The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) is about to fill all its available surface area. Several spaces in the seven buildings that make up the complex have been waiting to be enabled for some time. It has not been possible until there has been sufficient demand. In an interview with The New Barcelona Post, the general director of the PCB, Maria Terrades, indicates that she expects this milestone to be achieved in the next four years. "We plan to complete the park by 2025 and reach full occupancy," Terrades explains. With a total area of 100,000 square meters, this scientific infrastructure has about 60,000 useful square meters, of which only 4,000 square meters remain to be conditioned.
Terrades explains that they expect to fill an average of 700 square meters each year starting next year, although she emphasizes that this is a conservative forecast, considering that they are registering a much higher growth than this figure in recent years. In fact, the science park will close this 2021 with a growth above 1,000 square meters, mostly destined for laboratories. This figure will be below that of the previous year, when more than 2,900 square meters were enabled. Qiagen, Infinitec Activos, Greenaltech, Enantia and Dan*na have been some of the companies that have expanded their available surface area in the park this year, where new companies have also arrived, such as Pharmacelera, Aptadel Therapeutics, G&L Scientific, B'ZEOS and Solitek.
Promoted in the mid-nineties by the University of Barcelona (UB), the construction of the PCB on the Diagonal campus began in 1998, with the inauguration a year later of the first building, one of the towers that make up the complex. It was not until 2011 that the architectural project was completed, with the construction of the last building, Cluster II.
This last building has been one of those recently conditioned and still has a bit of free space. In addition to Cluster II, the Cub building remains pending. When the architectural project of the PCB was conceived in the late nineties, it was intended to be an auditorium for 400 people. At that time, there were no other auditoriums with this capacity in Barcelona, but over the years came the one in L'illa Diagonal and the one in Gran Via de Fira de Barcelona. Currently, the Cub building is empty inside and its purpose needs to be defined. For now, it is ruled out that it will become a large auditorium, not only because of the existence of others in the city but also because the park already has three, with a total capacity for more than 300 people.
New accelerator
One of the initiatives that will contribute to filling the PCB this year will be BCN Health Booster, its new acceleration program, which will occupy 530 square meters of the Cluster II building. The incubator has been created with the aim of boosting emerging companies in the life sciences and health sector, and their names will be announced this week. Driven together with the UB and the Barcelona City Council, a total of eleven startups will receive support from Barcelona Activa and business support from Biocat for three years. The budget will be more than one million euros, with 685,000 euros contributed by the PCB and 469,000 by the City Council.
"We are very excited because we think it is one of the functions that the park has to perform," Terrades remarks. The general director explains that many companies approach them interested in locating in their facilities, but do not end up doing so because they cannot afford the cost involved. The 11 companies selected in the BCN Health Booster will be able to access an exclusive-use laboratory or co-working modality starting in December. These benefits will be subsidized during the three years of the program.
The incubator will be located in the Cluster II building, with almost 530 square meters, contributing to the growth of the park during this 2021Throughout its history, the PCB has hosted two more accelerators. The first was promoted together with the Generalitat (2002-2006) and led to the birth of companies such as Oryzon Genomics. A year after its closure came the second, with Santander (2007-2015), which was the origin of companies such as Stat-Diagnostica ---bought by Qiagen in 2018---, Infitec Activos and Greealtech. The park had long wanted to resume the incubation of companies, but needed to find a new partner, which this time has been the city council, which is immersed in promoting the Pla Barcelona Ciència.
The first science park in Spain
The PCB was the first scientific infrastructure of its kind to be established in Spain. The UB wanted to contribute with its creation to boost the biomedicine sector, bringing together under one roof small companies emerging from university innovations, research and development (R&D) departments of multinationals, scientific service providers, research institutes and foundations. The proposal to attract them consists of offering offices, laboratories and scientific services in a facility specialized in the health sector, fostering synergies among the different guests and generating community.
Currently, it hosts 177 entities, 92 companies, 12 non-profit organizations, six research centers and seven UB groups. Specifically, companies such as Hipra, Oxolife, Pharma Mar, Ona Therapeutics and OncoHeroes Biosciences are linked to the PCB, as well as entities such as Biocat, CataloniaBio & Health Tech, EIT Health and Leitat, or research centers such as the Centre de Regulació Genòmica (CRG), the Institut de Recerca Biomèdica (IRB Barcelona), the Institut de Bioenginyeria de Catalunya (IBEC) and the Institut de Biologia Molecular de Barcelona (IBMB). In total, it brings together 3,000 professionals from about sixty countries. These figures place the current occupancy of the PCB at 88% of the complex's total capacity ---about 60,000 square meters--- and 95% of the enabled space.
The park's turnover results from the rental of spaces ---laboratories and offices--- and the provision of services. Its revenues stood at 19.4 million euros last year and the forecast is to increase them this 2021. The profit was 2.4 million euros in 2020. Its debt stands at 80 million euros and it expects to be able to refinance the part that depends on the Government ---half--- by next summer.