Chemotargets, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has signed a strategic agreement with the Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM) for the discovery and development of new oncological therapies.

The IMIM Cancer Research Program develops pioneering research in cancer biology, understanding new mechanisms of tumor progression, evaluating new therapies such as immunotherapy, or detecting markers of response to treatment. This program contributes to the creation of new treatments and strategies that optimize therapies from the beginning, avoiding ineffective treatments with multiple side effects, and progressing to a personalized high-quality medicine. 

Thanks to the computational technology that Chemotargets will provide ...

Vytrus Biotech, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member that works in plant stem-cell cultures for the cosmetic sector, has just launched an innovative ingredient for biological deodorants.

Deobiome Noni, made from Morinda citrifolia plant stem cells, is presented to the market as an alternative to conventional products, respectful with the skin's microbiota and the environment, and a solution against body odour (axilla, feet and scalp). In an in vivo assay, it saw that the odour intensity was reduced by 30%.

Òscar Expósito, co-founder and CSO of Vytrus Biotech, says: “The launch of Deobiome Noni is a great achievement for our company ...

Alta Life Sciences and the Centre for Technological and Industrial Development (CDTI) have invested €7.6 million in the new Barcelona-based company Accure Therapeutics, which will develop a portfolio of new medicines to address CNS diseases. Accure has integrated the assets of biotech start-ups Bionure and Iproteos.

Accure has a team with consolidated experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry. It will build on existing assets to create further value for patients, doctors and shareholders.

The company will start work on three medicine programmes (ACT-01, ACT-02 and ACT-03) focusing on four CNS disorders: optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and ...

Minoryx Therapeutics, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has started a phase II clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of leriglitazone drug in pediatric patients with early-stage cerebral X-ALD (cALD). The first patient, a ten year-old-boy, was dosed at the Sant Joan de Déu Barcelona Children's Hospital.

The first results of the study, called NEXUS, are expected in 2021. In addition the European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved the proposed Pediatric Investigational Plan for leriglitazone for the treatment of X-ALD, allowing the company to file for an MAA in Europe based on the NEXUS trial, subject to positive results.

"cALD ...

Sequentia Biotech, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has expanded the functions of its GAIA 2.0 microbiome-analysis software to provide support for researchers working on SARS-Cov-2 studies.

GAIA was launched in 2016 and has had over 800 users and analysed 20,000 samples in 2019. The current version can be used to detect and analyse NGS data for the virus very precisely, quickly and with high sensitivity, as well as identifying viral strains, even in complex viral matrices. 

It works with Amplicon and Shotgun sequencing, with data from any NGS platform (Illumina, Oxford Nanopore, PacBio, IonTorrent) and starting from ...

MJN Neuroserveis, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has obtained the CE mark certification for a non-invasive medical device to help people with epilepsy improve their quality of life, together with the notified body BSI Group. 

"We have achieved the most important milestone of the project, the certification for commercialization in Europe. The entire MJN team would like to express our gratitude to all the people and entities that have helped us" says Salva Gutiérrez, co-founder and CEO-CFO at MJN.

In the coming months, MJN will launch the medical device on the market: in Spain through its websitemjn.cat ...

Reig Jofre, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member,  is the force behind a clinical study to evaluate the efficacy of the Manremyc® in 300 health professionals exposed to the risk of contracting Covid-19.

Manremyc® is an oral food supplement based on heatinactivated Mycobacterium s. manresensis bacilli for tuberculosis, result of the research over more than 10 years by the Experimental Tuberculosis Unit of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP).

The study will be carried out in coordination with the IGTP together with the Institute for Research in Primary Care Jordi Gol, and led by Dr Pere-Joan Cardona.

The pharmaceutical ...

Grifols, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has completed the development of a TMA (Transcription-Mediated Amplification) molecular test that permits the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in plasma, blood and respiratory samples, with a sensitivity equal or even superior to that of other molecular tests currently available, such as those based on PCR.

The company has developed the test in record time in a global coordinated effort of its facilities in San Diego, Barcelona and Bilbao, and has recently received the authorization of the Spanish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (AEMPS). Grifols has a productive capacity of one million tests ...

CataloniaBio & HealthTech has published three infographics summarising the main recommendations for preventing the spread of Covid-19 for essential workers and when non-essential professional activity resumes.

The infographics are designed for CataloniaBioHT member start-ups and companies, as well as other organisations interested in using them as an internal communication tool (post them on notice boards, send them to the team, etc.).

They have been compiled based on information from the World Health Organization and Labour Relations Council of Catalonia.

Download infographics:

Dear members,

I’m writing you today on behalf of the whole CataloniaBio & HealthTech board to thank you, in these difficult times, for your solidarity and capacity to respond in order to ensure continued supply of essential healthcare products, participate in research into Covid-19 treatments and vaccines, innovate to cover the lack of equipment in hospitals, advise and invest so start-ups and companies can keep working towards their mission. 

I took the helm of CataloniaBioHT just a few weeks ago, eager to continue boosting the value that we contribute to the health and life sciences ecosystem in Catalonia ...

Banco Sabadell is launching the third edition of BStartup Health call for proposals to support three early stage start-ups in the healthcare sector with an investment of €100,000 and strategic mentoring. The deadline for applications is 20 May 2020.

The projects will be evaluated based on their potential for growth and scalable, innovative business models.

The scientific committee is made up of Clara Campàs, founding partner at Asabys; Carlos Gallardo, CEO of CG Health and Almirall board member; Damià Tormo, partner of Columbus Venture Partners and CEO of Artax Biofarma; and Montserrat Vendrell, partner at Alta Life Science. Genesis ...

Oryzon Genomics, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has received approval from the Spanish Drug Agency (AEMPS) under certain urgency provisions to conduct a Phase II clinical trial with vafidemstat in seriously ill Covid-19 patients.

The study ESCAPE is an open-label, randomized and double-arm trial to assess the efficacy and tolerability of vafidemstat in combination with standard of care treatment, to prevent progression to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS). 

Initially, it is planned to include 20 patients in each arm of the trial at Hospital Vall d'Hebron and Hospital del Mar, both in Barcelona. More centers can be added if ...

Capital Cell, Big Ban Angels and BioHub Valencia are launching a call to invest in business projects to fight Covid-19. The total investment will be up to €2 million in 3-5 projects. The deadline for applications is 3 May 2020.

“They will be investments with social impact, with good potential for return on investment and shifting from an economic model based on growth to one focused on care,” explains Daniel Oliver, CEO of Capital Cell, a crowdequity platform and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member.

The initiative is geared toward projects that help improve diagnosis and treatment of patients, focus on ...

Amgen, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, and Adaptative Biotechnologies announced a collaboration aimed at helping address the Covid-19 pandemic. The two companies will pool their expertise to discover and develop fully human neutralising antibodies targeting SARS-CoV-2 to potentially prevent or treat Covid-19. 

"Our strong history of collaboration with Adaptive gives us the ability to immediately mobilise our combined resources to help address the urgency in controlling this global pandemic," says  Fina Lladós, general manager of Amgen Iberia, which has a subsidiary in Barcelona.

Adaptive will extend its high throughput platform to screen the massive genetic diversity of the ...

Hospital de Sant Pau, QEV Tech engineering, Nissan and the Eurecat technology centre have developed the Q-Vent ventilator for use in hospital ICUs to alleviate the lack of equipment generated by Covid-19.

The Q-Vent ventilator, which has already been authorised by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Healthcare Products (AEMPS) for use in clinical research, has been tested at the facilities of the Research Institute of the Hospital de Sant Pau with excellent results. 

Production of the Q-Vent will begin at Nissan’s Barcelona engine and gearbox plant.

Hospital Sant Pau and Eurecat are CataloniaBio & HealthTech members.

More information

SocialDiabetes, a digital healthstart-up and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has closed deals with insurance company Axa and Axenya to open up its telemedicine platform to diabetic patients in Mexico and other Latin American countries.

This platform, which also includes an app, allows healthcare professionals to monitor their patients and gives the user more control over their condition. The company uses a B2B business model and has received FDA and EMA approval after conducting several clinical trials. 

María Jesús Salido, CEO of SocialDiabetes, highlights that “the platform makes more sense than ever now with the pandemic, as diabetics are a ...

Chemotargets, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has opened a €5-15 million round of investment to shift its business model from software to biotechnology. 

Founded in 2006 as a spin-off of the Systems Pharmacologylabatthe Hospital del Mar Research Institute, Chemotargets is expanding its activity to include drug discovery in several therapeutic areas, starting with oncology. 

At the same time, Chemotargets will continue providing the sector with its smart technology and predictive drug design platforms (ClarityⓇ, with the European Commission Seal of Excellence, and ProSurfScan).

To consolidate this transformation, the company is being advised by the Genesis Biomed consultancy firm ...

Invivo Capital, a life-sciences venture capital firm based in Barcelona and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has invested €2 million in Pulmobiotics, a company developing new drugs for lung infections using synthetic biology tools.

Pulmobiotics was set up this year as a spin-off of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) by Dr Luis Serrano and Dr María Lluch, who highlight “the importance of finding new ways to treat and protect ourselves against infectious agents, as illustrated by the current Covid-19 pandemic.” This report from the Innovadores supplement of newspaper La Razón (in Spanish) explains in more detail.

Respiratory diseases (chronic ...

GlyCardial Diagnostics, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has announced the appointment of Juan Carlos Kaski as Chief Medical Officer (CMO).

Juan Carlos Kaski is a professor of Cardiovascular Science and the Immediate-Past Director of the Cardiovascular and Cell Sciences Research Institute at St George’s (University of London). He is also an honorary consultant cardiologist at St George’s Hospital and the Royal Brompton Hospital in London. 

He has authored over 650 papers and book chapters, eight books and the most recent edition of the European Society of Cardiology Handbook of Cardiovascular Pharmacotherapy. He is editor-in-chief of the European Cardiology Review ...

Nostrum Biodiscovery (NBD), a spin-off of the IRB Barcelona and the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC-CNS) and a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has appointed Ezequiel Mas del Molino as its new CEO. Mas replaces Robert Soliva, who is leaving the company to take on a new professional challenge.

Ezequiel Mas holds a PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Barcelona and an Executive MBA from the EAE Business School. His professional career combines research experience with the management and leadership of scientific projects, both in the industry (CIRCE Crystal Engineering) and public institutions (Leitat and BSC-CNS).

The company's activity focuses on ...