1 March 2021
Almirall, a pharmaceutical company and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member based in Barcelona, has appointed Gianfranco Nazzi as its new CEO, taking over for Peter Guenter. He will officially join the company on 1 May.
Nazzi has a degree in Economics and Banking from the University of Udine (Italy). He had been headhunted by Almirall from Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries Ltd, where he was executive vice-president for foreign markets and a member of the executive board. Previously, he has also held positions of responsibility at AstraZeneca, GSK and Eli Lilly.
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Almirall and Tyris ...25 February 2021
SocialDiabetes, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has signed a deal with French medical device company Biocorp to integrate the Mallya insulin pen into its telehealth platform.
This means patients with diabetes who use this pen will be able to control their insulin doses themselves, and get personalised recommendations. The clinical data for each patient is monitored on the platform, which uses artificial intelligence and big data, for healthcare professionals to consult and follow up.
Currently, more than 250,000 patients in Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Chile use the Catalan firm platform. The deal with Biocorp will open up ...
23 February 2021
Ambit BST-CSV Experts, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, and EudaMed have signed a strategic alliance to train companies developing medical devices and technology on the EUDAMED database from the European Commission.
The agreement comes at a time of significant regulatory change in the sector. EUDAMED is one of the new initiatives that bring a very ambitious approach to Europe for the traceability, clinical evaluation and medical product monitoring, as well as company inspections in the sector.
The training course on EUDAMED, an European database of mandatory compliance for healthcare and IVD products will take place on 17 and ...
11 February 2021
Multinational biotech company Amgen, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has appointed Miquel Balcells medical director of Amgen Iberia, based in Barcelona.
Amgen has 73 clinical trials under way in Spain and Portugal in therapeutic areas like oncology, cardiology, inflammation and nephrology.
Balcells joined Amgen Iberia in 2006 as medical head of oncology and haematology. He has had a key role in making these units a benchmark, as well as boosting collaboration in innovative programmes in hospitals.
Photo: Miquel Balcells - PM Farma
11 February 2021
Asian biopharmaceutical firm SeriTech Co Ltd will set up its European subsidiary in Barcelona from the second quarter of 2021.
SeriTech Co Ltd specialises in extracting natural silk proteins, which have been scientifically proven for biomedical, therapeutic and cosmetic uses (biocompatibility with cardiac tissue, cardiovascular grafts, Alzheimer treatments, vaccines, etc.). They have also developed innovative transdermal delivery technology using microneedling.
One of the company’s first steps here has been to join CataloniaBio & HealthTech: “It is a highly active cluster, where we hope to broaden our alliances with companies in Catalonia, particularly in the field of biomedical drugs,” explains ...
10 February 2021
Newborn Solutions, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has closed a €600,000 round to carry out clinical validation of its first medical device Neosonics in 2021.
The two undisclosed investors that will be joining the medtech company’s shareholders are from the healthcare sector and will be able to commercialise the product in the future.
The innovation Neosonics will bring to the market is its non-invasive testing for meningitis in newborns.
Photo: Rita Quesada, Javier Jiménez, QuiqueBassat and Marta Príncep, executives at Newborn Solutions.
Want to know more about Newborn Solutions? We recommend this video of CataloniaBio & HealthTech ...
10 February 2021
Biotechnology firm Oncoheroes Biosciences, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member with offices in Boston and Barcelona, has signed two agreements to receive philanthropic investments from the Catalytic Impact Foundation and the Gregory Foundation for Cancer Research in the United States.
Both of these foundations value Oncoheroes’ innovative approach to the urgent need for treatment designed specifically for children with cancer, the social impact of their activity, and the fact that it is an early-stage startup. The Gregory Foundation had invested in the company previously.The sum invested through these agreements has not been disclosed.
“We’re happy to see that more non-profit ...
5 February 2021
The Government of Catalonia submitted a report entitled Next Generation Catalonia this week, with a proposal of 27 strategic projects* to opt for the Next Generation EU funds Spain will receive from Europe (€150 billion). The projects must promote Catalonia’s ecological transition, digitisation and re-industrialisation under the framework of the new generation of Europe.
The 27 projects were selected from the 542 initiatives submitted by Catalonia’s administration and social and economic stakeholders, including CataloniaBio & HealthTech as the representative of the healthcare and life sciences industry in Catalonia.
The selection criteria were based on the projects’ uniqueness, maturity, cost, commercialisation ...
31 January 2021
Mowoot, a start-up and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has published its first international clinical trial showing the efficacy and safety of the medical device in treating chronic constipation, regardless of the cause.
It was a multi-centre study carried out with 92 patients over 2 years, funded through the EU Horizon 2020 programme.It was led by Doreen McClurg, a benchmark in the field of neurogenic bowel dysfunction at Glasgow Caledonian University, and Immaculada Herrero-Fresneda, co-founder and CSO of Mowoot.
The results have been published in the journal Clinical and Transalational Gastroenterology.
In addition to the publication of this clinical trial ...
29 January 2021
Splice Bio, a spin-off of Princeton University and a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has appointed Jean-Philippe Combal as chairman of its Board of Directors. Combal is a proven senior executive and entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry (GenSight Biologics, Galderma International, Fovea-Sanofi, among others) and particularly in the field of gene therapy. Currently, he is co-founder and executive director of Vivet Therapeutics (France).
The company is backed by Ysios Capital, Asabys Partners and Caixa Capital Risc.
Photo: Jean-Philippe Combal - © Splice Bio
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Splice Bio to ...29 January 2021
Inbiomotion, a spin-off of IRB Barcelona and the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has closed a round of investment led by Alta Life Sciences. The total amount invested has not been disclosed publicly, although the round included existing investors like the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF).
Inbiomotion is developing a test to diagnose breast cancer using a predictive biomarker (MAF test). Clinical trials have shown this biomarker can identify patients with early-stage breast cancer, who would benefit from bisphosphonates in adjuvant treatment to improve life expectancy.
This capital increase will ...
28 January 2021
Law firm Roca Junyent, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, and consultancy firm Daleph presented their new Test IN service to maximise companies’ chances of getting European funding or grants from the Next Generation EU funds that Spain will receive between 2021 and 2023 to promote economic recovery.
Specifically, Test IN helps companies identify and assess whether their plans or projects are eligible for funding or grants, and to guide them in meeting the requirements.
Roca Junyent has a department that specialises in the healthcare and life sciences sector, led by Yolanda Puiggròs.
Photo: from left to right, Joan ...
27 January 2021
Minoryx Therapeutics, a biotechnology company and CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has announced positive results of the Phase II/III clinical trial on its main drug, leriglitazone, in patients with adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN).
“AMN is a rare disease with a great unmet medical need and without any approved treatments currently. The Minoryx clinical trial is a great milestone for this indication” notes Minoryx Chief Medical Officer Uwe Meya.
ADVANCE is a multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled study that took place in hospitals in the United States and Europe, with 116 male patients over 2 years.
Minoryx will begin conversations with the regulatory agencies ...
22 January 2021
CataloniaBio & HealthTech has launched its new BIOMED ScaleUP programme, with collaboration from Lead To Change (LTC) and support from ACCIÓ (Government of Catalonia) to help start-ups and companies in the healthcare and life sciences sector in Catalonia take a leap forward in their growth. The BIOMED ScaleUP programme was presented yestarday in a hybrid event (online and in person at the Barcelona Science Park) with entrepreneurs and executives from over 80 companies.
The Catalan healthcare industry has evolved very positively since 2010 in business creation, investment attracted, employment, pipeline growth, and innovative services, but “now it is important ...
18 January 2021
Pharmaceutical company Almirall, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, and biotechnology firm Tyris Therapeutics have announced a new alliance to develop non-viral gene therapies to treat minority dermatology diseases.
Tyris has cutting-edge proprietary technology and will be in charge of generating the drugs through to clinical trials. The Spanish biotech company is funded by Columbus Venture Partners.
The deal is part of Almirall’s strategy to offer innovative medical solutions for skin health.
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Almirall calls for innovation to advance new treatments for skin diseasesAlmirall enters the IBEX 35Almirall acquires the American Bioniz ...11 January 2021
Ability Pharma has signed a €2.45-million investment deal with Chinese company SciClone Pharmaceuticals, which is now a shareholder in the Catalan biotechnology company.
Collaboration between these two companies first began in 2016 with a licensing deal to develop and market the drug ABTL0812 to treat pancreatic cancer in China.
This funding, along with the €2 million the company raised through a crowdfunding campaign last December, will go to fund phase 2 clinical trials on ABTL0812.
Photo: Carles Domènech, founder and president of Ability Pharma.
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Ability closes €2-million round for clinical trials ...11 January 2021
Josep Rodés Cabau has been named Director of Research and Innovation at Hospital Clinic Barcelona for the next 4 years, replacing Elias Campo.
Rodés is currently part of the hospital’s Cardiology Unit. For the previous 18 years, he was head of haemodynamics and interventional cardiology at the Quebec Heart and Lung Institute, the Canadian benchmark in cardiology and cardiac surgery.
Josep Rodés has set the following priorities: setting up a facility to coordinate clinical studies, consolidating a solid innovation structure, ensuring quantity and quality of scientific production, and promoting young researchers.
9 January 2021
Devicare has announced the first round of investment in the healthcare and life sciences sector in Catalonia in 2021: €2.45 million from Asian Group Advanced MedTech Holdings, which specialises in medical technology for urology.
Other participants in the round include the company’s main partners, EMESA Capital, Joan Knuth and its founder Rosendo Garganta, plus Ship2B through the impact investment fund Equity4Good.
The funding will be used to develop the second generation of Lit-Control®, a non-invasive digitised treatment for kidney stones.
Abel Ang, CEO of Advanced MedTech, says, “We hope to expand the Devicare value proposal on a global scale ...
8 January 2021
Ecopol Tech, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has developed nanocapsules to administer drugs to fight lung and breast cancer that help reduce the systemic toxicity of these treatments.
The new system has been registered under the trademark Ecostratar™ and the University of Barcelona Cancer Cell Biology research group, which is associated with the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL), has begun validation in mice. It is expected to move into the clinical phase in 2023.
Ecopol Tech received a grant of nearly €84,000 through the Business Enterprise R&D Nuclis programme from ACCIÓ (Government of Catalonia) for this project ...
8 January 2021
Hospital Clinic Barcelona and Bellvitge University Hospital have started using the RAID-CRC test from biotechnology firm GoodGut for early detection of colorectal cancer.
RAID-CRC is a fast, affordable, easy-to-use, non-invasive test and the first to use specific bacterial biomarkers in stool samples. This new, clinically proven method can reduce the number of false positives by 61%, which means those unnecessary colonoscopies don't have to be done.
“With the current healthcare restrictions due to COVID-19, our priority is to identify the patients who would most benefit from a colonoscopy,” explained Dr Francesc Balaguer, head of Gastroenterology at Hospital Clinic ...