Investment in health 'startups' grows again and stands at almost 350 million

Investment attracted by health startups in Catalonia is growing again, resisting global deceleration and an increasingly fragile geopolitical context. After soaring in 2022, when it reached a record figure of 445 million euros, and slowing down in 2023, when it fell to 220 million euros, the sector has recovered and attracted 347 million euros in 2024, 55% more compared to last year.

As happened with the historical maximum two years ago, growth has been sustained by large financing rounds, with the prominence of the 110 million euro mega-round from Impress, also one of the main drivers of the historical maximum in 2022, when it attracted 122 million euros, and the operations of Inbrain Neuroelectronics, which has secured more than 46 million euros, and Heura, with 40 million euros. Since the pandemic, emerging life sciences and health companies have consolidated above the 200 million euro barrier in attracted investment.

A dynamism in the early stages of companies that is accompanied by the maturity of the rest of the value chain. According to the annual report prepared by Biocat, about 1,500 companies and a hundred research institutions are part of the health sector, of which 470 are startups and, of these, more than 120 are spinoffs from research centers. With a contribution of 7.6% of Catalan GDP, they invoice almost 45,000 million euros, with a significant weight of pharmaceutical companies (about 12,000 million), and employ more than 281,000 workers, record figures corresponding to the 2023 fiscal year.

Venture capital has been the main driver of investment attracted by Catalan startups. Of the almost 350 million euros obtained, 80% comes from venture capital, which has participated in about forty rounds with 278 million euros and which increasingly involves more international firms ---in 2020 there were about 60 and now there are already more than 150---. Far behind are grants, with 56 million euros, crowdequity, with 10 million euros, and, finally, the stock market, with 2.4 million euros.

In addition to the rounds, with an increasing number of tickets between four and 50 million euros, there have been a dozen sales of local companies. Among them, the acquisition by Gilead Sciences of Aelix Therapeutics' experimental HIV vaccine or the sale of Ferrer's food supplements division. In the case of acquisitions, Palex Medical has made four acquisitions, including the Belgian Duomed, and Uriach has acquired two companies, Pascoe and Bebegel.

Regarding foreign investment, a total of 542 million euros has been attracted, well below the more than 1,000 million euros of a year ago, but, in both cases, led by the outlay made by AstraZeneca and its global innovation hub. Galderma, Towa and Qiagen have been other multinationals that have opted for Catalonia, characterized by providing more than 15,000 new graduates each year in science and technology, and by having 12,000 researchers. Since 2020, more than 2,100 million euros of foreign investment has been attracted and more than 20 digital and health excellence hubs have been established, such as those of Alliance Healthcare, Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim or Oracle.