Top International life sciences players in Catalonia

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 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 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’s Sant Cugat campus has a workforce of over 1,300, working in the Spanish subsidiaries of Diagnostics and Diabetes Care, as well as one of the group’s main innovation and R&D centers.

From its Spanish HQ and the Global Innovation Center in Barcelona, Sanofi leads the entire group’s digital transformation. Its plant in Riells i Viabrea (Girona) - one of the group's most competitive - produces 5% of the world's manufacturing output.

Boehringer Ingelheim's Spanish HQ is in Sant Cugat (Barcelona), as well as a strategically positioned Global Digital Hub and a Pharmaceutical Production Plant with a 500 person workforce which exports worldwide.

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.

The Italian group Menarini has 400 employees in Catalonia, as well as its Spanish HQ, a pharma production plant and one of its 6 global R&D&I centers.

In 2022, Alexion - AstraZeneca’s Rare Disease group - established  a global Development Hub in Barcelona to support the creation of innovative medicines for rare diseases. The hub is expected to employ 100 R&D specialists.

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's European HQ is in Catalonia, and since 2020 with a 850 workforce it has run a generics production plant, a pharmaceutical innovation team and the management of several commercial generics subsidiaries around the world.