“Barcelona and Catalonia hold a leading position in medical and scientific research”
Carla Ruiz, HR Director of AstraZeneca Spain
Top International life sciences players in Catalonia
Barcelona and Catalonia are a leading life sciences hub in Europe. Multinationals take advantage of a vast ecosystem of world-renowned hospitals, research centers, and providers to set up operations in Spain.
Barcelona-Catalonia, a vibrant life sciences hub.
Barcelona and Catalonia have become a dynamic center for life sciences innovation. The region boasts an impressive network of medical institutions, research centers, biotech start-ups, and pharmaceutical companies.
Catalonia is the densest pharma environment in Europe and home to more than 1,300 life sciences companies, with an 8% increase by 2020. Remarkably, it is the birthplace of the five largest Spanish pharmaceutical companies.
Catalonia is home to 79 industrial pharmaceutical companies with 15,806 employees, half of Spain's total. As Spain's leading exporter, the region's life sciences and healthcare products represent €7.78 billion in exports in 2021.
Catalonia's robust research and innovation ecosystem is fueling this growth, which boasts 91 leading science and technology centers.
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.
Many global companies have recognized Catalonia as a significant player in Life Sciences, establishing its position as a prosperous destination for investment in this sector.
Top International Life Sciences Players In Catalonia.
-
Grifols
Grifols is a global leader in the production of plasma-derived medicines and transfusion medicine, basing its worldwide headquarters and its Bioscience, Diagnostic and Hospital production plants in Catalonia.
-
Novartis
Novartis Biome is active in Catalonia, with its Spanish HQ, one of its leading innovation hubs, 3 production plants (semi-synthetic penicillins, sterile penicillins, radiopharmaceuticals) and 1 Global Digital Hub.
-
Bayer
Bayer has its Iberian HQ in Barcelona, as well as its LifeHub center for open innovation in digital therapies and agricultural transformation and a Shared Services Center for accounting services to European and Latin American subsidiaries.
-
Roche
Roche’s Sant Cugat campus has a workforce of over 1,300, working in the Spanish subsidiaries of Diagnostics and Diabetes Care and one of the group’s main innovation and R&D centers. The company invested 51 million euros in this campus in 2023.
-
Sanofi
Sanofi leads the entire group's digital transformation from its Spanish HQ and the Global Innovation Center in Barcelona. Its plant in Riells i Viabrea (Girona) - one of the groups most competitive - produces 5% of the world's manufacturing output.
-
Boehringer Ingelheim
Boehringer Ingelheim's Spanish HQ, located in Sant Cugat (Barcelona), has nearly 1,600 employees. It's a strategically positioned Global Digital Hub and a Pharmaceutical Production Plant with a 500-person workforce that exports worldwide.
-
B Braun Medical
Rubí (Barcelona) is home to B Braun Medical's corporate HQ, a manufacturing plant, and a Worldwide Center of Excellence for the Closure Technologies range. A logistics center in Santa Oliva (Tarragona) provides national and international service.
-
Menarini
The Italian group Menarini has 760 employees in Catalonia, along with its Spanish headquarters, a pharma production plant, and one of its ten global R&D&I centers.
-
Astrazeneca
In 2022, AstraZeneca opened a global development hub in Barcelona to coordinate international projects across the company's five major therapeutic areas. The hub is expected to reach 1,000 employees by 2028.
-
Merck
Two of Merck's three production centers in Spain are located in Catalonia: a chemical plant and a pharmaceutical production plant in Mollet del Vallès (Barcelona), both recently enlarged with a €14.5 million investment.
-
Towa Pharma
Towa Pharma's European headquarters has been located in Catalonia since 2020. With 850 employees, it operates a generics production plant, a pharmaceutical innovation team, and the management of several commercial generics subsidiaries worldwide.
Discover the top international
life sciences companies’ locations.
Get in touch and we will help you land in Barcelona-Catalonia
