Health startups in Catalonia received financing of 445 million euros last year, 87% more than in 2021, dodging the financial crisis that is affecting the sector worldwide, according to a report carried out by the consulting firm EY for CataloniaBio
Silvia Ondategui, EY's global life sciences partner, highlighted that in Europe and the US, funding for the health sector fell by 53% last year, with a particularly harsh decline of 69% in Europe. Activity in Catalonia, however, was sustained by three large rounds: in the medical technology company Impress (122 million) and in the biotech Minoryx Therapeutics and SpliceBio, with more than 50 million each. Without these operations, the investment captured would have been reduced by 6%. Last year 35 rounds were closed, one less than in 2021 and seven less than in 2020, but the investments in each round are larger.
The study highlights that venture capital remains the first source of financing (77%), driven by large local funds such as Sabadell Asabys, Ysios, Alta Life Sciences, Caixa Capital Risc or Inveready, among others. Catalan funds also allocated 65 million to Catalan companies, 51% of their investments, "which reflects the quality of the projects here," Ondategui said. In the opinion of Josep Lluís Sanfeliu, founding partner of Asabys, "the resilience shown by the sector reflects that as an ecosystem we are at a good time to face these times that are complex from a financial point of view."
The EY study highlights the growth in investment in medical technology companies, which has gone from 7 million in 2018 to 193 million last year, while biotech reached a new record, with 185 million, almost triple that of 2021 On the other hand, investment in digital health companies fell by a third, to 39 million, although the number of operations increased by 20%.
Ondategui pointed out that the challenges of health startups are to increase IPOs, which not only provide capital but also visibility, transparency and liquidity for investors. Another challenge is to help them internationalize towards the United States and Asia, where the fastest growing markets are. "The largest companies have already begun to do so and that is key because it gives visibility to the sector," said Joan Puig, president of CataloniaBio
