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The government of Catalunya sets up Spain's first Bioincubator in the Barcelona Science Park

July 19, 2002

Today the Autonomous Government of Catalonia and the University of Barcelona (UB) have opened the first bioincubator in Spain. Located in the Parc Cient'­fic de Barcelona (PCB)(Barcelona Science Park), the main goal of this incubator is to provide a scientific and technological support infrastructure for new business projects in the biotechnology sector that have arisen from an academic or business context (spin-off). During the act, which was held in the PCB, the first three companies to join the project were presented.

This initiative has been promoted by through the CIDEM, which belongs to the government of Catalunya, and by the UB, through the PCB and the Fundaci'³ Bosch i Gimpera (FBG)(Bosch i Gimpera Foundation).

At present, the Park, which has been chosen by the CIDEM to host the Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB, is home to public research centres and institutes, powerful scientific and technological support infrastructures, and also to many pharmaceutical and biotechnological companies. Moreover, the presence of the Innovation Centre of the FBG allows companies to access managerial assessment services.

The location of these centres in the Park offers considerable advantages to initial-stage biotechnological companies that join the Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB. In this regard, they save on the cost of their first premises -approximately 150,000 euros-, and also on costs of acquisition and access to equipment, since the users of this project have access to the centralized research support services of the PCB, which implies an average saving per company of more than 300,000 euros over three years.

In addition to these advantages, it should be noted that these companies also save time because many authorizations for the installation of certain apparatus are unnecessary since the Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB, in addition to facilitating centralized services, has fully equipped laboratories. Moreover, the presence in the Park of 12 companies from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors, together with the public research centres and institutes, will promote collaborations between newly founded companies.

With a capacity for seven biotechnological companies, in its first stage the Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB occupies approximately 500 m2 in the PCB, distributed between seven laboratories of 50-75 m2 and 4-6 offices of 10-15 m2. The maximum time that a company can be included in the project is three years, during which they receive financial support from the CIDEM and the PCB.

The setting up of this bioincubator in the PCB is not a surprise, since the biotechnology sector is characterised by the inclusion of such incubators in a larger structure, in this case a science park.
The creation of the bioincubator has arisen from an increase in recent months in the number of biotechnological business projects. In order to establish a model, the CIDEM has based itself on international examples (Munich, Cambridge and Quebec), as well as on two studies undertaken for the CIDEM and a questionnaire of new potential users of such an initiative, which was carried out by the centre.

This Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB is included in the programme for the promotion of technology.-based companies and is within the I Innovation Plan of Catalonia and the III Research Plan of Catalonia. More than 30% of the projects currently supported by the CIDEM through this programme belong to the biotechnology sector.

Three biotechnological companies

CrystaX Pharmaceuticals, Oryzon genomics and Oleoyl Estrone Developments (OED), promoted through the Innovation Centre of the FBG, are the three new companies to have joined the Bioincubator CIDEM-PCB.
CrystaX Pharmaceuticals is a state-of-the-art technology company that directs its activities to the discovery and development of new drugs. Founded by two researchers from the Universitat Polite'cnica de Catalunya (UPC)(Technical University of Catalonia) and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cient'­ficas (CSIC) (Higher Scientific Research Council), CrystaX is currently working on the development of anticancer drugs through the use of x-ray diffraction, which allows an enormous reduction in the time required for research. CrystaX Pharmaceuticals is located in 110 m2 facilities in the PCB, which include laboratories and offices.

Oryzon genomics arose from the UB and the CSIC, and is the first Spanish company devoted to the application of genomic techniques in plants. With the objective to increase the annual production and quality of rice to satisfy present day needs, this company has developed a new technique, using DNA chips, to generate compete groups of genetic mutations in rice in a short time, which is achieved through modifying the genetic code. The results obtained can be extrapolated to other cereals consumed by humans.

OED is a new company that has arisen as a spin-off from the UB. OED directs its research effort towards drugs for the treatment of obesity and associated diseases. Together with a North American financing company specialized in the pharmaceutical and biotechnological industry, OED has founded a new enterprise, Manhattan Pharmaceuticals, which has its head offices in New York. This company aims to promote the development and international commercialisation of a new drug against obesity, based on Oleoyl Estrone.

Barcelona Science Park