By Sougato Das, President and COO, Life Science Nation (LSN)
The Barcelona and the Catalonia region of Spain achieved record investment in life sciences startups, venture, and growth companies in 2024. Catalonia hosts the HQs of 1500 life science companies, of which 90% are early stage/startups – an average of 1.25 startups are created in the region weekly. Combined with commensurate increases in scientific publications (over 54K, ranked 5th in Europe), clinical trials, and other bibliometric measures, Catalonia is becoming a major life science hub in Europe, with 25% of Spain’s life science companies. With RESI Europe, the largest life science investor event in the EU in terms of number of attending investors, taking place April 1 – 3, the trend is positioned to continue in 2025.
In fact, Catalonian life science seed, venture, and growth companies received €350 million in investment in 2024. The increasing draw of the region for Spanish investors, pan-European investors, Asian investors, and US investors can be seen not only across investments, but also across conference participation. 80% of the investment is from VCs, with 75% from investors outside of Spain, including prestigious firms like Sofinnova Partners, Merck, and Novartis Venture Fund. The remaining 20% of the investment is from non-dilutive sources. Not to be outdone, M&A activity also hit a record for the region, with 11 life science M&A deals.
In terms of modality, medtech has led in gross investment amount, primarily due to Impress (dental health). Next was biotech, accounting for €143 million. Digital health investment, however, saw a drop of 40% vs. 2023. This is likely due to the digital health sector experiencing rapid growth in 2023, with a 61% increase from 2022 – most first-round investments were likely made in digital health during that time and now the receiving companies are engaged in the funded R&D. Catalonia also boasts 71 investment organizations.
Finally, Catalonia is a hotbed of clinical trial activity, host to 87% of trials in Spain. The plurality (one-third) of these trials are in oncology. Recognizing this potential, global pharmaceutical and life sciences leaders have set up production centers and R&D departments in Catalonia, taking advantage of the region’s exceptional pool of local talent. Now is the time to take advantage of RESI Europe to partner with international investors, if you are local to Spain, or get your bearings in the booming Catalonia life science sector if you are new to the region.
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