Dr Jordi Mestres, founder and CEO of CataloniaBio & HealthTech member Chemotargets and coordinator of the Systems Pharmacology Group at the Hospital del Mar Research Institute (IMIM), has been admitted as a fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. 

This recognition, one of the most important granted to a chemist, is an important milestone in a researcher's career because it is indicative of scientific quality.

The Royal Society of Chemistry has more than 54,000 members around the world and heritage spanning over 175 years. Its mission is to advance the chemical sciences by investing in educating future ...

Leukos Biotech, spin-off of the Jose Carreras Leukaemia Research Institute supported by Inveready, has received the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) orphan drug designation for its drug candidate LK-01.

LK-01 is a product based on Apomorphine for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML), a blood cancer arising from the myeloid lineage of haematopoietic stem cells. A still relevant proportion of patients with AML die from progressive disease after relapse.

The potential benefit of LK-01 is being explored in a phase I/II trial in elderly patients and relapsed patients with AML. Results are expected later in 2019.

The US ...

Bio€quity Europe, the longest investor event for the European biotechnology sector, will take place in Barcelona for the first time on 20th and 21st May 2019. The conference will be held in Barcelona at the initiative of the Host Regional Committee, which brings together Biocat, Ysios Capital, ACCIÓ and CataloniaBio & HealthTech. 

Bio€quity Europe —organised by BioCentury and EBD Group— has showcased more than 800 leading European companies and thousands of investment and pharma business development professionals. More than 550 delegates from 26 nations attended latest edition in Ghent.

"Barcelona has all of the key ingredients for a ...

Almirall launches the open innovation platform AlmirallShare with the aim of finding advanced small molecules that could be used in the therapeutic treatment of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, actinic keratosis, and related dermatological diseases.

The call is addressed to universities, research centers, biotech companies, start-ups, and pharma companies all over the world with research compounds that have shown good potency and an acceptable pharmacokinetic profile or development compounds that have shown a good human safety profile. 

Submitting a proposal is as easy as going to sharedinnovation.almirall.com.

FreeOx Biotech, spin-out of Hospital Clinic Barcelona-IDIBAPS and member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has opened a round of investment hoping to raise €500,000. The company’s goal this year is to accelerate development and the regulatory process for its drug candidate Ox-01, which has completed phase IIb, and begin preclinical trials with Ox-02. Both drugs are being used to treat stroke and other diseases of the central nervous system (CNS).

“We’re looking for a total of €500,000 and we’ve already raised €200,000 from two private investors,” explained Carlos Lurigados, co-founder and CEO of FreeOx. These investors ...

The Genesis Ventures investment fund, managed by Genesis Biomed consultancy, has made its first investment of €75,000 in the NeuroHeal research project at the Institut de Neurociències (INc) at the Autonomous  University of Barcelona (UAB), led by Dr Caty  Casas. The agreement will allow them to accelerate development of the product and move towards creating a new spin-off.

NeuroHeal is a new first line of treatment to accelerate neuroregeneration  and reduce muscle atrophy.

Genesis Ventures, which was first presented  at the Barcelona Science Park in November 2017, is committed to projects in the very early stages to help them ...

Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Banc de Sang i Teixits, Dr Oriol Mitjà and Andreu Mas-Colell have been selected as winners of the third edition of the Trifermed Awards for social impact in healthcare. The ceremony was held on June 14th at CaixaForum Barcelona with the participation of more than 300 attendees from the local and international sector.

The prizes are chaired by the researcher and neurobiologist Dra. Mara Dierseen (winner of 2017). In addition to the Dra. Dierssen, the jury was made up of Ignasi Biosca (Reig Jofre and former president of CataloniaBio), Clara Campàs (Kern Pharma and Asabys Partners), Luis ...

Catalan biomedical companies attracted €102 million in investment in 2017, with €3.4 million per operation, on average. This will allow them to push forward in the development of drugs and innovative medical technology, as reflected in the Study on investment in the Biomedical industry in Catalonia: Achievements and future challenges presented today by CataloniaBio & HealthTech and EY in Barcelona. The event drew a crowd of more than 60 entrepreneurs, investors and professionals from the sector.

Venture capital continues to be the main source of funding for companies that develop products (33%), while service firms tend to opt for ...

Hospital Clinic Barcelona has launched a 3D bioprinting laboratory, through a collaboration with Avinent, to print prototypes and parts for traumatology, maxillofacial surgery, otorhinolaryngology, neurosurgery and neonatology.

The lack of harmonised regulations and effective controls means this technique can't be used in patients yet, but it is a big step forward in terms of the advantages 3D printing has to offer for surgery.

Recently, Avinent was at the BIOMEDevice congress and on abusiness mission to Boston to get a first-hand look at the most innovative technology being applied in this field and to explore commercialisation opportunities.

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Venture capital firm Inveready, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, is putting the finishing touches on a €25-million fund to invest in start-ups in the health and biotechnology arena. The fund will be launched in the coming weeks, according to information from Expansión. 

With this third vehicle coming soon, to be called Biotech III, Inveready will manage more than €175 million in investment. In total, they hope to build a portfolio of 20 to 25 companies, mainly in Spain. 

Photo: Sara Secall and Roger Piqué at the Inveready headquarters in Barcelona - © Expansión, Elena Ramón

Banco Sabadell and Asabys Partners, founded by Josep Lluís Sanfeliu and Clara Campàs —member of the last Board of directors at CataloniaBio (2014-2018)—, have created a new venture capital fund of 60 million euros which will centre its investment activity in the health arena.

The new fund is known as Sabadell Asabys Health Innovation Fund. It will carry out initial investments in biotech, MedTech and digital health companies in Spain, as well as the UK and Israel.

The fund could obtain up to 6 million euros per company, and expects to work closely with research centres and benchmark ...

Bionure, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech that develops neuroprotectant agents to treat neurodegenerative diseases primarily focusing on rare ophthalmologic diseases as Acute Optic Neuritis (AON) and Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO), announces the initiation of a Phase I clinical trial of its lead compound BN201 in the United Kingdom.

BN201 is a first-in-class selective SGK2 agonist that promotes remyelination and neuroprotection, offering a game-changing solution for neurodegenerative diseases.

The company has reconstituted its Board of Directors and added prominent neuro-ophthalmologist Dr. Craig Smith as the new Chief Medical Officer (CMO). Dr Smith is a Senior Advisor/Consultant with the Bill and Melinda ...

For five months, a total of eleven emerging companies will receive free training and guidance...

Bicosome, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member that has developed technology to... 

Kiversal, a CataloniaBio & HealthTech member, has been awarded a €182,000 grant from the 2017 Neotec programme...

Mitelos, member of CataloniaBio & HealthTech, has signed a partnership agreement with Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd to...

The new location in the heart of city’s tech hub is situated in Canada’s largest biotech cluster...

Spherium Biomed announced the completion of its Phase I/IIa clinical trial of Mucomel® for the prevention...

Asphalion, scientific and regulatory affairs consultancy, has opened its third office in Madrid managed by Dr André Mota...

Avinent has posted several research studies on its website that wereconducted in collaboration with renowned scientists and...