#BIOSPAIN2025 | “BIOSPAIN represents one of the main platforms for bringing together professionals, companies, and key stakeholders in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector in Spain and internationally.”

Open innovation has established itself as a strategic pillar in the pharmaceutical and biotech industry, not only as a complement to internal research but as an essential path to access new technologies, diversify projects, and respond quickly to global market challenges. Collaborative models with startups, research centers, and emerging biotechs emerge as catalysts for disruptive solutions, enabling companies to accelerate growth and deliver greater value to patients.

In this context, Grifols has incorporated external innovation as a key element to strengthen its global strategy. Through GIANT (Grifols Innovation and New Technologies), the company drives partnerships and co-investments that strengthen its pipeline and complement internal capabilities. In an interview framed within BIOSPAIN 2025, taking place from October 7 to 9 in Barcelona, Grifols shares its vision on the challenges and opportunities of collaborative innovation, as well as the trends that will shape the future of the sector.

As Gold Sponsor of this edition, the company demonstrates its commitment to the biotech ecosystem and to consolidating Spain as an international hub of scientific and technological innovation.

AseBio. How would you define Grifols’ innovation strategy, and what role does external innovation currently play within this global vision?

Jose Terencio. Grifols’ innovation strategy is based on a comprehensive approach that combines internal research and open innovation, including investments, external collaborations, and access to new technological platforms. This vision revolves around a clear objective: improving patients’ lives through advanced and sustainable therapeutic solutions.

Internally, at Grifols we continue researching both the biology of plasma—to find new applications for our products and discover proteins with therapeutic value—and the development of innovative treatments that do not originate from plasma, leveraging new technological platforms.

However, external innovation plays an increasingly strategic role within this global vision. Through GIANT, the company identifies, evaluates, and manages collaboration opportunities with startups, research centers, and technology companies. GIANT acts as a catalyst for new ideas, ensuring that external investments are aligned with Grifols’ therapeutic priorities and bring real value to the company’s pipeline.

Concrete examples of this strategy include acquisitions such as GigaGen, which have allowed Grifols to expand its knowledge in areas like the development of polyclonal antibodies. Additionally, active participation in both the local and international ecosystem reinforces the company’s commitment to collaborative disruptive innovation as a model for business growth.

In summary, external innovation not only complements Grifols’ internal capabilities but is a key lever to accelerate the development of disruptive solutions and maintain the company’s global competitiveness.

AseBio. What factors have driven the pharmaceutical industry to focus more on external innovation at this moment?

Jose Terencio. For years, there has been a growing interest in external innovation within pharmaceutical companies. This is driven by several key factors that have intensified in recent years. Firstly, the pressure to improve R&D productivity and counteract the declining trend in return on investment has led to seeking external collaborations to access new technologies, innovative platforms, and specialized talent. Additionally, the need to diversify and accelerate the development of new therapeutic assets—especially following the experience of the pandemic, which highlighted the value of collaboration and agility in innovation—has driven openness to partnerships with biotechs, universities, and startups.

Furthermore, the competitive environment and the rapid evolution of areas such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, and sustainability have made it clear that open innovation has become a fundamental driver, allowing companies to complement internal capabilities, optimize resources, and reduce development risks. Integrating external innovation thus becomes a strategic lever to maintain competitiveness, adapt to new regulatory and social demands, and respond more flexibly to current pharmaceutical market challenges.

And the figures support this: according to a recent EY report, the contribution of revenues from external innovation for the 12 leading pharmaceutical companies rose from 38% of total sales in the period 2002–2006 to 63% of sales between 2017 and 2021.

AseBio. What types of partnerships or collaboration models are considered most effective for integrating external innovation (startups, biotechs, universities, etc.)?

Jose Terencio. At Grifols, we believe that the most effective models for integrating external innovation are those that allow strategic and flexible collaboration, adapted to the development stage of each project. Through GIANT, we work with various formats ranging from early-stage collaboration agreements with startups and academic centers to equity participations and full acquisitions when strategic fit is validated.

For example, collaborations with FcR Therapeutics and the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland allow us to advance recombinant therapies and immunology projects from early stages, integrating external capabilities that complement our internal pipeline.

Additionally, events like BioSpain, where we have been sponsors and organizers of roundtables on external innovation, allow us to identify new opportunities and strengthen the collaborative ecosystem. In these spaces, we share experiences on building internal capabilities through investments and acquisitions of disruptive innovation, such as integrating Gigagen’s recombinant polyclonal antibody platform (acquired in 2021), or external alliances, like the project using immunoglobulins for dry eye disease treatment with Selagine.

Ultimately, we seek partnerships that not only provide scientific or technological value but are strategically aligned with our mission and vision. The key is combining capabilities, balancing resources and agility, and having a shared vision to successfully develop projects.

AseBio. What are the main challenges when opening innovation to external actors, and how are you addressing them?

Jose Terencio. One of the main challenges in opening innovation to external actors is protecting intellectual property. Sharing ideas and technologies with third parties necessarily involves exposing patents, trade secrets, or competitive advantages, which can generate uncertainty and risk if not managed properly. In our case, we address this by establishing confidentiality agreements from the start of any potential collaboration. Clearly defining ownership of results and their potential future exploitation in the collaboration contract, ensuring both parties have aligned expectations, is a good starting point.

Another fundamental challenge in open innovation is aligning objectives and cultures among the different stakeholders involved. Often, external collaborators—such as startups, universities, or suppliers—have motivations, work rhythms, and organizational styles that differ from ours. To address this, we form mixed teams from the outset, with representatives from both sides. This allows us to set common and clear objectives from the start, ensuring everyone moves in the same direction. We also place great importance on continuous and transparent communication, which is key to resolving potential misunderstandings and keeping everyone informed of project progress. This approach helps build trust and maximize the collaboration’s potential.

AseBio. What impact do you expect this strategy to have on the development of new products, therapies, or processes within Grifols?

Jose Terencio. Grifols’ external innovation strategy aims to accelerate the development of new products, therapies, and processes through collaborations and agreements with startups, research centers, technology partners, and pharmaceutical companies. This approach allows us to diversify our pipeline beyond plasma and incorporate new capabilities through the acquisition of disruptive technologies. Ultimately, all of this effort is aimed at improving patients’ quality of life, who are the true driving force behind innovation at Grifols.

AseBio. From your perspective, what trends in open innovation are shaping the future of the biotech and pharmaceutical sector?

Jose Terencio. From our perspective, several key trends in open innovation are shaping the future of the biotech and pharmaceutical sector. First, there is the consolidation of collaborative models through corporate venture capital funds (CVCFs) in co-investment with other venture capital funds. Additionally, research and development collaborations associated with later-stage licensing are increasingly used, allowing risk reduction and early access to new technologies, contributing to project diversification without relying solely on internal R&D. Large companies are combining acquisitions (M&A) and focused licensing agreements to incorporate mature assets, while CVCFs are employed strategically to identify and support emerging platforms with high potential.

Moreover, collaborations with academia, innovation hubs, and incubation and acceleration programs are becoming increasingly relevant, allowing companies to access talent, ideas, and cutting-edge methodologies, accelerating the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical or commercial applications.

Finally, open innovation portals are emerging as tools not only to launch technological challenges or identify external solutions but also as bridges to ideas and disruptive innovations that have not yet been explored. Taken together, these trends are guiding the sector toward more open, collaborative, and flexible models, capable of keeping pace with scientific and technological advances and responding better to the needs of patients and the global market.

AseBio. Grifols is a Gold Sponsor of BIOSPAIN: why have you decided to support this event, and what do you hope to achieve with your participation this year?

Jose Terencio. As a Gold Sponsor of BIOSPAIN, Grifols decided to support this event because it represents one of the main platforms for bringing together professionals, companies, and key stakeholders in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical sector in Spain and internationally. BIOSPAIN offers us the opportunity to reinforce our position as innovation leaders, establish new strategic collaborations, and gain first-hand insight into emerging trends that are transforming the sector.

This year, we hope to leverage our participation to identify co-investment and co-development opportunities with leading startups and research centers, as well as strengthen our network of contacts with technology partners and potential allies. Additionally, BIOSPAIN allows us to showcase our commitment to open innovation and the advancement of new therapies, consolidating our focus on diversifying the pipeline and incorporating disruptive technologies that provide value to our patients and society.