I attended the official presentation of ASEBIO’s Annual Report — ASEBIO being the Spanish Association of Biotechnology Companies, which recently celebrated more than 25 years of activity.
A long road has been completed from the early 90’s that I remember in the executive search profession. Then, the searches assigned to EuroGalenus were coming from foreign corporations just starting commercial operations in Spain. Usually Regional or Country Managers and their key board executives: CEO, CSO, Regulatory Affairs Director and/or Technical/responsible person. These executives were sourced from Pharmaceutical companies as the problems they were facing were very similar: approval, reimbursement, marketing, etc. Most of those companies are now big consolidated names in the world of international and Spanish Biotechnology.
In 1992, the Spanish sector consisted of Biokit (part of the Werfen/Izasa group), Pharmamar (part of Zeltia)…and not much more. So the development in 15/20 years is more stunning than just the past 10 years. Now, Spain has over 250 companies employing more than 100.000 people. Even more, we have successful companies ready to make the “big jump” and become truly global. To Pharmamar, we now have to add Advancell, Oryzon Genomics, Digna Biotech, 3P Bio or Palau Pharma, Minoryx Therapeutics, Sanifit, AELIX Therapeutics, Lyposmol Biotech, Biolan Microbiosensores, Abyntek Biopharma, AtG Therapeutics, Biom and HIPRA, to mention a few. Catalonia leads the Spanish biotech map, hosting nearly 25% of all biotech companies in the country, followed by Madrid, Andalusia, and Valencia. These companies are active in fields such as genomics, CRISPR, CAR-T therapies, cell and gene therapy, mRNA platforms, diagnostic tools, and industrial biotech.
According to OECD biotechnology statistics and global science production indicators, Spain ranks among the leading countries worldwide in biotechnology-related scientific output and sector development.
Unlike the earlier wave, today’s biotech players have completely different hiring needs:
- CRISPR experts and genome editing scientists
- Specialists in CAR-T therapies, cell and gene therapy, and mRNA platforms
- Senior leaders in CMC, scale-up and GMP biomanufacturing
- Professionals in Regulatory Science, IP strategy, and Business Development with strong exposure to FDA and EMA
- And increasingly, medical affairs, health economics, and market access professionals able to navigate highly complex environments
One historic moment still resonates: when Cristina Garmendia of Genetrix, was appointed Minister of Science and Innovation in 2008. It marked a turning point for biotech visibility in Spain, even as the economic crisis of that period weighed heavily on other sectors like construction or tourism. Not the ideal context to defend the biotech agenda at the Council of Ministers.
However, from my professional perspective, the foundations of the biotech sector in Spain are solid: the country’s long-standing scientific excellence and creativity — particularly from its research centers and universities — is now being perceived differently by venture capital and private investors. Both national and regional governments continue to support the development of biotech parks and clusters, where academia, science, business and finance can interact and grow together.
In 2025, the challenges are no longer visibility or credibility — but scale, global competitiveness, and the ability to retain or attract senior leadership talent in areas where demand has outpaced supply.
The alumni network of IE Business School held an Open Forum in Madrid to discuss current challenges in the Spanish biotech sector. But the big appointment was BioSpain 2010, held in Pamplona. Since then, BioSpain has evolved into one of the most important biotech events in Europe — and in 2025, it returned to Barcelona, welcoming professionals from across the globe.
Editorial Note: This article was originally published in July 2009 and anticipated the rise of Spanish biotech. It has been lightly updated to reflect the sector’s current reality, including updated figures, keywords such as CRISPR and CAR-T, and the current biotech landscape in Spain.
