The Lidera Transferència en Salut instrument, endowed with 60 million euros, will finance advanced therapy projects in early stages of development to make them viable and attract private investors. The Catalan Government has today approved a contribution of 50 million euros, while the remaining 10 million come from the Institut Català de Finances.
The Catalan Government has approved the creation of the Lidera Transferència en Salut fund, a new co-investment instrument managed by the Institut Català de Finances (ICF) that will support innovative projects in the field of health and life sciences emerging from Catalan universities and research centres.
The fund will have a total of 60 million euros to finance advanced therapy projects in early development stages, with the goal of making them viable and facilitating the creation of new companies that are attractive to private investors. The Catalan Government has approved a contribution of 50 million euros, while the remaining 10 million come from the public promotional bank.
The creation of the fund is part of the ICF’s new venture capital strategy, which will increase to 645 million euros the resources managed by the public promotional bank for venture capital projects. To the ICF’s current investment vehicles (which amount to 360 million euros), the umbrella fund Catalunya Lidera will be added, endowed with 285 million euros to finance initiatives in health transfer, deeptech, and advanced technologies through four instruments: Lidera Transferència en Salut (60 million), Lidera Tecnologies Avançades (55 million), Lidera Conversió Impacte i Innovació (70 million), and Lidera Grans Empreses (100 million).
The sector generates knowledge that lacks support to reach the market
Catalonia has established itself as one of the most competitive health innovation hubs in Europe thanks to growth in exports, the attraction of foreign investment, the increase in scientific publications, and the rising participation in clinical trials, according to indicators from the 2024 Catalonia BioRegion Report.
However, it is a sector with a high demand for capital and one that requires highly qualified professionals, both in technical fields and in business management, as well as the involvement of specialised investors. As a result, a significant part of the knowledge generated in Catalan research centres still lacks the financial tools and support needed to reach the market.
In this context, advanced therapies, such as those focused on oncology or new medical technologies, produce high-level science that requires technical validation through so-called killer experiments—essential tests to determine the initial viability of projects. These validations require significant investment, which often hinders access to subsequent development stages and fails to attract private funding.
The new fund will promote the viability of high-growth potential projects
The instrument promoted by the Catalan Government and the ICF is intended to provide financial support at this critical stage to health innovation projects with high growth potential, solid business prospects, and major strategic impact for Catalonia.
Thus, once these early stages have been overcome (including those following the killer experiments and up to the start of the commercialisation process of the research results), the projects will be in a position to receive private investment, which will contribute to the growth of the research and development sector in the field of health and life sciences in Catalonia.