The pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry in Spain has developed into one of the most vibrant and competitive in Europe. Overall, more than 400 pharmaceutical companies are present in Spain, of which around 60 per cent are from overseas.
The pharmaceutical industry employs approximately 49,000 people which places Spain 4th in Europe after Germany, France, and the UK according to the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations. The medical technology industry employs about 29,000 people, which places Spain 7th in Europe after Germany, Italy, the UK, France, Switzerland and Ireland, according to MedTech Europe.
One of the reasons for the growing success of the life sciences industry resides in the favourable legal framework for R&D activities. Spanish law permits a deduction of up to 42 per cent for R&D investment and up to 12 per cent for innovation. Moreover, there exists 40 per cent deduction in social security contributions for R&D employees.
According to the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), in life sciences, the pharmaceutical industry is the industrial leader by volume of spending on research and accounts for more than 20 per cent of total private R&D investment in Spain. It is estimated that this industry employs around 5,000 people entirely dedicated to R&D activities. In broad terms, this figure represents a quarter of total national employment in R&D.
The Barcelona region is at the forefront
With more than 7.7 million inhabitants, Catalonia is the second most inhabited region in Spain. Catalonia is also the second contributor (after Madrid) to the Spanish economy accounting for nearly 19 per cent of Spain’s GDP.
Barcelona is the engine of Catalonia’s economy and has transformed itself from an industrial city into a global gateway, and one of Europe’s centres for biotechnology (source: OECD). According to FDi Tech Cities, Barcelona ranks 7th as a technology city in Europe and 5th in terms of prospects for obtaining investment in innovation, technology, and start-ups. Although not restricted to the life sciences industry, it is worth saying that the Barcelona metropolitan area has around 20 science and technology parks.
Life sciences organisation Biocat reports that mid-2022 investment in start-ups in the life sciences industry in the Barcelona’s region was 2.5 times higher than the same period last year, at almost €300 million (£263 million). The total for the entire year 2021 was €238 million (£209 million). Venture capital remains the principal source of investment, comprising almost 90 per cent of the capital raised. Investment in biotechnology was noteworthy at around €150 million (£132 million), much higher than last year. The increase was mainly due to two capital operations: €51 million (£44 million) invested in Minoryx Therapeutics and €50 million (£45 million) in SpliceBio. Also noteworthy is the growth in the medical technology industry which experienced an all-time high of €110 million (£96.5 million) invested.
A leading innovation hub
The life sciences and healthcare network in the Barcelona region is considered one of the leading innovation hubs in Europe and is based on outstanding research and a strong higher-education system. According to Biocat, the sector has around 90 research institutions (including 18 university hospitals and 12 universities that offer life sciences studies) and over 1,300 companies (mainly biotech and pharmaceutical, but also medtech and digital health firms) that, along with healthcare services,generate almost 9 per cent of the Catalan GDP and employ nearly 250,000 people, of which around 60,000 are employed just in life sciences. More than 90 per cent of these companies are in Barcelona. Companies active over the last two years include Teladoc Health, Sandoz, Qiagen, AGC Pharma
Chemicals and Scientific Products.
As a subsector, pharmaceutical has fewer companies, but their joint turnover is almost three times that of biotechnology firms. Many large international pharmaceutical companies are present in Barcelona, including AstraZeneca, Bayer, Novartis, Pfizer, and Roche. The medtech and digital health subsectors increased their turnover by 40 per cent and 21 per cent, respectively compared to 2020.
Key locations
Life sciences locations in the Barcelona region are scattered around the city itself and its hinterland. Important locations are described below:
The Parc Científic de Barcelona is considered one of Europe’s model networks in research, technology transfer and innovation with around 3,000 professionals working mainly in the health sector, including pharmacology, biotechnology, medical technologies, food and cosmetics. The Park features more than 30,000 sq m (322,800 sq ft) of laboratory and office space spread over seven buildings. The Park was built by the University of Barcelona in 1997, becoming the first science park in the country (“The PCB – Parc Científic de Barcelona”).
The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) is located on the seafront, in the Olympic Village of Barcelona. This large hub is made of several research centres and is connected to Hospital delMar, a university hospital. The autonomous research centres form an inter-institutional network that is connected via shared spaces within a single building of 55,000 sq m (590,000 sq ft). The building hosts the Department of Medicine and Life Sciences at Pompeu Fabra University, the Centre for Genomics Regulation, the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, the Institute of Evolutionary Biology, the Institute of Applied Radiopharmacy, and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to molecular biology research and supported by the EU.
The Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (“Institut de Recerca Germans Trias i Pujol” or IGTP) is a public research centre dedicated to fostering scientific knowledge and transferring it to improve the care patients’ outcomes. The institute is attached to one of the main teaching hospitals in the Barcelona area, the Germans Trias University Hospital (HUGTP), and is located on the Campus Can Ruti biomedical campus.
The Torribera Food campus is a university hub focussing on the sciences related to food, where research is coordinated by the Institute for Research in Nutrition and Food Safety (INSA) of the University of Barcelona. The site is a 34-hectare (84-acre) piece of land owned by the Provincial Council of Barcelona, located north of the city of Santa Coloma de Gramenet. It is connected to the biomedical campus of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
The UAB Research Park (PRUAB) is a non-profit organisation created in 2007 by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), and the Institute of Research and Technology (IRTA). Its mission is to promote technology and knowledge transfer activities across its members. The Park provides services to UAB’s departments on different sectors including biotechnology and biomedicine, food technology and animal health.
SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona is the first specialised hospital in paediatric oncology in Spain. The hospital is located in a 14,000 sq m (150,640 sq ft) building connected to the SJD Barcelona Children’s Hospital. It is distributed over five floors, with 70 per cent spaces for medical care and 30 per cent for research.
Several development projects are also underway in Barcelona.
These include:
- The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), along with the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF) and the Spanish National Research Council (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones – CSIC), will build a new research hub at the Antic Mercat del Peix in Barcelona, specialised in biomedicine, precision medicine and planetary well-being. The hub will host three new buildings for a total capacity of 25,000 sq m (269,000 sq ft) which will be occupied by the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, the Pompeu Fabra University, and the Institute of Evolutionary Biology (IBE-CSIC-UPF).
- The CaixaResearch Institute will become Spain’s first research centre specialising in immunology. The new centre, expected to be delivered between 2024 and 2025 and located opposite CosmoCaixa, will occupy a total area of approximately 19,000 sq m (204,440 sq ft).
- The Vall d’Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), a prominent body in biomedical research with more than a thousand researchers, will be hosted in a new building. The building, which is expected to be finished in 2023, will be located the Vall d’Hebron campus in Barcelona in a previously unused plot. Consisting of around 17,000 sq m (182,920 sq ft) the new building will also consolidate different research spaces and enable researchers to work together.
