To devise innovative technological solutions to improve patients' lives. This is the mission pursued by the almost 400 companies that are part of the Catalan digital health sector, a sector that has grown exponentially in recent years. In just one year, the number of companies dedicated to this field has grown by 16.6%, with a total of 383 companies, and the turnover of these companies has increased by 6.9%, reaching 633 million euros.
These are the main conclusions of the report Salut Digital a Catalunya, prepared by Acció, the competitiveness agency of the Generalitat's company, in collaboration with the Barcelona Health Hub (BHH), Biocat and the Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya and the Fundació TIC Salut Social, of the Department of Health. The radiography indicates that this sector has experienced strong growth since the outbreak of the pandemic, and currently these companies employ more than 5,300 people, 10.2% more than a year ago.
But Catalonia not only stands out for the volume of turnover and the jobs generated in recent years, but also because it is on the international radar and manages to attract a large amount of foreign capital. In fact, Catalonia is already the second region in the world in terms of foreign investment volume attracted in the last five years, only behind the American Massachusetts, and the fifth in number of foreign projects attracted.
In total, in the last five years it has attracted 20 foreign investment projects in health, which have meant an investment of more than 1,580 million euros and have generated more than 3,570 jobs. In Spain as a whole, Catalonia is the leading territory in attracting investment, concentrating 69% of the foreign capital invested in this sector. In addition, of the twenty companies that invest the most in digital health globally, 11 have a presence in Catalan territory, such as Johnson & Johnson or Oracle.
Among the foreign investment projects of recent years, the expansion of the development and research center that the multinational AstraZeneca has in Barcelona stands out, which plans to invest 1.3 billion euros until 2027 and create one and a half thousand jobs. But the expansion of AstraZeneca is not an isolated case, but of the 160 international technology hubs installed in the Catalan capital, 10% are dedicated to the health sector. A total of 16 centers that include the facilities of Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Roche or the new research and development (R&D) center of Sanofi located in 22@.
The digital health sector ecosystem represents a young business fabric, as 63% of these have less than a decade of experience.The Secretary of Business and Competitiveness and CEO of Acció, Jaume Baró, has assured that this "is a young and dynamic sector with many opportunities to grow, as it enjoys very good health thanks to large multinational companies, which invest in Catalonia, but also tostartupsincipient and innovative." A combination that, according to Baró, consolidates the digital health sector asone of the most prominent sectors for the Catalan economy.
An entrepreneurial ecosystem
The companies that make up the digital health sector ecosystem represent a young business fabric, as 63% of them have less than a decade of experience. By size, 92.5% of the almost 400 companies that are part of the Catalan digital health sector are small and medium-sized enterprises, more than half of which are startups. These data consolidate digital health as the second sector with the highest number of startups in Catalunya, with a total of 369 emerging companies.
These startups have managed to attract 43% more investment than in 2023, with more than 177 million euros. This figure places the digital health sector as the third sector in terms of investment volume, only surpassed by the fintech sector, in a year marked by Sequra's mega-round, and travel, led by the Travelperk round.
The vast majority of these companies are focused on the development of clinical tools (17.9%), in addition to those that design digital therapies (13% of the total) and diagnostics. These companies are part of a highly digitized system, as more than 41% of them develop artificial intelligence solutions applied to the health field, and 23 companies in immersive technologies and 12 companies in medical robotics also stand out. On the other hand, in addition to companies, the Catalan sector is also made up of a total of 27 research centers and 14 universities and training centers that offer degrees, master's degrees, and postgraduate courses with knowledge applicable to digital health.
However, although the report's results show growth in terms of company volume, turnover, and employees, they also recognize that the health sector, not only at a Catalan level but also globally, faces challenges such as, for example, the security and privacy of patients' personal data in an increasingly digitized environment. They also identify the lack of significant technological investment or that the network of technology providers is still small as its main weaknesses.
The results of the report will be publicly presented during the Health Revolution Congress, which is held this week between May 14 and 15 at the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau. In its third edition, the event, organized by the Barcelona Health Hub, aims to consolidate itself as a benchmark meeting for the sector in Europe, with the participation of 250 speakers from some fifty countries.
The congress also aims to become a space to project the Catalan digital health sector in Catalonia. For this reason, Acció organizes the Open Innovation Challenge, where fifteen large companies and hospitals such as DKV, Althaia, Reig Jofre, or Sanofi pose technological challenges for Catalan SMEs and startups to propose the most innovative solution, through more than a hundred meetings. Likewise, meetings will also be organized between startups in the digital health field and potential investors, such as Asabys or BStartup from Banco Sabadell.
Digital health on a global scale
The report not only confirms the potential of the digital health sector in Catalonia but also demonstrates its growth on a global scale. A sector that is advancing with the forecast of growing 6.9% each year until 2029, when it is expected to reach a value of 258.3 billion dollars. Currently, the sector is led by countries such as the United States, China, and Japan, while Spain is in the thirteenth position in terms of turnover.