B i o c at R e p o R t 2 0 1 7 – S c a l i n g - u p t h e B i o R e g i o n o f c ata l o n i a

Scaling-up the BioRegion of CataloniaBiocat RepoRt 2017

a 2025 Vision for catalonia

in collaboration with:

RepoRt

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B i o c at R e p o R t 2 0 1 7 – S c a l i n g - u p t h e B i o R e g i o n o f c ata l o n i a

Executive summarySCALING-upTHEBIOREGIONOFCATALONIA:kEyFINDINGSANDRECOMMENDATIONS

Scaling-up the BioRegion of cataloniaBiocat Report 2017

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“Cataloniaisoneofthethreemostdynamichubsinhealthcareandlifesciencesworldwide”,accordingtoJosephDamond1,anexperi-encedbiotechindustryexecutivewithasoundinternationalinsight.Around1,060companiesoperateintheBioRegionofCatalonia(in-cludingbiotech,pharma,medtech,healthtech,CROs,serviceandgoodsprovidersanddistributors,aswellasinvestingorganizations).Inadditiontotheseare89researchinstitutions(researchcenters,universities,universityhospitals,largeresearchinfrastructures,tech-nologycentersandscienceandtechnologyparkswithlifesciencesandhealthactivities),complementedwithanetworkofhealthcareagentsprovidingdiagnosisandtreatmentstopatients.

The life sciences and healthcare sector in Catalonia generates€31,087Mperyearandrepresents7.2%ofitsGrossDomesticprod-uct(GDp).Intotal,morethan223,000peopleareemployedbythesector,representingaround7%oftheworkingpopulationinCata-lonia(2016).

Catalonia ranks top among Spain’s autonomous communities intermsof internal expenditureonbiotechR&Dactivities, reaching€454.7M in2015 (29.5%ofSpain’s totalandhigher than itsGDpshare,20%).TheincreasingattractivenessofinvestinginBioRegionstart-upshasresultedinathreefoldincreaseintheperiod2015-2017,comparedtothepreviousperiod2013-2015.Thissoundinvestmentecosystemisgrowingstrongerwithbothlocalandinternationalin-vestors. In the 2015-2017 period, up to 214 investment operationstookplace,24oftheseinvolvinginternationalcapital.These24op-erationsaccountedfor€198.1M,whichisequivalenttoalmost60%ofallcapitalraised.Regardingpipelineprogress,focusingforexam-pleonthetherapeuticsclinicalpipeline,therearecurrently(2018)18drugtherapiesbeingdevelopedbyCatalancompanies,11morethan in2013. Inaddition, threemoleculesarealready inphase III.Thenewtherapiesadvancingtothemarketarealsogrowingsub-stantiallyinthemedtech,diagnosticsandhealthtechareas.

The notable, even outstanding, increases in resources and out-comesareaccompaniedbyagrowinginterestinCataloniaas“thenextplace tobe”. In fact,both the technologyand thebusinesshubsofglobalmultinationalfirmshavebeensettingupfacilitiesatagoodpace.

Earlyin2018,theFinancialTimesgrouprecognizedCataloniaasoneofthebestEuropeanregionsforinvestmentin2018and2019.This

Scaling-up the BioRegion of Catalonia: key findings and recommendations

B i o c at R e p o R t 2 0 1 7 – S c a l i n g - u p t h e B i o R e g i o n o f c ata l o n i a

isanexcitingtimeforBarcelonaandCata-lonia,withmanypromisingsignsof recov-eryafteryearsofcrisisanduncertainty.ThehardworkofmanystakeholdershasgivenrealmomentumtoCatalonia’slifesciencessector,andwearenowanticipatingaposi-tive“perfectstorm”offactorsthatwillhelptransformtheBioRegionofCataloniaintoamajorworldplayerininnovation.

Wearewitnessingarapidevolutionofourinnovation ecosystem, which is scaling-upfrom its start-up stage to a fully-deployedindustry, displaying exponential growthandhigh impactpotential.Thecurrentre-port explores the driving forces that havehelpedCatalonia tocreate sucha thrivinglifesciencesandhealthcareecosystemanditprovidesanin-depthanalysisofitsperfor-manceduringtheperiod2015-2017.

CATALONIA,ONEOFEuROpE’SMAININNOVATIONHuBSIn terms of GDp and population, we cancompare Catalonia to European unioncountries such as Sweden, Belgium, Den-mark,AustriaandIreland.WithapopulationsimilartothatofAustriaandslightlyhigherthanDenmark’s, andaGDpsimilar to thatof Finland and Denmark, this can be con-sidered a natural group for this Europeanregiontobelongto.

Barcelona is said to be one of the mostconnected ecosystems in the world2. TheconvergenceofstrategiesfromtheGovern-mentofCatalonia,BarcelonaCityCouncil,MobileWorldCapitalBarcelonaFoundationandcertainuniversities,researchandtech-nology centers and companies, is alreadyhelping to create a smart environment. Ithas become the new “place to be” in Eu-rope:infact,inthefirstsemesterof2018,17multinationals announced new set ups inthecityorinthesurroundingarea.

RESEARCHExCELLENCEFor 30 years, Catalonia’s successive govern-mentshavebeeninvestinginhighereduca-tion and scientific excellence, with specificprograms designed to attract top-level re-searchersinalldisciplines3,andfundingtop-notchuniversitiesandresearchinstitutions4.In fact, the real drivers of this success are

Catalonia’suniversities,researchcentersandlargeR&Dinfrastructures,alongwithasetofpolicies focusedonexcellencethatprovidetheinstitutionswiththeflexibilityandauton-omytheyneedtoperformtheiractivities.

As a result, the number of publications inthe biomedical arena has nearly quadru-pled in Catalonia over the past 20 years,

andoneoutofsix(16.5%)biomedicalpubli-cationssignedbyresearchersintheBioRe-gionareamongthemostciteddocumentsintheworld,triplingthepercentageofpub-licationsofexcellenceexpectedasaresultofitsvolumeofproduction.

Some of the BioRegion’s indicators of re-search success even outperform those of

Sources: Eurostat and Idescat (January 2018).Population in million people. GDP in M€.

Map 1. Map of europe highlighting the group of countries used in this report for comparison with catalonia

FigurE 1. Some major companies setting up new innovation centers in catalonia in 2018

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CATALONIAPopulation: 7.49 M

GDP: 234,651

IRELANDPopulation: 4.78 M

GDP: 296,151.8

AUSTRIAPopulation: 8.82 M

GDP: 369,217.9

SWEDENPopulation: 9.99 M

GDP: 477,857.5

DENMARKPopulation: 7.75 M

GDP: 288,373.5

FINLANDPopulation: 5.50 M

GDP: 223,765

BELGIUMPopulation: 11.35 M

GDP: 438,484.6

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5S c a l i n g - u p t h e B i o R e g i o n o f c ata l o n i a : k e y f i n d i n g S a n d R e c o m m e n d at i o n S

otherEuropeancompanies.Thetotalnum-ber of ERC grants received in Cataloniasince2007isequaltothatofBelgiumandSwedenandhigher to thatofAustria. TheBioRegion’sresearchproductivityindicatorsare also comparable to the indicators ofthesecountries.

Catalonia’s research organizations andfirms are also leaders in attractingH2020funds.Despiterepresentingonly1.2%oftheEuropeanResearchAreapopulation,Cata-loniahasalreadyattracted4.6%ofH2020FET Flagship funds5. Regarding the “SMEInstrument”, 176 small and medium-sizedCatalanfirmshavesecured€72.7Mfor189innovation projects, more than any othercountry in this group of European econo-miesusedforcomparison.

AGROWINGINTERNATIONALINVESTMENTECOSySTEMSince2008, at thebeginningof the crisis,investment inCatalonia’s life sciencesandhealthcare companies has multiplied by12. Specifically, inthe2015-2017period,Bi-oRegionstart-upsattractedinvestmentsofalmost €340 M, more than threefold theamount reached in the previous two-yearperiod(2013-2015)7.

CountryH2020 funds attracted

Belgium 1,555.5

Sweden 1,135.5

Austria 925.8

Catalonia 830.0

Denmark 821.7

Finland 723.7

Ireland 566.1

Sources: AGAUR (2007-March 2018); Web of Science (2013-2017)

Source: Biocat.

Source: CDTI and Cordis 2018.6

Map 2. eRc grantees and publications in Nature and Science by country

grapH 1. Finance raised in the BioRegion of catalonia is on an upward trend, especially regarding private investment (in M€)

TablE 1. eU contribution in €M to different countries.

CATALONIA280 190

IRELAND89 101

AUSTRIA208 252

SWEDEN304 382DENMARK

181 333

FINLAND156 140

BELGIUM290 248

eRc grantees by country

ipo public Vc investment

co-Development or collaboration agreements

Moving average

total

publications in Nature and Science by country

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

16.39.22.94.3

21.99.87.84.3

40.4 28.68.23.6

107.356.530.320.4

36.2238.81.03.4

164.347

85.818.013.6

65.456.39.2

135.8

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1-10M€ 11-50M€2015 Clinicpoint MinoryxTherapeutics

GalgoMedical OryzonGenomics

GenmedicaTherapeutics

Greenaltech

iSalud

Medtep

psious

TopDoctors

TransplantBiomedicals

2016 AlbajunaTherapeutics AB-Biotics

Bioprognos AelixTherapeutics

Cebiotex OryzonGenomics

CuantumMedicalCosmetics STAT-Dx

IDppharma

Inbiomotion

Iproteos

LeukosBiotech

pangaeaOncology

peptomyc

promofarma

ThrombotargetsEurope

2017 Bionure AnacondaBiomed

BwomTechnologies OryzonGenomics

GlycardialDiagnostics

Devicare

iMicroQ

InkemiaIuCTGroup

Linkcare

QMENTA

peptomyc

SOMBiotech

TransmuralBiotech

TopDoctors

TransplantBiomedicals

2018 AheadTherapeutics AbacTherapeutics

Bionure

ElmaCare

Mediquo

proteoDesign

FigurE 2. Success stories in the BioRegion of catalonia in terms of funds raised

The investmentecosystemissolidand it isbecomingstronger. Inadditiontolocal,specializedinvestorslikeysiosCapital,CaixaCapi-talRisk,HealthEquity,InvereadyandAltaLifeSciencesoperatinginCatalonia,theBioRegionisseeingaspectaculargrowthininterna-tionalinvestorsparticipatinginlifesciencesandhealthcarecompa-nies.Inthespaceof10years,theirpresencehasincreasedfrom0tomorethan40.Inthepastfouryearsalone,investorshaveincreasedfrom6(2014)to41(June2018)(Graph2).Internationalinvestorspar-ticipating in companies in theBioRegioncome from 16differentcountries.Almost50%ofthesearefromtheuS.

BioRegionfirmscanboastsomesuccessstoriesintermsofraisingfunds, inboth the€11-50Mand the€1-10M range. In the2015-2017periodalone,morethan214investmentoperationstookplace.Despiteonly11%oftheseoperationscorrespondingtointernationalcapital,60%(€198.1M)ofthetotal investmentwasobtained.Thisinternationalfundingwasmainlyfocusedinthebiotech(€118.4M),techmed(€64.1M)andhealthtech(€15.6M)industries.

MOVINGCuTTING-EDGESCIENCETOWARDSpATIENTSThere are currently (2018) there are 18 drug therapies by Catalancompaniesinthepipeline,upfromonlysevenin2013.ThisshowsthatBioRegionisprogressingsteadilyfromacutting-edgesciencesystem to thebusiness landscape, advancing therapies toclinicaldevelopment.Thenextobviousstepisforthesetherapiestoenterinto late clinical development and to reach themarket over the

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

grapH 2. international investors participating in companies in the BioRegion of catalonia

10 1 1 1

5 6

14

22

37

41

Source: Biocat (June 2018).

Source: Biocat (Updated to May 2018)

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comingyears.Ifwefocusonmedicaldevices,diagnosticsandotherhealthtechnologies,themarketisalsoprogressingatthesamelev-el,butitisslightlymoredifficulttoquantifyastowhatextent.

ATTRACTIVENESSTOTALENTInternationalcompetitionandanincreasedfocusonresearchandinnovation as the key to economic and technological leadershiphavemadetalentaprimaryassetforcountriesandindustries.

Cataloniaattractsprofessionalsfromaroundtheworldtoaresearch,development and innovation system recognized as a worldwidebenchmarkofexcellenceinresearchinareassuchasbiomedicine,photonics,energy,economyandnanotechnology.

Since 2001, ICREA (the Catalan Institution for Research and Ad-vancedStudies)hasbeenhiringtop-notchscientistsandacadem-ics to competewith other research systems on a similar footing,whichhascontributedtoalargeextenttoboostingtheexcellenceandcompetitivenessofCatalonia’sresearchsystem.Theprogramis100%fundedbytheCatalanGovernment.Therearecurrently254ICREAresearchersfrom26differentcountries,29%ofthemwork-

FigurE 3. pipeline of biotechnology companies of the BioRegion of catalonia (therapeutics)

grapH 3. origin of researchers working in the BioRegion of catalonia

predoctral(FI)

8.3%

21.7%13.8%

65.3% 70.0%

40.4%

48.2%

11.4%20.9%

cat + otHeR SpaNiSH aReaS

otHeR Ue StateS + US ReSt oF tHe WoRLD

Source: Secretariat for Universities and Research 2017.

Source: Biocat’s Directory and clinicaltrials.gov (updated to June 2018)

HTI Aelix

Therapeutics RUTI

Archivel Farma

VCN-01 VCN

Biosciences

ABTL0812 Ability

Pharma

Mucomel Spherium

Biomed

SP12006 Spherium

Biomed JAN12006-01

Spherium Biomed

SP15016Spherium Biomed

SOM0226SOM Biotech

ORY-2001 Oryzon

Genomics

ORY-1001Oryzon Genomics

AVX012 Avizorex

Pharma

TT-173Thrombotargets Europe

Ox-01 FreeOx Biotech

MIN-102Minoryx Therapeutics

BN201 Bionure

AX-024 Artax

Biopharma

SP14019-F01 Spherium

Biomed

oRpHaN & RaRe DiSeaSeS

caRDioVaScULaR aND BLooD

PHase I

PHase II

PHase III

DiaBeteS & iNFLaMMatioN

opHtaLMoLoGy

ceNtRaL NeRVoUS SySteM

MUScoSkeLetaL, paiN, NepHRoLoGy

oNcoLoGy

VacciNeS & iNFectioUS DiSeaSeS

DeRMatoLoGy

Senior(ICREA)postdoctoral(Bp)

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inginlifesciences.In2017,ICREAresearch-ers attracted€90M in competitive funds,40%inlifesciences.Sincethebeginningofthe program, ICREA researchers have cre-ated24spin-offs(5ofthemin2017)whichhave raised €90 M. Most ICREA spin-offs(20) workinlifesciences.

ALANDOFENTREpRENEuRSAccording to the recent Global Entre-preneur Monitor report8, entrepreneurialactivity increased over 8% inCatalonia in2017, above the European average (7.8%).The company creation rate is about onenewcompanyperweek.Themainsourceof this activity within the BioRegion arespin-offs from top research institutions(one out of five new companies createdsince 2005 have their origin in those topresearchinstitutions).

Thereare1,060companiesoperatinginthelife sciences and healthcare industries inCatalonia.The2016 turnoverof theBioRe-gioncompanieswas8%ofCatalonia’sGDp(€17,802 M), with a 2.4% average annualgrowthbetween2000and2016.

According todataprovidedby the indus-try’s employers’ organizations, Cataloniais the leading Spanish autonomous com-munity in pharma companies (51.2%)9.

According to data from the Asebio 2017Report,Cataloniaaccounts formore than40%ofthetotalinvestmentraisedbycom-paniesinthebiotechnologysectorinSpain(58.9millioneurosoutofatotalof145.8)in-cludingprivatecapitalinjections,injectionof funding from listed corporations, ENI-SA loans andother regional corporations.It should be noted, however, that Asebio

onlycollectsdataonsomeofthecompa-nies thatusebiotechnology,not the totalnumberofcompaniesthatoperateintheBioRegionandwhoalsowork in thefieldof medical and healthtech technologies.Forthisreason,thetotalinvestmentfiguresstated by Asebio are significantly lowerthan those included in thisBiocat report.Inaddition,11ofthe20companieschosen

grapH 4. yearly evolution in companies in the BioRegion of catalonia (2005-2017)

grapH 5. yearly evolution of employees in companies in the BioRegion of catalonia

Source: Biocat and Crunchbase.

Sources: Biocat and SABI.

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

1,0601,0321,017

968934

892851

804750723

683648609

53,73151,393

49,28447,76447,11246,227

43,859

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

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byAsebiotofeatureintheirsuccessfulcasestudiesreportarefromtheBioRegion.

AnotherpieceofdatathathelpsustovisualizetherealweightoftheBioRegioninhealthinnovationinSpainistheCatalanpresenceinnationalcompetitivegrantcalls.

Forexample,BioRegioncompanieshavereceived11ofthe15Head-startFundinggrantsawardedbyEITHealthSpainin2018,obtainingupto50,000eurostoacceleratetheirtime-to-marketandincreasetheirchancesofattractingprivate investors.With regard to the re-searchresultstransferprogramCaixaImpulse,54ofthe78projectsselectedsincethebeginningoftheprogramarefromtheBioRegion.AnotherstatecallrecognizedinthesectoristhatoftheBotínFoun-dation,whichalsoreflectstheweightofCatalonia:41%ofresearchgroupsfundedbythelifesciencesprogramand33%ofprojects.

Cataloniaalso reliesonawidenetworkofCMOs,CROs,hospitalsfortrials,consultants,regulatoryadvisors,marketaccessspecialists,technology, etc. Any company can execute operations at the topleveljustbyusinglocalprovidersandprofessionals.

Thisisinfactoneofthemainassetsandchallengesofathrivingecosystem:availabilityofinvestableteams.Althoughthecurrentproportionoffirst-timers ishigher,andseasonedteamsarestillscarce, the capabilities are evolving rapidly because there is alarge base of professionals that are able to adapt to the start-up rules, andalsobecause it is veryeasy to import talent fromabroadandestablishitinBarcelona.

BuILDINGTHEFuTuREByLEVERAGINGTHEBIOREGIONOFCATALONIA’SpOTENTIALCatalonia’spotentialand itsscientificquality,whicharesimilarorevenhigherthancomparableEuropeancountries,offeruntappedopportunitiesforinvestment.Thisisahugegaptobefilledduringthecomingyears.

Ifweprojecta20-25%CAGR(CompoundAnnualGrowthRate)overtheaverageinvestmentrateinpastyears,wecanpredictreaching€500+Minprivate investment in lifesciencesby2025.Cataloniacanmultiply in sevenyears the total investment, investorsand itspositionasalifescienceshubwithoutstandingfiguresinEurope.

FINLAND cataLoNia AuSTRIA DENMARk BELGIuM SWEDEN IRELAND SWITZERLAND

Sources: Crunchbase and Biocat.

grapH 6. Life sciences venture financing (M€) by country (2000-2017)

6,736.1

1,778.8

1,491.3

1,125.51,034.5

592.8483.5

289.2

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ThefollowingsectionreviewstheBioRegion’sassetsandshortcom-ingsbothbymaindevelopmentareasandbykeyunderlyingena-blers,inordertogatherafewrecommendationsaddressedtothedifferentstakeholders.

CApABILITIES,SHORTCOMINGSANDRECOMMENDATIONS,ByDEVELOpMENTAREARegarding the BioRegion’s knowledge system, professional net-worksandhealthcareproviders’assetsand immediateneeds, theexcellentscientistsandsolidresearchecosystemrequireclearstim-ulitofostertechtransfer,alongwithasystematicapproachinordertotranslatepapers intosolutionsforsociety.Theproofofconcepttestingarea,basedonspecializedresearchcapabilitiesandlocalex-pertise,isattractingincreasinginterestfrominvestors.However,welackmarketperspective,aconnectedandcomprehensivedrugdis-coveryplatformandpublicandprivatefundstobeabletoprepareapreclinicalregulatorypackageforanareathatiscurrentlybasedonasolidnetworkofexpertsandprovidersandknowledge fromlocalpharmasbutwhichneedsearly-stagefinancing.Withregardtoclinicaldevelopment, theBioRegionhasprofessionalexpertise,anetworkoftop-levelhospitalsandspecializedCROs,butthereisstilltoomuchbureaucracyandabsenceofintegratedbusinessde-velopmentofclinicaltrialcapabilities.Finally,Cataloniahasaninte-gratedhealthsystem(CatSalut)thatwouldfavormarketaccess,butwhichlacksinnovationalignmentfromwithinthesystem.

Consequently,ourrecommendationsregardingthedifferentdevel-opmentareasare:

• Improvetechtransferincentivesforresearchers• Fosteracloserrelationshipbetweenscientists,pharmaandinves-torstobetterdefineproofofconceptinitiatives

• Strengthenlocaldrugdiscoveryplatforms• provide specific public funding in this stage; for example, bymatchingthemwithprivateinvestmentfunds

• FurtherinvolvetheCatSaluthealthsysteminstreamliningclinicaltrialcapabilities

• ImprovetheinnovativecapabilitiesoftheCatalanhealthsystem• Implementinnovativepublicprocurementprograms

CApABILITIES,SHORTCOMINGSANDRECOMMENDATIONS,BykEyuNDERLyINGENABLERSTargetingthekeyenablers, theBioRegionofCataloniahasanex-cellentnetworkof academicTTOswho foster knowledge transferdespitebeingunderstaffed,underfinancedandwhoarenotcoor-dinatedorworking togetheratcountry level.Wealsohaveanet-workofprofessionalsandprovidersfromthelocalpharmaindustrybutdonothaveenoughC-levelmanagementteamswithyearsofexperience in foundingand scaling-up start-upsand serial entre-preneurs.Wedohave localmidpharmas and somebig pharmaheadquartersbutthethreelevelsarenotwellconnected(start-ups,localmidpharmas,biginternationalpharmas),nordowehavemid-tierinnovativecompanies.Onthefiscalsidewehaveclumsyfiscalincentivesandlackthenecessaryculturewherebytaxincentivesareconsideredeffectivemechanisms forpromotingR&D+i.Anentre-preneurialculture,businessangels, localVCsandnewentrant in-ternationalVCsarenotenoughifwedonothaveanorganizedand

Giventheevolutionofthesector,intermsofsocialimpact,Biocatexpectsatleast10advancedproductsandtechnologiestoreachpatientsby2025.

CurrENT 2025

yearlyinvestmentininnovativeemergentlifesciences

companies€130M/year €500M/year

InternationalinvestorsinvestinginBioRegionstartups 41 +100

productsinclinicaldevelopment(therapies) 18 50

Catalonia:mostinnovativelifescienceshubinEurope #5 #3

TablE 2. catalonia can multiply in seven years the total investment, investors and its position as a life sciences hub with outstanding figures in europe

Source: Biocat.

RECOMMENDATIONS

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comprehensivepublicviewoftherelevanceofprivateinvestmentinpromotinginnovationinhealth.

Consequently,ourrecommendationsfortheecosystem’sdifferentkeystakeholdersare:

• Better funding for TTOs, mainly by channeling poC fundingthroughthem

• promotecoordinatingstructuresbeyondtheTTOlevel• Attract,retain,trainandmentorC-leveltalent• Encouragelocalpharmastocaptureinnovationfromlocalcom-panies

• EncouragebigpharmastoscoutforinnovationinCatalonia• promotepartnershipsbetweenestablishedpharmacompaniesandinnovativestart-ups

• EstablishanR&Dtaxcreditsystem• Developenterpriseinvestmentschemesforbusinessangelsandinvestors

• Attractcapitalthroughtaxstimuli• Commitpublicfundingthroughsmartpublic-privateinstruments

RECOMMENDATIONSFORpuBLICSTAkEHOLDERSFromapublicactionperspective,ahealthyecosystemshouldrelyonnaturalselectionofthebestinitiativesandshouldnotbedirect-edtopdown.However,thereareseveralideasthatshouldpermeatepublicactions inordertocontributetothesuccessoftheecosys-tem.Weoutlinesomeofthemhere:

• promoteanddefendbasicscience:allmajorinnovationscanbetraced to specific scientistsworking ina free, creative scientificenvironmentinwhichtheycandeveloptheirideasandembracerisk.Themarketshouldnotdirectbasicresearch,scientistsshouldfirstofallbefreetopursuetheircuriosity.

• Leverage existing facilities: Catalonia has built specific facilitiesandplatformsthatcanbescaled-uptobecomeglobal innova-tioncenters.ExamplesincludetheBancdeSangideTeixitsandassociatedadvancedcelltherapyandproductionplatforms.

• TakeadvantageofthehighqualityandcentralizationoftheCat-alanhealthsystembypromotinganopendatasharingschemethat,whilekeepingpersonalpatientdataanonymized,canpoolcurrenthealthandfutureomicsdata intoanopenaccessdatalake that canbeanalyzedby scientists andcompaniesall overtheworld.Thisinvaluableresourceofdata-drivenresearchshouldevolve intoapowerful tool to improvecitizens’health, and theGovernmentshouldfosteranalliancebetweensociety,industry,scientistsandthehealthcaresystem.

• Supportforentrepreneurtrainingatalllevels,incentivizingvariedcareers andmigration of academic scientists into industry andbacktoacademiatoincreaseinfluxoftalentedscientistsanden-trepreneursinthepublicandprivatesectors.

• promotesmart-investmentinitiatives,combiningpublicfundingandstimuliinsimplewayssuchas(1)fundstofinancesmartproofofconcept tests; (2) funds tomatchexistingprivate investmentfunds,and(3)taxstimuliforbusinessangels,entrepreneursandinvestors.

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Notes

1 ExecutiveVicepresident,forInternationalAffairs,attheBiotechnologyInnovationOrganization(BIO).

2 StartupEcosystemReport,https://startupgenome.com/barcelona-report/

3 ICREAprogram,https://www.icrea.cat/4 CERCAcenters,http://cerca.cat/en/5 FETFlagshipsarevisionary,science-driven,large-scaleresearchinitiativesaddressingScientificandTechnological(S&T)grandchallenges.Theyareexpectedtorunforapproximately10yearshaveatotalbudgetofaround1billioneurosandbringtogetheralargenumberofresearchorganisations,includingacademia,largeindustryandSMEs.http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en/h2020-section/fet-flagships.

6 https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/dashboard/sense/app/93297a69-09fd-4ef5-889f-b83c4e21d33e/sheet/pbZJnb/state/analysis

7 Thereasonforthistwo-yearperioddivisionisduetotheBiocatreportmethodology.Thesearetheperiodscoveredbyeachedition.

8 https://www.gemconsortium.org/9 Farmaindustria(SpanishAssociationofpharmaCompanies)

12S c a l i n g - u p t h e B i o R e g i o n o f c ata l o n i a : k e y f i n d i n g S a n d R e c o m m e n d at i o n S

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