BIOSPAIN 2026

Spanish biotech spin-offs are stepping onto the global stage like nimble launchpads of innovation, pulling in investors and partners from Europe, the US and Asia. Rooted in world-class science yet built for translation, they marry academic brilliance with entrepreneurial grit — and with sharper international branding, smoother regulatory pathways and bolder cross-border alliances, they can turn local discoveries into scalable, globe-spanning solutions.

Advanced Therapies and Next-Gen Biotech Platforms to Deliver Global Health Impact
Given the relative strength of the Basque Country in industrial biotechnology capabilities—particularly in advanced manufacturing, regenerative medicine, and translational research—this proposal envisions a coherent set of 2–3 interconnected BIOSPAIN 2026 sessions exploring advanced therapies and next-generation biotech platforms from complementary perspectives. Rather than a single discussion, the aim is to reflect the breadth and maturity of the regional ecosystem by distributing expertise across multiple formats, including thematic panels and moderated discussions.
These sessions would collectively examine how scientific innovation, industrial scale-up, and clinical translation converge to enable global impact in advanced therapies. While each session would address a distinct angle—from platform technologies and manufacturing infrastructure to translational science and clinical application—they would be designed to offer a unified narrative around the Basque Country’s role as a European hub for advanced biomedicine.
Across the proposed sessions, participation would include leading voices from biotechnology companies, industrial-scale manufacturing organizations, and academic and translational research institutions:
The session provides a review of platform technologies and genome engineering, industrialization and manufacturing of gene and cell therapies, and translational research and clinical integration, depending on final program design.
Overall, this proposal aims to showcase the Basque Country’s distinctive positioning at the intersection of industrial capability, scientific excellence, and translational innovation, illustrating how regional strengths can be leveraged to drive global health impact in advanced therapies through coordinated, multi-stakeholder dialogue.

Quantum technologies are rapidly evolving from theoretical promise to practical tools across biomedicine and biotechnology. Early applications in drug discovery, molecular simulation, quantum enhanced imaging, and secure data infrastructures are already underway, supported by hybrid quantum–classical approaches and pioneering industrial collaborations. This panel will bring together experts from quantum computing, biotechnology, diagnostics, and cybersecurity to explore near term opportunities and realistic pathways for adoption.
Participants will gain insights into emerging use cases, regulatory considerations, and strategic actions enabling biotech and health organizations to prepare for the quantum decade ahead.

Introduction: Why Quantum for Biotech Now? (5 min)

Block 1 – Quantum Computing in Biomedicine: Molecules, Models and Precision Medicine (20 min)

Block 2 – Quantum Sensing, Imaging and Diagnostics: The Next Frontier (20 min)

Block 3 – Quantum Biotech Industrial Collaborations and Biomanufacturing (20 min)

Speakers TBA
Multiverse Computing
BasQ 

Following a market correction, ATMPs are entering a more selective phase where scientific promise must be matched by clear execution. This session will examine what differentiates companies that get funded, scaled, and ultimately acquired. The discussion will focus on investor selection criteria at seed and Series A, including data thresholds, platform differentiation, and capital efficiency. It will also address the role of delivery and manufacturing in enabling—or limiting—scalability. From a pharma perspective, the panel will highlight what drives partnering and acquisition decisions, and why many ATMP companies fail to reach that stage. Bringing together investors, founders, pharma, and manufacturing experts, the session will provide a practical framework to assess ATMP opportunities in today’s environment.

Women specificities in healthcare are gaining importance due to the higher socieconomical status in developed countries and insights from research highlighting sex and gender disparities in the development, prevention and treatment of diseases.

As an example, cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death among women in the EU, yet it is still under-researched, frequently misdiagnosed, and often undertreated. Another case is that of migraine, an under-recognized women's health problem. Its high prevalence in women, the gender gap in diagnosis, and diagnostic delays have a significant economic, occupational, and social impact impacting career paths, leisure time, social life, and reproductive decisions.

Understanding women's health requires moving beyond a "one-size-fits-all" medical model to one that recognizes the profound impact of sex and gender on health outcomes and considers the differential needs in prevention and treatment. In parallel, there is a growing high-tech market delivering new healthcare products and services specifically designed for women, the so-called femtech sector, with innovations specifically designed for women’s wellness or care related to diagnostic devices, wearable sensors, etc. This panel will analyze this healthcare paradigm change and the related technological innovations as well as the integration of these aspects into routine clinical workflows by multidisciplinary experts including a cardiologist with expertise in digital health and AI, pharma and femtech companies.

A call to political action: propose a national health plan with a gender perspective, more training in primary care, more sex-disaggregated research, and greater institutional recognition.