Investment in health 'startups' stabilizes above 200 million in Catalonia

The investment attracted by health startups in Catalonia has stabilized above 200 million euros in recent years, causing the local ecosystem to level up. After exceeding that barrier for the first time in 2020, attracting a total of 226 million euros, the ecosystem did it again in 2021, with 238 million euros. The escalation soared in 2022, reaching 445 million euros, a figure achieved thanks to three record rounds: 122 million euros from Impress, 51 million from Minoryx Therapeutics and 50 million euros from SpliceBio. A growth that has slowed down in 2023, although it remains above 200 million euros. Emerging companies attracted a total of 220 million last year, below the previous three years and with a reduction of more than half compared to 2022, affected by the global fall in investments.

This is according to the report annually prepared by Biocat to X-ray the sector, which represents almost 8% of Catalan GDP and is made up of 1,400 companies, almost all located in the province of Barcelona, and a hundred research institutions, with an aggregated workforce of 264,000 workers. With the financial prudence and the decrease in capital that occurred in 2023, the amount of the rounds has also decreased, moving away from the large operations of two years ago. None of the operations closed a year ago exceeded 40 million euros and those that came closest, by far, were those of Inbrain Neuroelectronics (20 million euros), Qida (18 million euros) and SOM Biotech (17 million euros). The rest of the rounds were below 15 million euros.

Venture capital remained the main source of investment for the sector, with 114 million euros, more than half of the total, below the 2022 figures, when it contributed 343 million euros and represented 77% of the total. The decrease in the weight of venture capital has been partly compensated by the increase in competitive aid, up to 60.8 million euros, doubling compared to the results recorded between 2019 and 2021. The presence of international capital has also decreased, with 58% of the total resources, well below the 95% of 2022.

By subsectors, biotech companies have become in 2023 the main focus of investment attraction with 110 million euros ---compared to 185 million in 2022---, driven by companies such as SOM Biotech, Nuage Therapeutics, and Orizon Genomics. Behind them were digital health companies with 63 million euros, above the 39 million euros in 2022 and approaching the 64 million in 2021. Qida, Iomed, and Top Doctors have been the main protagonists of this subsector. Finally, medical technology startups have suffered a sharp drop, going from 193 million euros in 2022 ---with Impress's mega-round leading the way---, to 45 million euros in 2023. The highest operations in medtech have been those of Inbrain, Admit Therapeutics, and Deepull Diagnostics.

As has happened in other sectors, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has also burst among health startups. A total of 85 Catalan companies are working to develop this technology applied to the world of health. Last year, in the midst of a global boom, they raised 73 million euros, the highest figure in history.