Hospitals, universities, research centers, science parks, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, public projects, private initiatives, local and international investors... Barcelona and its metropolitan environment have all this and, what's more, of the highest level. The health and life sciences sector has been key for the Catalan capital for years. And it is also one of its main bets for the future. The existence of a powerful ecosystem, the densest in Europe at the moment, accounts for its current weight, with almost a quarter of a million employees in Catalonia and a contribution to the economy of 39,000 million euros annually (among the 1,350 companies and the various public and private services), a volume that we want to grow with new projects, a few already underway.
This scenario is the starting point to position the Barcelona conurbation as the main European hub in the field of health. A report by the real estate manager and consultant CBRE and the international investment agency Barcelona
There are notable public and private initiatives, some in a very advanced state, such as the CaixaResearch Institute, under construction since last October next to the Ronda de Dalt, with an investment behind nearly 100 million. This center, promoted by the la Caixa Foundation, will provide 19,000 m2 dedicated to the treatment of neurological, oncological and infectious diseases through immunotherapy. The forecast is to put it into operation in 2025. This initiative serves as an example of how this sector works through collaboration between different actors. The expectation is that it will have the participation of the Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Oncologia (VHIO), the Barcelona Beta Brain Research (BBRC), the AIDS Research Institute (IrsiCaixa) and the Global Health Institute (ISGlobal).
Other projects are still somewhat green. This is the case of the Hospitalet y Esplugues BioCluster of Innovation and Health. This area already has the Bellvitge hospital, the Catalan Institute of Oncology, the Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (Indibell), the Nestlé Health Sciences Innovation Center, the University of Barcelona (UB) and the hospital Sant Joan de Déu, the latter with two future buildings and 15,000 m2 and an outstanding project dedicated to minority childhood diseases. This center is next to another area, that of the Science Park, which will grow with the transfer of the Clínic hospital to the land at the top of Diagonal that now houses the UB sports tracks. In fact, it could be considered to be part of both areas. The Biocluster has the largest area in the entire metropolis for life sciences and health to be developed, more than 550,000 m2 concentrated in Bellvitge, which could create 50,000 jobs and generate 7,000 million euros annually.
The second largest area is, precisely, the Science Park, which has the UB and several hospital centers among other actors. It has 330,000 m2 for new projects, 19,000 m2 of which correspond to the future Clínic, a project for which there is a technical and political agreement, but which due to its high cost – some estimates put it at 1,500 million – will require future agreements between the administrations that make it possible.
The other large area under development is that of the Ciutadella, which the administrations want to dedicate to different areas of scientific knowledge, also that of life and health. The Hospital del Mar, the Center for Biomedical Research and the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC) are already there. In this area, the Mercat del Peix project stands out, with 45,000 m2 distributed in three buildings dedicated to biomedicine, biodiversity and well-being, promoted by the Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST), the UB and the CSIC. The City Council, the Generalitat, the Pasqual Maragall Foundation and the UB and the Autonomous University (UAB) also participate. The planned investment exceeds 100 million and it is expected to open in 2026.
“The different areas of development are at different times, but they all take advantage of the power that the life and health sciences already have in Barcelona,” highlights Montserrat Puig, CEO of Barcelona.
Having sufficient surface area to accommodate the different current and future initiatives is another determining factor in positioning Barcelona as a continental hub. And the fact that the available land is located in a relatively concentrated area in which the different centers and companies that are established are close to each other increases the attractiveness. “Having projects underway that total close to one million square meters of roof with these characteristics is very significant,” adds Eva Jodar, senior director of Client Care.
The Barcelona report
“We have leading universities and research centers, companies go where the talent is,” adds the CEO of Barcelona.
