New stage, new challenges

Biocat celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2016. During these first ten years the entity grew in parallel with the growth of the Catalan life sciences sector. These years marked a turning point not only for Biocat but also for the ecosystem, which has reached a high degree of maturity and already includes more than 1,000 companies - with a new company created every week - and more than 40 international investors who help bring research of excellence in Catalonia ever closer to patients.

And it is precisely this objective, to convert biomedical research into tangible solutions for citizens,that is Biocat’s main priority in this new stage. To make this possible, the entity has a renewed strategic vision focused on health innovation transfer. This priority axis includes new projects, already launched or due to launch in 2018 and 2019, aimed at boosting innovation and competitiveness.

Training and talent continue to be another strategic axis for Biocat, as part of the Moebio initiative, for which a new, outstanding program was launched in 2018: CRAASH Barcelona.

The third axis is sharing knowledge of and promoting the sector through a series of activities, described in this report, and others that are not explicitly explained but which form part of the daily work of Biocat professionals, such as providing consultancy services to sector professionals, collaboration in activities organized by other ecosystem entities - among them initiatives that are not mentioned in other specific sections of this report, such as the Healthcare Investment Forum, led by the Barcelona Medical Association, and the Imagine Express 2017 program promoted by Otsuka - and the dissemination work carried out by ecosystem agents in the media and at industry fairs and events.