AseBio showcases strategic capacity of Spanish biotechnology industry at Transfiere
- The forum is held in Malaga with over 3,000 professionals from the science and innovation sector. AseBio is displaying innovative bioproducts from over a dozen member companies that are tackling the green transition, as well as hosting a panel discussion to highlight the work being done in the biotechnology industry to drive cutting-edge healthcare and reinforce the National Health System
AseBio is strengthening its participation in the annual R&D event Transfiere, held this week at FYCMA (Trade Fairs and Congress Centre of Malaga), in order to position the biotechnology industry as an R&D intensive sector that is essential for building a greener, more sustainable and resilient economic model.
“It is important for us to be at this fair, which has become the benchmark event for our R&D system. And if there is one thing that characterises the biotechnology industry it is its commitment to science,” said AseBio CEO Ion Arocena. “We invest more in R&D and employ more research staff than any other industrial sector, plus biotechnology companies are bringing us great disruptions that are changing how we improve people’s lives and protect the planet,” he added.
In its 11 years of history, the Transfiere multi-sector professional forum has brought together over 34,000 participants from 11,000 organisations and has become an essential event for the European, national and local R&D ecosystems. It is a crucial gathering, organised by the Ministry of Science and Innovation, the Junta de Andalucía Regional Ministry for University, Research and Innovation, and the Malaga City Council, to share scientific and technological knowledge, promote innovation, connect academia and business and drive collaboration.
Biotechnology in the green transition
In line with its mission, AseBio has decided to be more present than ever this year to show that the biotechnology industry has answers to the great challenges that are threatening the sustainability of our planet. “Our goal is to raise awareness among politicians and key stakeholders in the R&D system regarding the role biotechnology plays in the fight against climate change,” explained Arocena.
To do so, the association has showcased innovative bioproducts (alternative proteins, microencapsulated probiotics, functional sweets, nutraceutics, bioplastics, herbicides, biostimulants, biofertilisers, etc.) from more than a dozen companies.The companies involved in this initiative are, MOA foodtech, AINIA, Tebrio, el Banco Español de Algas, AlgaEnergy, Natac, Celavista Mito-Biogénesis, CLaMber, ADL BioPharma y Biomar Microbial Technologies. “It is important to be able to share our products in this type of forum, to show how the biotechnology industry can transform the world with specific solutions that are already available to fuel the green transition and improve our agrifood system,” noted Adriana Casillas, founder and CEO of Tebrio, the first company to make an insect-based fertiliser registered worldwide that is 100% eco-friendly and zero-residue.
Biotechnology to build truly cutting-edge health
In addition to climate change, another big challenge facing Spain that has a noteworthy position on the public agenda is building a truly cutting-edge health system. To discuss this topic, AseBio brought together five experts for a panel discussion this Thursday, moderated by the association’s CEO. The participants were Javier Terriente, vice-president and coordinator of the AseBio Drug discovery workgroup and chief of Drug Discovery at ZeClinics, Lourdes Planelles,CSO at AMADIX, Gurutz Linazasoro, coordinator of the AseBio Advanced therapies workgroup and CEO of VIVEbiotech, Cristina Nadal, coordinator of the AseBio Antibiotic resistance workgroup and Policy executive director at MSD España and Laura Pellisé, coordinator of the AseBio Market access workgroup and head of Policy and Government Affairs at Amgen.
This conversation highlighted the value of biotechnology as the provider of strategic innovations in areas like antibiotic resistance, advanced therapies, precision medicine, market access and drug discovery, all of which are key to strengthening the National Health System. Terriente, one of the speakers, confirmed this: “Biotechnology companies, as the pandemic has shown, turn science into solutions that improve people’s health. But it isn’t always an easy road.”
Spain is the eighth world power in production of scientific knowledge in biotechnology and fifth in highly promising areas like advanced therapies. However it can be difficult to transform this science into specific solutions made in Spain. “Our innovations have a long lifecycle to maturity, with high risks that require large investments, so access to funding is key to this process. In this context, support from administrations and adopting artificial intelligence will be key for this sector to be able to grow and consolidate in our country,” concluded the vice-president of the association.
Agathe Cortes
Head of Communication and Content
Sara Fernández Vaz
Communication and Audiovisual Content Technician
Who we are.
AseBio has roughly 300 members and represents the whole Spanish biotechnology sector. Its mission is to lead the country’s transformation, positioning science, innovation and particularly biotechnology as a driving force for economic growth and social wellbeing. Members include companies, associations, foundations, universities and technology and research centres that are directly or indirectly involved in the field of biotechnology in Spain.