#InterviewBiospain2021 | "Biospain will allow us all to reach more Spanish biomedical talents"

When Gregory Rall, Senior Manager of Innovation and Technology at Invest HK, the Hong Kong SAR Government department responsible for Foreign Direct Investment, which supports foreign and mainland companies to establish and expand in Asia via Hong Kong, talks about Spain and how he is looking forward to coming to Pamplona this week, his eyes lighting up. "In Spain you have a complete pool of talent and intelligence, and you are leading in digital health", are some of the words he dedicates to our biomedical sector. "We are looking forward to meeting new Spanish companies, in person. We need foreign partners, we need people from all over the world to join us and Biospain is going to allow that to happen. It will allow us to reach more Spanish biomedical talents," he adds.

Rall lived in Japan for ten years, where he learned all about biomedical. When he returned in 2014 the biomedical sector advanced a lot. The new technologies and tools surprised him, the vision of precision medicine, how modernity was opposed to tradition and which interest countries had in the sector. "In the old days we (the people) went often late to the doctor but now with advanced medicine and earlier monitoring we can achieve better health and a better quality of life," he exemplifies. 

Hong Kong is the third most powerful financial centre, according to Rall, after New York and London that manages to take companies public by IPO and regarding biomedical Hong Kong became the leading IPO destination for biotechs. "We bet on things we don't know, we take risks and, in the end, you realise that it works out well," he says. In fact, in his view, this is something that is lacking in Europe: taking risks. "The Americans or the Asians are not better, but they take more risk and are good at business. In Europe we have more scientific studies, more clinical trials, but often innovations don't reach the market," he adds. For Rall, it is important to have a long-term vision and to support each other and close collaborations to break this stigma. "Maybe it's because we began to have Europe on the radar-screen but in the future we could work hand-in-hand to proliferate European biotechs that they reach Asia via Hong Kong and companies can tap into the funding opportunities in Hong Kong”. 

"We're not just looking for technology, we're looking for people can drive projects, that's why it's important for us that Biospain is face-to-face," he insists. Bringing together the best Spanish companies for 2030, making them known, allowing them to grow, bringing solutions to light and entering the Asian market are some of the objectives of Invest HK with this Biospain, which began on Monday. "We want to give them opportunities to advice at no cost, we want them to participate free of charge in events to present themselves and we offer them an evaluation how to land best in Hong Kong. We believe this is the best thing for a start-up company to proliferate its business in Europe and to reach out for Asia," he concludes.

By Agathe Cortes