One of the great challenges of the university environment and research centers is to find an effective formula to ensure that the knowledge generated within their classrooms and laboratories can be transferred and impact society, managing to improve people's lives. To address this challenge, for some years now, both the university system and research centers have created and strengthened their protocols for accompanying and protecting scientific research, either through patents or the creation of a spin-off, that is, the creation of a derivative company within the framework of these centers.
A role of accompanying knowledge that these centers exercise through the so-called Knowledge Transfer Offices. These technical offices offer training, mentoring, opportunities to establish contacts with investors and even, in some cases, financial aid for the development of these companies. Although the creation of these spin-off companies continues to be a challenge, in recent years not only have a greater number of companies of this type emerged, but also the cases of success and their survival rates have increased, since traditionally these companies have more possibilities of ending up dying a few years after their foundation compared to other startups, because they require a longer maturation time for their technologies.
"The ecosystem is very different now compared to just a decade ago because, in 2016 when we founded Nostrum Biodiscovery, the knowledge transfer system was still very incipient and the adequate legal mechanisms did not exist to guarantee the success of these companies. Thus, despite having the necessary funding, it took us almost three years to be able to create the company, while now centers manage to found one of these companies in less than three months," emphasizes Víctor Guallar, researcher and co-founder of the first spin-off created within the framework of the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC).
"There is a buzz in Catalonia, and in particular in Barcelona, that has managed to turn the city into the envy of Europe, and that promises a very promising future, both due to the presence of leading researchers and reference centers, as well as large companies and specialized investors, in addition to the great effort of all institutions and centers to currently guarantee this transfer of knowledge," adds the co-founder of this company focused on molecular modeling. Currently, Catalonia has 287 active spin-offs, which bill around 160 million euros annually and employ more than 2,400 people, according to the latest analysis by Acció.
In addition, according to the Botín Foundation report, up to five times more spin-off companies are created in Catalonia than in the Community of Madrid, which occupies the second position at the state level. However, despite the existence of a greater number of spin-offs in recent years, as well as a higher survival rate, researchers still have to overcome bureaucratic hurdles, manage to survive despite the lack of initial funding, or even carve out a niche in a market that, perhaps, is not yet ready for their disruptive product.
And it is that, although Catalan science enjoys great prestige and international projection ---consolidating itself in the twentieth position of the most cited researchers internationally---, only 10% of these researches reach the market. "As a public institution, we cannot allow the resources and efforts invested in generating research results to end up only in conferences or scientific publications; instead, we must have effective mechanisms for these results to be transformed into products and services that can improve the patient's life," defends Teresa Lloret, head of the Knowledge and Technology Transfer Office at IDIBAPS - Hospital Clínic.
Lloret defends that, in addition, the creation of a spin-off is one of the "most attractive ways to transfer knowledge, not only because these companies can contribute to accelerating the development of solutions that improve patients' lives, but also because they contribute to the creation of qualified jobs and the attraction of new talent." For this reason, for some years now, public universities, research centers, and even private foundations have been working together to create a faster and more effective knowledge transfer model.
The main mission of universities is to disseminate knowledge through their classrooms, while also being responsible for generating it through research. With this educational and research mission as primary, the need to transfer this generated knowledge to the market has traditionally been relegated to a secondary role. However, the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) was a pioneer in this field, and already in 1998, Professor Francesc Solé Parellada created the Innova program, now called UPC Emprèn, an initiative not only pioneering in Spain but even in Europe, being one of the first programs of its kind on the entire continent.
Although investment in R&D has grown in Catalonia in recent years, rising to 1.9% of GDP, it is still lower than the rest of the European Union (2.2%)
From this program, and in more than 25 years of history, the UPC has managed to create more than 400 technology-based companies ---100 of which spin-offs, in a portfolio that still has 35 companies of this type in which it participates--- more than 500 patents and more than 300 technologies have also been licensed. In addition to the UPC, aanother of the leading universities in knowledge transferis the University of Barcelona, through the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation, which acts as a technical office. Currently, the UB has 23 active spin-offs, which in 2024 managed to raise more than 14 million euros in funding.
In addition to universities, research centers also play a relevant role in this ecosystem, coordinated by the Catalan public institution CERCA, which currently has 152 active spin-offs. These centers include institutions such as ICFO (Institute of Photonic Sciences) or IBEC (Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia), as well as hospitals like Vall d’Hebron, Sant Joan de Déu, or Clínic. Furthermore, the ecosystem also has another asset: infrastructures such as the BSC ---which already has a prominent knowledge transfer program through the so-called BSC Connects--- or the Alba Synchrotron.
To make this type of transfer possible, the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR) has implemented a new innovation model to “be able to work hand in hand with researchers and be very meticulous when deciding which research becomes future spin-offs, with the aim of trying to minimize risk," defends its Director of Innovation and Development, Rafael Navajo. A new model that, in the future, the hospital will complement with a new innovation hub, a physical space where spin-offs, pharmaceutical companies, and investors can coexist, projected for 2028, with the idea of simultaneously hosting up to a dozen small companies.
VHIR's innovation model has led it to position itself as one of the reference centers in the creation of spin-offs, consolidating itself as the third center at the state level in the creation of spin-off companies in the health sector, only behind the CSIC and the UB. Thus, VHIR currently has a portfolio of 23 active and participated spin-offs. In Catalonia, another reference hospital is the IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic foundation which, thanks to the work of its technical office, has a portfolio of 90 patents and 10 active spin-offs, which develop products in very varied fields: therapies, diagnostics, medical devices, as well as digital solutions.
“We must be able to manage calendars very well and especially the expectations of our entrepreneurial researchers, being very clear so that researchers are aware that entrepreneurship implies a risk and also a challenge, although a beautiful challenge. Researchers must be aware that founding a company is very different from, for example, researching or dealing with patients,” defends the head of this office, Teresa Lloret.
However, spin-offs do not only occur within the framework of public centers and universities, but are also propelled by private foundations and even companies that promote the creation of new companies. Foundations such as MWCapital, through its program The Collider —a deeptech company support program— which already has a portfolio of 21 spin-offs created since 2017, companies that have generated 154 jobs and have raised 40 million in funding, in addition to enjoying a 90% survival rate.
"You don't have to go all the way to Silicon Valley to find technological benchmarks, but from Barcelona, it is possible to develop disruptive technology"
Since 2017, MWCapital has consolidated itself as a venture builderof this kind of companies throughout Europe, especially in Catalonia, collaborating with 81 universities and 128 research centers to guarantee knowledge transfer. A program that, in addition to mentoring and support, also focuses its efforts on creating a good team that can lead these companies.“There is nothing better than a scientist eager to undertake,but not all researchers want to lead, and perhaps they don't have the knowledge to do so either, and there are those who prefer to cede leadership and remain as scientific advisors," says Albert Mascarell, Director of Technology Transfer at MWCapital, which makes the formation of a good team capable of consolidating the company essential.
Companies like Fractus also play a crucial role in this ecosystem, a spin-off that emerged in 1999 at the UPC and managed to revolutionize the mobile phone sector worldwide, ending the era of external antennas on mobile phones. With its 25 years of experience and taking its own trajectory as a reference, Fractus collaborates with the UPC in various programs, such as the Fractus-Deep Tech Hub or the new initiative Next Frontier Founders, an acceleration program aimed at undergraduate, master's and doctoral students and alumni, recent graduates, as well as research staff.
"With these programs, we want to give back to society and technological entrepreneurs the support that Fractus received at the time," defends Carmen Borja, CTO and Director of Technology and Intellectual Property at Fractus. "Through our experience, we want to encourage students and researchers to undertake, so that they are aware that it is not necessary to go to Silicon Valley to find technological references but that, from Barcelona, it is possible to develop disruptive and impactful technology," defends Borja.
Thanks to all these public and private agents, the knowledge transfer mechanism has managed to consolidate itself in Catalonia in recent years, making it possible to create more spin-offs, and more quickly, in addition to achieving a higher survival rate. "The current entrepreneurial ecosystem is very different from that of just two decades ago, back then when, within the university or research ecosystem, you said you wanted to undertake, they looked at you strangely, whereas now all centers have specific programs to support this type of company," says Borja.
"For a spin-off, the greatest success is to become sustainable and achieve a real impact on the market, covering an unmet need"
“Years ago, the conception was that it was enough for scientific research to reach publications and congresses, considering that, in this way, the information was public and accessible and that, thus, it could reach the market. However, the reality is thatit is very difficult for the industry to transform this knowledge into products,for which it is essential, and centers are increasingly aware of this, to bet onspin-offsso that these technologies mature before bringing them to the market,” summarizes José Conde, head of the Business Creation Area of the Bosch i Gimpera Foundation.
In addition to a longer maturation time, another of the great challenges faced by spin-offs continues to be finding funding not only for their beginnings but also to consolidate and grow. However, thanks to the emergence of new local funds and the consolidation of specialized venture capital managers, there are increasingly more funding avenues, from investors like Asabys Partners, Ysios Capital or Capital Cell, to managers focused on this type of company like Grow Ventures Partners. An ecosystem in which banks like Banc Sabadell also play a prominent role, investing in very early-stage companies through its BStartup program, or the CaixaImpulse Health Innovation program of "la Caixa" Foundation. In the public sector, in addition to aid from the Generalitat and Barcelona Activa, Catalan companies also have state agents like ENISA or programs promoted by the European Union.
However, and despite the proliferation of these new investors, these companies often start with few resources —contributed mainly by family offices of the founders themselves—, in addition to having the participation of the institution in which they were founded, which usually takes between 5 and 15% of the shareholding. “When you start as a spin-off you have very few resources, so at the beginning it is very difficult to finance the first projects and be able to pay salaries,” says Jordi Xapellí, CEO of Becytes, a spin-off of the University of Barcelona.
Founded in 2015 and focused on the development of in vitro liver and lung models, as an alternative to the use of animals in experimental studies, the company has just opened a new laboratory at the Barcelona Science Park (PCB). In addition to funding, from the spin-off they also identify the need for “a greater capacity for institutional support for entrepreneurship,” so that institutions offer mentoring and personalized follow-up so that more companies of this type can not only be created, but also consolidated, as highlighted by Estephan Arredondo, CTO of Becytes.
Catalonia concentrates almost a third of the companies emerged from universities and state research centers in the field of deeptech
And it is that, although investment in R&D has grown in Catalonia in recent years, rising to 1.9% of GDP ---a figure above the Spanish average (which stands at around 1.5%)---,is still lower than that of European Union countries (2.2%). In addition, research and spin-offsCatalan companies continue, for the most part, focused on the health sector (a sector that concentrates more than 45% of these companies), an area in which Catalonia has traditionally managed to stand out. In contrast, companies from sectors such asDeepTechthey still have to face a greater challenge to make their way and consolidate themselves, even thoughCatalonia concentrates almost a third of the companies emerged from universities and research centers in the deeptech field
The mechanisms for knowledge transfer, therefore, are becoming increasingly mature, but still face some barriers. However, in recent years there have been success stories among Catalan spin-offs, such as Inbrain Neuroelectrics, which emerged from the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) and ICREA, and this year managed to raise the largest round of the companies located in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB), amounting to 46 million euros.
There have also been cases where a spin-off has grown to the point of being acquired by a large company, such as Enantia, the first spin-off of the UB, which was bought by the venture capital firm Inverready, or Maspatechnologies, which emerged from the BSC, acquired by the American company Danlaw. And there has even been the case of the pharmaceutical company Oryzon Genomics, a spin-off of the CSIC and the University of Barcelona, which opted for an IPO with an initial valuation of around 96.5 million euros.
"Barcelona has all the ingredients to become a true hub for spin-offs at a European level"
However, success in this type of company goes beyond being able to be sold to large companies; it is measured by their ability to survive the first few years and impact the market. "Success cannot only be measured through its economic performance, but alsofor a spin-off the greatest success is to become sustainable and achieve a real impact on the market, covering an unresolved need, in addition to generating employment",defensa Conde des de la Fundació Bosch i Gimpera.
“Barcelona has all the ingredients, from leading institutions to specialized investors, to become a true hub for spin-offs at a European level, but all agents must continue to row in favor to ensure that these technologies reach the market, improving people's lives and, in turn, generating wealth,” remarks Rafael Navajo.
“The ecosystem is starting to mature and has good future projections, as only years ago we didn't even have investors specialized in this type of company,” adds Mascarell. Thus, Barcelona and its universities and research centers increasingly have more sophisticated and efficient knowledge transfer mechanisms. However, this innovation model is still fragile and has challenges to overcome for Barcelona to stand out not only in scientific production but also in spin-off companies from universities and centers that develop technologies in strategic sectors for the Catalan capital, such as health or deeptech.