Rob Surgical, a spin-off from IBEC and UPC, closes a €5 million investment round Blog Post

Rob Surgical, a spin-off created by the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), based in the PCB, and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) in 2012, has closed a €5 million investment round with the Dutch holding Scranton Enterprises to fund the final phase of the new Bitrack System –an alternative to the current laparoscopy surgical robot Da Vinci– and launch the product onto the market.

 

The Barcelona Science Park takes part in the European Researchers’ Night Blog Post

More than 130 students from five educational institutions attended the Barcelona Science Park (PCB) today to take part in the Matí de la Recerca, an initiative developed as part of the European Researchers’ Night in Catalonia (EuNightCat). The latter has grown since the previous edition, running a series of activities on 27 and 28 September. The European Commission promotes the European Researchers’ Night project within the Horizon 2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, seeking to bring science and technology closer to the general public, break stereotypes about researchers and encourage young people to pursue a career in research. Around 300 European cities celebrate the European Researchers’ Night on the last Friday of September.

 

The 2nd edition of Asebio Investor Day attracted around 300 participants and 60 international investors Blog Post

26 September saw the 2nd edition of the Asebio Investor Day, which was organised by Asebio with the collaboration of Barcelona Science Park (PCB), the Biotechnology Markets Platform) ICEX Spain Trade and Investment and the Alternative Spanish Equity Market. Droplite, Molomics, Ona Therapeutics and SOM Biotech, all based at PCB, were among 50 companies selected to present their projects at the financing forum, in which 57 investors from 10 countries around the world participated.

 

The sequence of the almond tree and peach tree genomes will be key tools in their genetic improvement and adaptation to climate change Blog Post

An international team led by researchers of the Centre for Research in Agricultural Genomics (CRAG) in conjunction with Tyler Alioto of the Centre Nacional d’Anàlisi Genòmica (CNAG-CRG) –based in PCB and part of the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG)– has sequenced the genome of the almond tree and compared it to that of its closest relative, the peach tree. The results provide some unique insights into the recent evolution of both species and will be key tools in their genetic improvement, including the eradication of bitter almonds, fruit quality and adaptation to climate change.

 

Researchers from IBEC and IRB Barcelona awarded by “la Caixa” for their pioneering research projects Blog Post

On 16 September, ”la Caixa” Banking Foundation presented the 79 grants for national and international research and innovation projects of excellence. Among the beneficiaries of funding from ”la Caixa” are researchers Eduard Batlle, Raúl Méndez, Meritxell Teixidó and Enrique Marcos, from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), and José Antonio del Río, Pau Gorostiza and Samuel Sánchez, from the Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC).

 

Biomarkers in blood for faster diagnosis: a new GAEM Accelerator project Blog Post

The GAEM Foundation, headquartered in Barcelona Science Park (PCB) and engaged in promoting biomedical research to cure multiple sclerosis, has added a study conducted by Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Girona (IDIBGI) to its Project Accelerator Programme. The objective of the study, led by Dr Jordi Tomàs Roig, is to discover new markers that enable us to predict a patient’s evolution from a simple blood test, while contributing to the design of epigenetic drugs to slow down the disease’s progression.

 

DD BioLab strengthens its leadership in the Spanish biotechnology sector Blog Post

The acquisition of Cultek and Teknovas by the Dutscher Group, the leading independent distributor of laboratory supplies in Europe, its Spanish subsidiary, DD BioLab, as the leading supplier in Spain of scientific instruments, consumables and laboratory equipment for research in biotechnology and health. Since it was established in Barcelona Science Park in 2014, DD BioLab has registered sustained 39% annual growth. In 2018, its turnover was around €5M and it expects to exceed €10M in 2022. 

 

Oncoheroes Biosciences and Boehringer Ingelheim sign exclusive licensing agreement for Volasertib Blog Post

Oncoheroes Biosciences –a Boston-based biotech company with its European headquarters at the Barcelona Science Park– and Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (Boehringer Ingelheim) have signed a worldwide exclusive licensing contract for Volasertib. Under the terms of this agreement the global pharmaceutical group assigns the intellectual property of this anti-cancer compound to Oncoheroes, which is committed to further its development and commercialization for pediatric cancer indications.