The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona and Oxolife have received the CATALONIA.HEALTH 2025 Award (formerly Bioèxit) during the 11th edition of the Nit, the annual event of reference in the field of health and life sciences in Catalonia, organised by CATALONIA.HEALTH and life sciences in Catalonia, organised by CATALONIA.HEALTH. The award recognises relevant trajectories and projects based on the axes of innovation, science and business, and which stand out for their excellence in areas such as scientific innovation, industrialization innovation, industrialisation, regulatory milestones and international expansion.

The Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona has been distinguished for its track record as a centre of reference in the comprehensive care of women, children and adolescents. It is currently the hospital with the highest paediatric activity in Catalonia and Spain, and the third in Europe in terms of care for patients from outside its area of influence. It is also a leader in research in paediatrics and human development, with a high scientific output. It currently has 320 clinical trials underway, 60% in collaboration with industry; it has promoted 8 spin-offs, such as Gate2Brain or Cebiotex, and more than 20 licences to industry.

To boost paediatric innovation, in 2020 it created the i4KIDS Paediatric Innovation Hub, a regional and European network with more than 60 entities and 93 research groups, which works to reduce the great inequality in the development of solutions for paediatric patients compared to the adult population. In addition, in 2022, it promoted a Spanish network of 30 hospitals to address the needs of patients with rare diseases and, last year, it began construction of the Únicas SJD building, with the support of the Amancio Ortega Foundation. This centre will become one of the three largest hospitals in the world dedicated to specialised care, research and the development of new therapies for rare diseases.

‘It is a great satisfaction to receive this award from an association such as CATALONIA.HEALTH, a benchmark in innovation, enterprise and investment in the health sector in Catalonia. At our hospital, it has been clear to us for years that knowledge generation, research and innovation are essential to offer solutions to our patients. Our leadership in paediatric clinical trials, as well as projects such as i4Kids or initiatives such as Gate2Brain, are good examples of the strategy we are developing’, says Joan Comella, Director of Research, Innovation and Learning at HSJD.

Oxolife has also received an award for the development of OXO-001, a pioneering drug that increases embryo implantation rates by 23.5% and birth rates by 6.9% in women undergoing in vitro fertilisation (IVF). This compound, considered the most significant advance in assisted reproduction in the last twenty years, is also indicated for the treatment of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Its co-founder and CEO, Agnès Arbat, expressed her gratitude for the award, stating that ‘we are sure that this important recognition will serve as a boost to achieve our goal: the arrival on the market of an innovative treatment that, thanks to the improvement of embryo implantation, will increase births, offering a new opportunity to women who undergo assisted reproduction techniques’.

The new edition of the Nit, held in the Historic Building of the University of Barcelona, was attended by Hble. Núria Montserrat, Minister of Research and Universities, who, together with Joan Guanyabens, director of the TIC Salut i Social Foundation, presented the awards. The event brought together 300 attendees, including executives and professionals from companies and organisations in the ecosystem, as well as politicians and prominent personalities from leading institutions in the health and life sciences sector.

For Mariona Serra, president of CATALONIA.HEALTH, ‘this year's CATALONIA.HEALTH Award recognises two projects that exemplify the excellence and impact of the health sector in Catalonia. Both Hospital Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona and Oxolife are clear examples of how innovation and research can transform people's lives’.

The CATALONIA.HEALTH Award has recognised the companies WIVI Vision, AstraZeneca, Avinent, SpliceBio, IMIDomics, ONA Therapeutics, Kymos, Ysios Capital, Anaconda Biomed, Mind The Byte, Mosaic Biomedicals, STATDiagnostica (now Qiagen), Palobiofarma, Minoryx Therapeutics and Oryzon Genomics over the course of its 11 editions.