BCN Health Booster accelerator companies close the programme with 107.5 million euros in new funding
The initiative is coming to an end after three years of activity (2022-2024), accompanying the growth of eleven entities in the healthcare sector.
The companies that have completed the program have increased their human resources by 99%, the attraction of international talent by 66% and the female leadership of their management teams by 71%. In total, 69 patents have been registered during the life of the program, three of which are still pending.
The BCN Health Booster accelerator culminates after three years in operation with a total financing raised by the accelerated companies of 107.5 million euros, adding private (52% of the total) and public (48%) investment. This amount represents a growth of 116% compared to the 49.8 million euros of financing that they declared three years ago when they joined this business development program.
During 2024, the last year of the acceleration programme, the amount of private investment raised reached 9.5 million euros, while public funding exceeded 8 million euros. By the end of the programme, the companies had been granted a total of 66 patents, with 3 more pending, a figure that represents an increase of 306% over the 17 registered when they started in 2022.
There has also been remarkable growth in terms of staff. All accelerated companies ended the programme with a 99% increase in staff, having grown from an initial 88 workers to 175 by the end of 2024, a remarkable exponential growth that has translated, in some cases, into an increased need for laboratory space.
This increase has also been accompanied by outstanding female leadership on the management teams. The presence of women in senior positions increased by 71%, with a total of 24 women on the companies’ founding or management teams, compared to 14 at the start of the programme. Similarly, the accelerated companies have managed to attract global talent to their teams, with a 66% increase in the presence of international professionals, specifically from Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Cyprus, Germany, Greece, Portugal, Poland and the United States.
Of the eleven projects selected, six are in the discovery phase for therapeutic products, three are developing diagnostic systems for various diseases, one manufactures biomaterials for the health sector, and one is in enzyme design.