Spain The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic put an end to more than five years of economic growth in Spain. But the country was not alone. Due to strict containment measures, the Europe’s economy went into the greatest recession since the Second World War during the first half of 2020. To…

Spain After decades of investment, Catalonia has secured its healthcare and life sciences hub status, accounting for more than half of Spain’s pharma exports and with more clinical trials than any other region. The birthplace of many of the country’s pharma success stories, Catalonia boasts a strong scientific output by European…

Spain Its unorthodox name reflecting a somewhat unconventional approach, mAbxience has achieved some significant milestones in its short history, including becoming the only privately-owned company in the world with less than 500 people to have launched a monoclonal antibody biosimilar. “This is not usually a small company game, and mAbxience did…

Spain In 2021, a hospital in Barcelona managed to get approval for the first European-developed CAR-T cell therapy. Aided by a little girl and her mother, a team of doctors at the Hospital Clinic Barcelona moved early to learn from the American physician that pioneered the treatments, did not take no…

Spain Spain is playing an important role in the production of COVID-19 vaccines with four Spanish companies involved in vaccine manufacturing projects, three of them doing fill and finish and one with an original vaccine candidate. Unfortunately, Spain’s vaccine manufacturers have faced quality control issues resulting in major recalls.   “The…

Spain After five years of raising funds, the Sant Joan de Deu (SJD) Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona, the largest monographic paediatric oncological centre in Europe will open its doors on June 16. The new facility, which was financed uniquely by donations, is part of the larger SJD hospital on the outskirts…

Europe The new president of Medicines for Europe, Elisabeth Stampa, outlines one of the priorities of her mandate: working to adjust the EU pharma policy framework to improve access for patients across Europe.    Regulatory flexibilities implemented during COVID-19 showed that the EU system can require one of highest safety, quality…

Spain Weeks after a mosquito forced the recall of 765,000 doses of Moderna’s vaccine manufactured in Spain, the country’s top medicines regulator called for new inspection procedures, praised the loyalty of the Spanish pharma industry and asked if the industry is going “too lean?” Speaking at a conference in Madrid on…

Spain With global ambitions, Atrys Health, a publicly traded Spanish health-tech company, is betting on telediagnosis and last-generation radiotherapy to lead the precision medicine race, not missing the Big Data opportunities along the way. Its executive president, Dr. Santiago de Torres, explains why nothing is “too fast” when aiming for a…

Europe Having moved early on a promising phase II monoclonal antibody, Almirall is inching closer to entering the Sanofi-dominated European market for eczema after posting, along with Eli Lilly, positive phase III results for Lebrikizumab. The Catalan company says it is on track for a 2023 launch on the continent; Lilly…

Spain Way before securing the CEO role at Esteve in 2018, Staffan Schüberg built a career that saw him rise through the ranks of Lundbeck, from commercial activities in Sweden to global chief commercial officer.   Schüberg got his first pharma job at Lundbeck in 1994 after serving in the Swedish…

Spain Soon after reaching its 60th anniversary, in 2015, the largest hospital in Catalonia and a group of sister institutions began working on the creation of a new type of campus. The idea was to follow the footsteps of world-leading healthcare hubs.   The idea of strengthening the cluster was an…