“Vigo allowed us to create a favorable environment for the biotech sector to establish contacts, generate business and offer the option of developing new projects”, says the president of Bioga as a balance of Galicia Biodays, which closed today.

VIGO. 13/June/2024. It is time to take stock. Galicia Biodays, the reference forum of the biotechnology industry of the European Atlantic Area that was held in Vigo yesterday and today, hosted more than 800 ‘one to one’ meetings between industry players. More than 1,000 attendees and 100 speakers of world reference in biotechnology participated. Galicia Biodays counted with inverse missions from bioregions such as Canada, Portugal, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Japan, India and Morocco. On the last day, the Regional Minister of Education, Science, Universities and Vocational Training, Román Rodríguez, visited Galicia Biodays. He met, accompanied by the director of the Galician Innovation Agency, Carmen Cotelo, and the president of Bioga, José Manuel López Vilariño, projects and initiatives of the sector.

José Manuel López Vilariño, president of the Clúster Tecnolóxico Empresarial das Ciencias da Vida (Bioga), the organizing entity, highlighted the “success” of Galicia Biodays. He also highlighted the “excellent reception” of the biotechnology sector from all over the world. He also highlighted the leading role played by the city of Vigo in the success of Galicia Biodays: “This city allowed us to create a favorable and ideal environment for the biotechnology sector to establish contacts and synergies, generate business and offer the possibility of developing new projects and initiatives”. He predicted that “the seeds planted here during these two days will begin to bear fruit in the coming months.” “I am sure that agreements have been closed between biotech companies, agreements for future collaboration have been signed and contacts have been established to continue working on innovative projects where Galician companies will be protagonists.”

The head of Bioga highlighted that Galicia Biodays allowed “to show all the potential of Galician biotechnology; it was the showcase to make known all that Galicia is capable of doing in the field of life sciences”. “The whole biotech world turned its gaze towards Galicia, towards Vigo,” he said. López Vilariño, among the strengths of the community, highlighted the talent. “The human quality of the teams is our main potential; our teams place Galicia at the forefront, they are showing their capacity to innovate, to collaborate and develop initiatives.” Bioga’s president predicted a promising future. “We will continue to be talked about”.

Galicia Biodays puts Galicia as a world reference in the biotechnology and life sciences industry.

Public-private collaboration
Thursday’s session began with a round table, moderated by David Regades Fernández, delegate of the State in the Vigo Free Trade Zone Consortium, on The role of PERTEs in the promotion of public-private collaboration in R&D&I. Raquel Yotti, commissioner for Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for Vanguard Health of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; Jordi Carbonell, commissioner for the Agri-Food PERTE of the Ministry of Industry and Tourism; and Alex Dorado Nájera, commissioner for the Circular Economy of the Ministry for Ecological Transition.

Clusters as a tool for boosting business competitiveness was another of the topics under discussion at today’s Galicia Biodays. The table was moderated by Loli Pereiro, manager of Bioga. Participants Ion Arocena, CEO of Asebio; Javier Selva, CEO of CataloniaBio & HealthTech; Zara Pons Vila, managing director of BIOIB; and Idoia Muñóz Lizan, managing director of Basque Health Cluster analyzed, from different visions and territories, the regional strategies of clusters of reference. And their leading role in boosting competitiveness was confirmed.

Bioga supports the biotechnology value chain in Galicia

Technological sovereignty
Carme Pampín, vice-president of Bioga, was in charge of moderating another of the day’s round tables. Its title: Technological sovereignty in the pharmaceutical sector: Strategies for the 21st century. Speakers from leading companies in the biotechnology industry were present: Andrés Fernández Álvarez-Santullano, director of Zendal; Fernando González Martín, director of the Lonza plant in O Porriño; Isabel Amat Riera, global head of Innovation and Management at Reig Jofre; and Mabel Loza, scientific director and trustee of the Kaertor Foundation. What is technological sovereignty in the pharmaceutical sector? It refers to the capacity that a country or region has to develop, produce and distribute medicines autonomously without depending on third parties. The speakers highlighted the difficulty of achieving technological sovereignty because it requires bringing together research, innovation, production, pharmaceutical manufacturing, intellectual property, policies and incentives, public-private collaboration and the capacity to train talent to make the whole system work. The Covid pandemic19 highlighted the vulnerability of depending on external supplies and technologies.

Bioga, a tool to boost business competitiveness

The participants in this panel analyzed the role of their companies and their strategies to help Spain and Galicia gain technological sovereignty. For example, Andrés Fernández, CEO of Zendal, highlighted his company’s 30-year track record in vaccines. “We have been accumulating extensive knowledge and we have made a constant investment effort in technology, manufacturing facilities and innovation; in addition to having a qualified and competent team that today exceeds 500 people.” Zendal was the first Spanish company authorized to manufacture human vaccines from start to finish on an industrial scale. “This milestone has been possible thanks to the fact that at the time we opted for biotechnology as the fundamental focus of our business model,” said Andrés Fernández, who alluded to the “strategic importance” during the Covid19 pandemic. “It allows us to be prepared for future global health needs.” Zendal, since the beginning of 2020, has been collaborating in the search for solutions against Covid.

Zendal announced that it is launching the 5th edition of the Zendal International Awards, which recognizes the best projects in the field of human and animal health. The biopharmaceutical group shows its commitment to promoting advances with social impact.
Galicia Biodays was also the setting for Biointernational Insights. Representatives from different bioregions such as Japan, Scotland, France, Portugal, India and Italy detailed the strategic points of their biotechnology sectors. The Galician biotech ecosystem took note and established contacts to boost its internationalization. The conference was opened by Augusto Álvarez-Borrás Massó, director of the Internationalization Area of Igape.

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