The Tech Barcelona association opens Pier07, a new business innovation hub dedicated to health

This Thursday, the Tech Barcelona association and the Government of Catalonia inaugurated Pier07, a new business innovation hub in the health and life sciences field. It is a 6,000m2 space capable of accommodating 500 professionals from startups, large companies, research centers, hospitals, universities, and the administration. The project is supported by ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment - which has allocated €125,000 to promote this new space.

The building, located on Via Laietana in Barcelona, was inaugurated on Thursday by the Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, the Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Albert Castellanos, the President of Tech Barcelona, Miguel Vicente, and the CEO of the entity, Miquel Martí.

During the opening, the Minister of Health, Manel Balcells, assured that: "Today, something that we dreamed of has been consolidated. We count on a first-line Health & Life Sciences sector that generates wealth in a talent ecosystem with large research centers, technology centers, and also Biocat. The system is excellent, and we need technological solutions to solve problems to improve people's quality of life. With this building, we have a space where we can make things happen and implement the technological advances we achieve in the public system," he explained.

The Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia & Investment, Albert Castellanos, emphasized that: "Pier07 is a business and entrepreneurial reference hub, a meeting point for the entire health and life sciences sector, and a magnet for talent."

Castellanos also has explained that this particular hub's type "is a formula that has proved to work, allowing the health sector to accelerate and contribute to consolidating and projecting Barcelona as a dynamic and innovative city. It is no coincidence that Tech Barcelona's first space, dedicates to only one sector specialized in health: a first magnitude sector, very permeable to innovation and which generates close to 9% of the country's GDP and for this reason, from the Government, through ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, we are delighted to be part of this country project," he concluded.
 

For his part, Miguel Vicente, President of Tech Barcelona, emphasized that "from Tech Barcelona, we generate these spaces to promote the creation and growth of new companies, as well as interaction with other agents within the ecosystem."

This eight-floor space aims to promote collaboration between all the agents in Catalonia’s health sector ecosystem and accelerate technological innovation. The facilities have an office space and meeting areas, an auditorium, and several co-working spaces. The project also has the support of public entities in the health sector, such as Vall d'Hebron Hospital, Bellvitge Hospital, and Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, as well as companies and entities such as Ferrer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Novartis, Uriach, Vifor Pharma, Ediciones Mayo, Nestlé, or i2cat, among others.

Pier07, the only hub specialized in one specific sector, is part of the Urban Tech Campus strategy, Tech Barcelona's project based on promoting a network of spaces that are configured as innovation hubs, specialized in high potential sectors or technologies, and that articulate around them agents of all kinds, both public and private. In 2016, Pier01 in Port Vell was set up, while two years later, the Pier03 of Reina Isabel II was also opened.

A key sector in Catalonia

According to the BioRegion of Catalonia 2022 Report, promoted by Biocat, CataloniaBio & HealthTech, and ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the life sciences sector represents 8.7% of Catalonia's GDP. This field brings together more than 1,350 companies that export over 53% of life sciences and health products from Spain. In addition, more than 247,000 people work in this sector in Catalonia - 7% of the employed population. In 2022, health startups in Catalonia raised 445 million euros in investment.

On the other hand, according to data from ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, there are more than 2,000 startups in Catalonia, 6.3% more than in 2021. Moreover, Catalan startups raised 1,653 million euros in investment in 2022, 4.3% over the previous year and the highest figure on record, according to ACCIÓ's calculations based on Dealroom's database. In terms of sectors, Catalan startups work in health (16%), business and software services (12%), ICT and mobile (6%), food (5%), and finance (5%).