Companies based at the University of Barcelona’s Parc Científic de Barcelona (PCB-UB) closed out 2025 with a record-breaking €230 million in capital raised across start-ups, spin-offs and scale-ups — smashing the previous high of €142 million set in 2022. The milestone cements the life sciences and health sector’s role as a key engine of innovation and economic growth in Catalonia.
Private investors poured €202.6 million into the UB-backed business ecosystem this year, more than double the €97 million recorded in 2024 — a 107% jump. Public funding added a further €27.1 million to the total, bringing overall investment up 84% compared to the €124 million raised in 2024.
According to Biocat’s 2025 Catalonia BioRegion Report, the PCB-UB’s entrepreneurial community alone generated 44% of all life sciences and health investment across Catalonia, out of a sector-wide total of €517 million. The report also notes that life sciences and health now make up 7.6% of the region’s GDP.
Maria Terrades, director of PCB-UB, described the figures as proof of the ecosystem’s growing maturity: “The fact that almost half of the capital raised by the life sciences and health sector in Catalonia comes from companies associated with the PCB-UB demonstrates the strength of our environment and its strategic role within the sector, both in Catalonia and in Europe.”
UB rector Joan Guàrdia added that the significance extends well beyond the numbers themselves: “The University of Barcelona Science Park is the essential lever to facilitate the technological transfer that the Catalan research system needs. It is a unique model of collaboration between a public university and the business world, of attracting talent, transfer and research in the field of health sciences. When the future Health Campus Clínic – UB is in operation, the PCB-UB will be part of a research, knowledge and healthcare hub that is unparalleled throughout Europe.”
Biotechnology remained the dominant force behind this year’s fundraising, pulling in €219 million — the bulk of it channeled toward companies working on new drugs, advanced therapies, diagnostics and biomedical technologies, with particular momentum in oncology, central nervous system disorders and immunology.