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The reindustrialization of the biomedical sector has been the focus of debate at the 2021 UnConference, from an inclusive approach where both large corporations, and SMEs and start-ups have played a leading role. CataloniaBio & HealthTech has brought together a hundred CEOs, executives, and entrepreneurs from pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical technology and digital health entities and companies to address one of the issues that the pandemic has also brought back to the table.

The UnConference has become the main event of 2021 for CataloniaBio & HealthTech, after Covid-19 disrupted the other main events. It hosted the 2021 BioSuccess Award ...

CataloniaBio & HealthTech has recognised ONA Therapeutics with the Biosuccess award 2021 for its consolidation, investment attraction and growth as a spin-off. The event took place during the UnConference, the annual day of debate on the future of healthcare solutions promoted by CataloniaBio & HealthTech.

ONA Therapeutics S.L. is a biotechnology company specializing in the discovery and development of new biological therapies aimed at metastasis initiating cells and lipid metabolism. Founded in 2019 by Valerie Vanhooren and Salvador Aznar-Benitah, it is a spin-off of the Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and the Barcelona Institute for Research ...

Vifor Pharma to acquire Sanifit, a clinical-stage cardio-renal biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments for progressive vascular calcification disorders, complementing and strengthening the Group’s growing nephrology portfolio. Sanifit, based in Palma (Spain) has had the backing of international and Spanish funds, among which are the CataloniaBio  & HealthTech members Alta Life Sciences, Ysios Capital and Healthequity, as well as Caixa Capital Risc, Columbus Venture Partners, and Innvierte from CDTI.

Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, Vifor Pharma will acquire 100% of the outstanding shares in Sanifit Therapeutics, receiving full global rights for SNF472, further enhancing the company’s portfolio of ...

Pedro Sánchez, the Spanish president, has announced the strategic project for economic recovery and transformation (PERTE) ‘Salud de Vanguardia’. The project will mobilize 1,469 million public and private investment between 2021 and 2023.

Of the neraly 1.5 billion euros provided for in the project, about 982 million will come  from the public sector and at least 487 million directly from the private  sector. The aim of PERTE is to strengthen the National Health System and position Spain in the innovation and development of advanced therapies.

The PERTE structures around four main objectives and five strategic lines. The objectives ...

Oncoheroes Biosciences Inc. (“Oncoheroes”), a biotech focused on advancing new therapies for childhood cancer and member  of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has out-licensed worldwide the adult rights to Notable Labs, Inc. (“Notable”), a clinical-stage predictive precision medicine company. Under the terms of this agreement, Oncoheroes will retain the license for the development and commercialization of volasertib for pediatric cancers and continue its commitment towards childhood cancer. Notable will have exclusive rights to develop and commercialize volasertib in adult cancer indications. Financial details of this deal are not disclosed.

Volsertib is a medicine designed by Boehringer Ingelheim for acute myeloid leukemia ...

For the first time ever, Grifols has been included on the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) while retaining its distinction on the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI Europe).

Grifols, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech  member, is recognized among the top six biotechnology companies globally  and is the only European firm in its industry to join the DJSI World. This year, the number of companies assessed in this sector increased by 46%.

As co-CEOs Raimon Grifols and Víctor Grífols Deu observed, “Sustainability is a long-term commitment to which we have remained faithful since our origins. Grifols’ distinction on the ...

Bringing science and technology closer to the public and promoting scientific vocations among the youngest have been the two main objectives of Science Week in Catalonia since it started 26 years ago. After all this time, this is the  first time that activities have been offered by companies in the sector, and they have done so with the help of CataloniaBio & HealthTech.

What is the route the blood takes once it comes out of the donor’s arm? Now dozens of people know the answer, those who took part in the guided tours throughout  the morning of Saturday 13 ...

After successfully completing the first edition of the BIOMED ScaleUP  program, CataloniaBio & HealthTech has chosen the issue of scaling up companies in the sector to debate in the context of the CEO Council. A group of CEOs of CataloniaBio & HealthTech met at the Barcelona School of Management (UPF) on November 10 to discuss this aspect that is critical to our ecosystem.

The special guest of the session was Amit Jain, co-founder of Veersa, Inc., a medical technology company based in the United States, and a seasoned Senior Operating Executive with extensive experience in the Healthcare industry, including US ...

The pharmaceutical company Ferrer, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech  member, will invest 20 million euros in converting its dermocosmetics plant in Esplugues de Llobregat so that it can also produce liquid medicines.

In an interview with the EFE news agency, Mario Rovirosa, CEO of Ferrer, explained that the company wants to further promote the brand's drugs, its  own innovation and focus on therapeutic areas such as neurology and pneumology. These are actions that Ferrer had stablished in his strategic plan until 2025, which has now been ratified and extended for the period 2022-2026.

The changes  at the Esplugues dermocosmetics plant is ...

Bringing science and technology closer to the public and encouraging scientific vocations among the youngest have been the two main objectives of Science Week in Catalonia since it started 26 years ago. After all this years, it will be the first time that companies  will participate with activities, and they will do so with the help of  CataloniaBio & HealthTech, with the members Ferrer and the Blood and Tissue  Bank.

The 2021 edition of the Science Week was presented this morning at an institutional event in the Parliament of Catalonia. "This participation is an opportunity to project companies in the ...

The biotechnology company, a member  of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has been recognised this 2021 with the Ecovadis Platinum medal, the holistic platform for the qualification of CSR management and sustainability. By 2020 they had achieved the Ecovadis Silver in their first year of evaluation.

The Platinum  Medal is the highest grade and only 1% of companies evaluated worldwide receive  it. Vytrus has excelled in environmental and ethical issues, especially for its sustainability goals. This global recognition represents a further guarantee for Vytrus, the biotech company specializing in cosmetic active ingredients derived from plant stem cells.

For Albert  Jané, CEO ...

Veristat, a scientific-minded globalclinical research organization (CRO), announced the expansion of its regulatory services capabilities by acquiring Drug Development and Regulation (DDR), a scientific and regulatory consultancy with offices in Barcelona and Amsterdam, and a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member.

Led by Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Xavier Luria, M.D.— former Head of Safety and Efficacy of Medicines at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) — DDR has carved out an impressive growth trajectory working with small to midsized companies largely involved in rare diseases and cancers, among others, and keenly interested in avoiding the implications of a less ...

Mowoot, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech  member, has become the first Catalan medtech company to close a single  collaboration agreement with the largest funding platforms in Europe to launch its new round: Aescuvest (Germany), with the support of EITHealth, and Capital Cell, also CataloniaBio & HealthTech members. The new joint campaign totals 2 million euros.

Thanks to this unique collaboration, European investors of any size can invest in Mowoot through equity-funding with the assurance that the project has been reviewed and validated independently by both platforms. The new capital inflow will allow the company to boost its expansion plan focused on ...

The International Brain Research Organization-African Regional Committee (IBRO-ARC) is organizing a School on Genome Editing for Neuroscience Research in collaboration with a non-governmental organization (TReND in Africa). ZeClinics, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech  member, is joining the school with their scientific director, Vincenzo Di Donato, as an expert in the field of genomic modifications, and to represent ZeClinics as a worldwide reference company in zebrafish genetics.

The aim of the school is to promote research on genome editing in several non-rodent model systems in Africa, where, during the last few years, there is a growing interest from the local scientific community ...

Belgian biotechnology company Agomab Therapeutics NV (Agomab) has acquired Origo Biopharma, which is developing an innovative platform for TGF-beta-inhibiting locally acting drugs for the treatment of fibrosis in various tissues and cancer.

This biotechnology company based in Touro (Galicia) and Barcelona is funded by Asabys Partners, members of CataloniaBio &  HealthTech, and the Xunta de Galicia. Asabys Partners led a Seed round in June 2020, and since then have worked with the founders and management team to capture talent, expand the project portfolio, and develop the most advanced product to clinical stages.

The operation  with the Belgian biotechnology company is ...

CTIS will be the single-entry point for submitting clinical trial information in the EU. Asphalion, the international scientific and regulatory affairs consultancy company, and a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has been part of the EMA CTIS  stakeholder meetings and is also CTIS Master Trainer, thus has been closely involved in the implementation of the clinical trials regulation.

CTIs (Clinical Trial Information System) will go live when the Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR) becomes applicable on January 31st, 2022, and it will repeal the existing Clinical Trial Directive and national legislation that was put in place to implement the Directive. Companies ...

Drug discovery biotech firm Chemotargets, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, and the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) have signed a strategic agreement to accelerate the development of new targeted therapies that respond to unmet clinical needs in different fields including cancer.

Chemotargets develops computational platforms for the design, optimization and safety evaluation of drugs. The biotech firm’s cutting-edge computational technologies can rapidly design potential new drug candidates for therapeutic targets that are difficult to treat and for which no identified drugs currently exist. The new partnership will leverage the CRG’s fundamental knowledge on the complexity of life, as well as ...

A new biotechnology-based company is born in the Institute for Bioengineering  of Catalonia (IBEC), member  of CataloniaBio & HealthTech. The IBEC Spin-off with private participation, Vitala Technologies, will offer innovative solutions for the analysis of drugs during their development, as well as the possibility to know in advance and in a personalized way, what will be the response of a patient to a certain treatment, aiming to accelerate and optimize the identification of  drugs to bring to the market.

Vitala combines innovative bioengineering technologies such as organs-on-a-chip and advanced imaging techniques, to offer unprecedented value in preclinical therapeutic compound research ...

The biotech company Archivel Farma has officially begun the clinical trial of its therapeutic vaccine RUTI® in India. The double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase IIb clinical trial will investigate the efficacy of RUTI® as adjuvant of Tuberculosis (TB) chemotherapy and will recruit 90 patients with TB and 50 patients with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB).

The clinical trials will be conducted by the CRO Clinical  Research Network India in two centers in the country, in New Delhi and Agartala. The first patient in the trial has been recruited on 30 September. "For Archivel it represents a great milestone since it brings the ...

ONA  Therapeutics announced the appointment of Dr Haijun Sun as Chief  Scientific Officer (CSO) and several appointments to its Scientific Advisory  Board (SAB). The biotech company, member of CataloniaBio &  HealthTech, is focused on the discovery and development of therapeutic biologics targeting lipid metabolism to treat advanced cancer.

Dr Haijun Sun brings over 20 years of industry experience spanning broad aspects of drug discovery & development, particularly targeting therapies against tumors and the tumor microenvironment. He joins ONA from GSK where, as Head of Antibody Pharmacology, he led a team of assay biologists and immunologists advancing over twenty antibody discovery ...