The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) bids farewell to its third accelerator for health startups. The BCN Health Booster has managed to register seventy patents and raise a total of 107.5 million euros in the three years it has been active, resources equally distributed between public and private funding. With the participation of 11 companies, more than half were dedicated to oncology, while the rest focused on infectious and fibrotic diseases.
The initiative was launched at the end of 2021. The PCB had been looking for a partner for some time to host an accelerator again in its facilities and found its new travel companion in the Barcelona City Council, with the collaboration of Barcelona Activa and Biocat. Previously, in 2015, the incubator that the PCB had been promoting since 2007 with Banco Santander had ended, and it had seen the birth of companies such as Stat-Diagnostica ---bought by Qiagen in 2018---, Infitec Activos and Greenaltech. Before this, came the one it had with the Generalitat (2002-2006) and was the origin of Oryzon Genomics.
Although when it was launched, there was talk of a first generation of this program, with a duration of three years, time has passed and, for the moment, no continuation of the program has been put on the table. The participants have received training and advice to grow, in addition to being able to settle in the park and access its laboratories, paying subsidized rents. Precisely, this was the key to the acceleration program, taking into account that many startups approach the PCB interested in locating in its facilities, but do not end up doing so because they cannot afford the cost involved. About 530 square meters were enabled to host them in the scientific infrastructure, completely full since 2023.
Aptadel Therapeutics, Artificial Nature, Bioliquid Innovative Genetics, DeepUll, GAT Biosciences, GAT Therapeutics, MiMARK, Nuage Therapeutics, Ona Therapeutics, Oncoheroes Biosciences and OneChain have been the participating startups of the accelerator. Six of them are in the therapeutic product discovery phase, three develop diagnostic systems for diseases, one is dedicated to the manufacture of biomaterials for the health sector, and another to designing enzymes. In addition to the resources raised, the companies have increased their workforce from almost 90 employees in 2021 to the current 175, with a focus on incorporating women into leadership positions and attracting international profiles.
Catalonia, European leader in attracting funding for research
Catalan companies have raised 460 million euros in European funding for research and innovation during the first years of the Horizon Europe framework program. Catalonia thus becomes the third European region that has obtained the most funds for companies, taking 4% of the total. Only Paris and Munich have been ahead.
The figure achieved by the more than 400 companies that have participated in the European initiative represents more than double what Catalonia is entitled to in proportion to its population. For the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper, this positions Catalonia as a national pioneer and European benchmark in research and innovation projects. Barcelona has been the demarcation that has raised the most money with almost 433 million euros that have financed the projects of some 90 companies, among which were IRIS Technology Solutions, IQUADRAT Informàtica and PAL Robotics.