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Best of the 2020 CataloniaBio & HealthTech Gala:

2020 is a year for the history books. Covid-19 is having affecting our whole society and posing challenges we have to face together. As could be no other way, the pandemic also marked the sixth annual CataloniaBio & HealthTech Gala, the yearly gathering of the Catalan healthcare and life sciences sector, held this year online from Gaudí’s Crypt at Colonia Güell. More than 180 entrepreneurs, executives and investors followed the event on screen.

The CataloniaBio & HealthTech Board of Directors highlighted the indicators* confirming the sector is in a good place and also has a positive impact on the country’s health and economy, contributing 7.3% of the GNP. 

Catalonia currently has over 1,200 companies working in health (drugs, diagnostic tests, robotics, telemedicine, apps, etc.), which generate revenue of nearly €20,000 million and more than 55,000 jobs. Plus, the country has solid scientific foundations and university hospitals among the international elite and the top 10 in Europe for clinical trials (in 2020, 82 clinical trials have been launched in the field of Covid-19, more than half of the Spanish total).

Covid-19 has put a spotlight on the Catalan business sphere’s strength, ability to innovate and flexibility in order to ensure continued supply of essential healthcare products, participate in research into treatments and vaccines, innovate to cover the lack of equipment in hospitals, and invest.

“Europe needs to create a business framework based on knowledge and innovation that will allow us to maintain our model of social equilibrium, and to do so in a world that is increasingly polarised due to the size and innovation capacity of China and the United States, and with the global challenge of sustainability and climate change,” explained Judit Anido, president of CataloniaBio & HealthTech. “We have to make the most of this push we’ve had in recent months to move up as quickly as possible. Catalonia has all the ingredients to become a leader in health innovation in Europe. At CataloniaBio & HealthTech, we’re prepared for this challenge and we know we have a lot of work ahead of us,” noted Anido. 

To achieve this, one of the biggest goals is to scale up the health industry and push it forward in terms of competitiveness. “We want to offer our help to the government, organisations and companies in generating proposals that help and provide solutions for the sector and allow us to reach this goal,” said Anido. As a good example to follow of a consolidated company expanding internationally through strategic alliances, CataloniaBio & HealthTech gave the 2020 Biosuccess Award to Kymos.

CataloniaBio & HealthTech has recently participated in strategic countrywide initiatives, including the National Pact for the Knowledge Society (PNSC), and is collaborating on the Catalan Ministry of Health’s Strategic Plan for Research and Innovation in Health PERIS 2021-2027. The association is also working on proposals for European funds and solutions to stop Covid-19, among other projects.

While competitiveness is the purview of companies, public innovation policies are needed to spur on the plans of companies and start-ups so they can take a risk on projects with high potential for growth.

Natàlia Mas, secretary of the Economy for the Government of Catalonia who stood in for Vice-president Aragonès at the event, who couldn’t make it for reasons beyond his control, expressed the government’s support for the sector: “The post-Covid future will depend on our human capital and how the administrations are run. We want to promote the most strategic sectors, such as biomedicine.” Robert Fabregat, director general for Research and Innovation in Health, also attended the event.

Xavier Ferràs, professor in the Esade Department of Operations, Innovation and Data Sciences who gave the inaugural conference, said this is our Sputnik moment: “The post-Covid world is for the huge US and Chinese digital players. Europe has to come together as a continent to compete and it is important for the countries’ innovation systems to be fair, to not create social inequality.”

The CataloniaBio & HealthTech Gala was brought to a close with a virtual toast. In the toast, the board invited all members to carry on building a leading hub in innovation in health and to take advantage of the unique virtuous circle of entrepreneurship, innovation and network that CataloniaBio & HealthTech has to offer. 

* Source: BioRegion of Catalonia Life Sciences and Healthcare Outlook 2020

For CataloniaBio & HealthTech members who are interested, we have the recording of the event and the presentation of Xavier Ferràs. Email us at secretaria@cataloniabioht.org.

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