On July 7, Tech Barcelona's headquarters hosted a new training capsule from I4KIDS, the paediatric innovation hub coordinated by Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, organized in collaboration with Catalonia.health. The session brought together startup leaders, researchers and health professionals to discuss financing, regulation and international expansion in the field of paediatric health.

The round table included three members of Catalonia.health: Stefanos Theoharis (OneChain Immunotherapeutics), Gisela Lorente (Aptadel Therapeutics) and Marc Martinell (Minoryx Therapeutics), who shared firsthand the challenges of bringing scientific innovation to the children and families who need it.

Stefanos Theoharis emphasized the value of open debate among the investment team as a driver of stronger decisions, and emphasized that the Catalan ecosystem is stronger than it is perceived from the outside: it needs to be made more visible internationally so that it attracts more investment.

Gisela Lorente, for her part, explained the difficulties typical of an initial stage in obtaining funding, and emphasized that Aptadel works with patient associations as partners, not as simple interest groups. He also pointed out that, despite the strength of the Barcelona ecosystem, there is still reluctance to invest in paediatrics compared to markets such as the United States.

Marc Martinell, in turn, defended that investors join in when they are told a solid return, and encouraged to stay the course despite the initial negatives. He was optimistic looking at the progress of the last fifteen years and pointed to two fundamental challenges: to improve the translation of science from the academic field to established companies, and to add more cases of success that reach the end of the journey.

The closing was carried out by Dr. Joan Comella, Director of Research, Innovation and Learning at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, who recalled that the maturation of innovation ecosystems is slow and that it is difficult to transform knowledge into funding, although changes are already being noticed.

Eva García-Ramos, president of Catalonia.health, closed the event reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of the Catalan health ecosystem, and claimed the need to strengthen the connections between research, entrepreneurship, industry and investment. Catalonia.health reiterated its desire to act as a link between all these actors.

The day ended with a networking session that highlighted, once again, Barcelona's role as a reference ecosystem for paediatric innovation.