“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 nearly 1,400 life sciences companies (up 5.45% in 2023). Remarkably, it is the birthplace of the five largest Spanish pharmaceutical companies.
The life sciences sector contributes 7.9% to the region's GDP (including healthcare services). It employs 69,927 people (6.5% of the working population) and generates €42.068 billion in revenue. This robust sector, historically home to over 50% of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry, encompasses biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, medical technology, and the rapidly growing digital health sector, which experienced a 61% growth in 2023 compared to 2022.
Catalonia's robust research and innovation ecosystem is fueling this growth, which boasts 71 investment organizations and between 1 and 1.5 startups being created weekly in the sector.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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