BIOSPAIN 2026

Following the publication of the proposed Biotech Act I Regulation, the European Commission has launched a consultation process for the future Biotech Act II, which will focus on industrial policy and on building a broad, forward-looking biotechnology ecosystem.In this session, organised by AseBio, we will examine the opportunities presented by Biotech Act II to advance biomanufacturing and biotechnology innovation in Europe, while also addressing the regulatory, financing, and scale-up challenges facing the sector.

Spain is doubling down on early-stage innovation with the launch of the Innvierte Deep-Tech & Tech Transfer programme, led by CDTI Innovación under the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (MICIU), in collaboration with the European Investment Fund. With a total allocation of €353 million targeting early-stage technologies (TRL 2–4), the initiative aims to address Spain’s critical funding gap between research and commercialization—unlocking the potential of universities, research centers, and spin-offs.
This round table will explore how public-private co-investment models—such as the recent €30 million commitment to the Montana Children’s Health Fund, managed by Ship2B Ventures—can help catalyze a stronger deep-tech ecosystem. Bringing together perspectives from public investors, fund managers, and the European Investment Bank’s EIC Accelerator programme, the discussion will examine how institutional capital and blended financing can de-risk early innovation, strengthen technology transfer, and help breakthrough science reach the market.
Panelists will discuss the key challenges facing deep-tech ventures in Spain, from bridging the gap between research and investability to accessing the right mix of grants, equity, and institutional capital. The conversation will also explore how European-level instruments such as the EIC Accelerator can complement national initiatives and provide a pathway for high-potential companies to scale beyond their domestic markets.
Key questions include: How can Spain better align financial instruments with the needs of deep-tech entrepreneurs? What lessons can be drawn from the first Innvierte transaction? How can national and European funding mechanisms work together more effectively? And how can investors, corporates, universities, and public actors collaborate to accelerate the journey from lab to market and build globally competitive companies?
The session is designed for investors, fund managers, technology transfer offices, policymakers, corporates, and entrepreneurs seeking to understand and engage with Spain’s evolving deep-tech financing landscape—and the opportunities emerging at the intersection of national and European capital.

Imagine a crossroads where human health, animal welfare, and the environment meet — and a new generation of sentinels stands guard. This panel will convene those sentinels to tackle the urgent challenge of protecting vulnerable people and animals from disease driven by major antibiotic‑resistant threats, and to showcase the bleeding‑edge tools that spot and dissect multidrug‑resistant bacteria across clinical, food and environmental landscapes within a One Health framework. We’ll voyage through the knotted realities of vaccine development and market access, then move into the fast‑moving world of diagnostics: gene‑based LAMP assays that turn hours into minutes, electrochemical biosensors that read microbial whispers as electrical signals, nanomaterial‑amplified methods that reveal the faintest traces of pathogens, microfluidic “lab on a chip” platforms that miniaturize whole laboratories, and point‑of‑care systems built for real‑world decisions. The growing appreciation for vaccines—from immune surrogates of protection to fresh insights into host‑pathogen dynamics and sharper disease definitions—will be explored as a keystone for prevention. Recent breakthroughs already sound like science fiction: sub‑hour detection of key AMR genes, ultra‑low limits of detection in messy samples, and real‑time antimicrobial susceptibility testing that brings clinical and research timelines into alignment. These advances not only sharpen bedside decision making but also feed drug discovery with high‑resolution pathogen profiles that accelerate new antimicrobial development. The panel will bring together thought leaders in vaccines, diagnostics, microfluidics, biosensing, environmental microbiology, and pharmaceutical innovation to chart the next frontiers in AMR detection — and to imagine how those frontiers will reshape the hunt for tomorrow’s drugs.

Introduction – The One Health Challenge of MDR Bacteria

Block 1 - From Immunity to Impact: Building Executable AMR Vaccines
Block 2 – Genetic Detection of MDR Bacteria: LAMP and Other Rapid Molecular Techniques
Block 3 – Electrochemical Biosensing: Fast, Sensitive Characterization of MDR Bacteria
Block 4 – Point of Care Devices and Lab on a Chip Systems for Rapid AMR Decision-Making
Block 5 - Connecting Diagnostics to Drug Developement: TheFeedback Loop

Looking ahead to 2035, what single technological or ecosystem change would have the greatest impact on transforming AMR detection from a reactive activity into a predictive and actionable One Health system?