates synthetic cells that eliminate multi-resistant bacteria in patients with cystic fibrosis, avoiding the use of antibiotics and resistance. 
• CARcoma: Has developed innovative CAR T cells to treat metastatic sarcomas, addressing an unmet clinical need. 
• NoctuRNA: Designs therapies based on circular RNA to treat currently incurable genetic and infectious diseases. 
• Spes Immunotherapies: Develops personalized vaccines against acute leukemia, tailored to each patient’s mutations to improve the immune response. 
• FORCE: Creates a platform to transfer healthy mitochondria to patients’ T cells, restore cellular functions, and open new therapeutic options.