The Catalonia BioRegion is growing stronger
Alba Soler, Bioibérica Communications Director (@asolerc)
A few days ago we attended the presentation of the 2015 Biocat Report in Barcelona, the study which analyses the situation of life and health sciences in the Catalonia BioRegion, sponsored by Bioibérica and Ferrer, along with the more than 200 people from the sector who attended. Although the figures really stood out, I want to highlight, perhaps by professional default, how the presentation had excellent staging with interactive infographics and hand made drawings (Amazing!).
Health and life sciences (which includes biotechnology activity) is growing at the global level and in Catalonia, where our plant and central headquarters are located. They now represent 7% of the GDP (5.8% in 2013), the companies generate 14,369 million Euros and employ 42,133 professionals (4,000 in R+D). Today in Bioibérica we have a staff of 358 people and sales of 246.8 million Euros.
Being part of this atmosphere of scientific excellence is a true luxury. As the General Director of Biocat, Dr Albert Barberà noted, the number of companies in the sector has increased (from 512 to 734 since the 2013 Biocat Report), along with their size, the investments attracted and large business operations, which demonstrates the consolidation of the BioRegion created 10 years ago. Of these companies, 221 are biotechnology companies, and Bioibérica is one of the ones with the longest history as it was founded in 1975. The main therapeutic areas are oncology, dermatology, infectious diseases, and nervous and respiratory system diseases. If you want to know how we are innovating in Bioibérica I suggest that you read the success case published by the Biocat Report.
As for pending challenges, the report noted that the high level of research does not translate into socio-economic value, the investment in public and private R+D decreased by almost 11% between 2009 and 2014, and in spite of the successful investments in 2015, access to capital continues to be one of the obstacles that Catalan companies face.
With this snapshot in our hands, we will continue working so that the biotechnology from the Catalonia BioRegion translates into new treatments which cure illnesses or improve the quality of life for millions of people across the globe.