The new wave of investments in health

Barcelona's pharmaceutical tradition has created large companies such as Grifols, Almirall or Esteve and has allowed the landing of its Spanish multinationals such as Bayer, Sanofi or Novartis. In recent years, this heritage has been reinforced by various investment announcements that consolidate the city as a benchmark for the sector in Europe. The most notable is the project of the British multinational AstraZeneca, which is completing the launch of its Global Hub, an R&D center, with associated investments of 1,300 million. Tot i això, they have also produced three notable announcements, such as the expansion of Sanofi's facilities in Barcelona or Qiagen's commitment to a new seu to the city's afores.

Barcelona is the main hub for health sciences in southern Europe. Biocat, a public private sector aimed at promoting the sector, estimates that this sector's economic and economic activity is formatted by more than 1,500 companies, represents 7.6% of the Catalan GDP and generates 264,000 LOCs of highly qualified workers. In addition to the large international and local companies, the city has a solid set of startups fruit of the combination of reference hospitals, research centers and universities. In fact, this topic is in full growth, with projects such as the transfer and expansion of the Hospital Clínic to the Diagonal, an operation that will dynamise the entire area and will be key to attracting new companies, or the recent expansion of the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR).

The British multinational will invest 1,300 million in its new R+D center

Tot i això, the announcement by AstraZeneca has been a boost for the morale of the sector. The British multinational, one of the great leaders in the sector, trusts in the Catalan capital to open an R&D center that will eventually have a workforce of 2,000 employees that is expected to be fully operational at the beginning of 2027. Diagonal, but it is planned to be completed as it is moved to its new location, the Estel building, an emblematic building that will be Telefónica's headquarters in the city, is 25,000 square meters.

The Global Hub of the British multinational has the objective of accelerating the development of a new generation of treatments in the main therapeutic areas: oncology, rare diseases, cardiovascular, renal and metabolism, respiratory and immunology, vaccines and immunotherapies. This project, moreover, could become a tractor for other companies linked to these therapeutic areas and professionals in the sector.

Furthermore, AstraZeneca, Barcelona has reinforced the latest investments in the pharmaceutical and health industries in companies such as Roche Diagnostics, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, Novartis and Teladoc Health. Recently, they have produced dues operations. The most notable is the opening of a hub in AI, R&D and digital skills from Sanofi, which will generate more than 300 million highly qualified workers. The French multinational tea company has its Barcelona subsidiary and has recently approved various business expansion and new unit creation projects.

Resources." width="449">

This unit, which will be located at the Sanofi offices in Nou Barris, will be specialized in the generation of real-life evidence (RWE, for its six acronyms in English), with the support of teams experts in biostatistics, statistical programming and analysis of clinical data, as well as in engineering and life sciences. facts. It will also donate support to Sanofi's medical and scientific equipment, as well as to the R+D areas and supply chain.

It also supported the decision of the Dutch multinational Qiagen to expand its presence in the city, by occupying a space in the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and some new offices in Esplugues de Llobregat. With this expansion, the company has established its global innovation center in infectious diseases.

Another investment that shows the great expectations that the sector has is the purchase of the company Deeplabs, which manages five buildings intended for laboratories in the Barcelona area, on behalf of Immobiliària Colonial in an operation valued at 200 million euros. It is a strategic purchase to establish high-quality countries that bring scientific companies to the city. Currently, there is great demand. The PCB mateix, the largest health business institution in Spain, presents very high employment taxes, with a waiting list.

Global Hub AstraZeneca finalizes its new R&D center with 2,000 workers

1 To renovate the Estel building on Avinguda Roma Investment budgeted by the British multinational to establish this new area in this new area 1,500 MILIONS

In recent months, several startups have completed funding rounds that will continue to donate to their project. One of the most notable is DeepUll, a company that develops a diagnostic system for sepsis, which will raise 50 million euros in a financing round with national and international investors. Also noteworthy is the Inbrain Neuroelectronics case, which will provide 46 million euros for the development of new neurological technology based on a graph implant. Finally, it is worth mentioning the round from the Swiss company ReproNovo of 58 million euros, which, after completing the financing, will open a second to the city.

Catalonia's health startups and scaleups have managed to raise 347 million euros by 2024, the second largest figure in its history, despite the complex global context. In this sense, local risk capital funds such as Ysios, Asabys, Inveready, Inviu or Aliath play a very active role, attracting international investors.