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Spain’s largest biotech conference, BIOSPAIN, is set to return to Barcelona from October 7th – 9th 2025. Global companies from different biotech sectors – health, agri-food, sustainability and digitalization – will be represented, and the event will offer numerous networking and collaboration opportunities. With an expected turnout of over 2,200 industry professionals from over 40 countries, preparation is key to reap the full benefits of this event. Here, we cover what you need to know to make the most of BIOSPAIN 2025.
With a motto of “Global crossroads, local vibes”, it seems only fitting that this year, BIOSPAIN, which from 2026 onwards will be held annually, will return to Barcelona, Spain’s main biotech cluster and a vibrant, cultural city of the world. With a high visitor turnout expected, organizers are confident BIOSPAIN will be a fruitful environment for life science professionals from around the world to meet and network, strike up future collaborations, and enjoy Barcelona’s culture, cuisine and atmosphere.
“We had 2,200 attendees at BIOSPAIN in 2023, and I think we are even on track to surpass that figure this year,” says Stuart Medina Miltimore, Director of Business Development and International Promotion at the Spanish Bioindustry Association (AseBio), an organization that has been nurturing the biotech ecosystem in Spain for the last 25 years, and a key organizer of BIOSPAIN 2025.
“One of my favorite aspects of BIOSPAIN is the chance to have good quality meetings. You’ll come back with a stack of business cards. It’ll take you two or three weeks to process that.”
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Barcelona: a prime biotech location
Barcelona’s so-called BioRegion is home to over 1,500 life science companies and 93 research institutions, and life sciences and healthcare constitute 7.6% of Catalonia’s GDP. Last year, the region secured €347 million in investments for health startups and scaleups, and €550 million in foreign direct investment. As a result, Barcelona is a natural choice of location for BIOSPAIN 2025.
“We hadn’t held BIOSPAIN in Barcelona for nearly twenty years before returning in 2023,” Miltimore explains. “Our experience shows Barcelona was a wise choice – the turnout was high.”
“BIOSPAIN 2025 will be held at the Fira de Barcelona – Montjuïc, an antique conference center built in the late 1920s for the 1929 International Exhibition,” Miltimore continues. “It’s very conveniently located in an iconic part of the city.”
“Spain is now the number one site for clinical trials in Europe, and fifty percent of the Spanish pharmaceutical industry is based in Barcelona. It is the most dynamic city we have for biotech in Spain right now.”
According to Miltimore, Barcelona is home to about 400 biotechs, and its life science industry continues to grow: In 2023, AstraZeneca announced the founding of an Innovation Hub in Barcelona, for which the company hired 750 researchers and continues to increase its development.
In keeping with this spirit of innovation, the organizers of BIOSPAIN, together with Barcelona’s local government, are planning to hold BIOSPAIN in Barcelona biannually.
BIOSPAIN 2025: A space for all areas of biotech
According to Miltimore, BIOSPAIN 2025 will feature sessions on a range of biotech topics, including synthetic biology, various applications of AI, pharmaceutical strategy in Spain, and regulatory issues, such as pricing and reimbursement in Spain. Naturally, the event will cover a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology and even orphan drugs.
“BIOSPAIN 2025 is a space for the industry to speak up and communicate their issues to politicians and society at large.”
“In addition to the exhibition zones, there will be areas for partnering, pitch sessions, and social events too.”
“We are also expecting a number of VC funds to be present, not just from Europe and the US, but from Canada and Singapore as well,” says Miltimore.
While healthcare constitutes the largest segment of biotech, the organizers of BIOSPAIN 2025 want to ensure that other biotech sectors are also well represented.
“With our Green Forum, we wanted to create a space specifically for green biotech companies, ” Miltimore explains. “They tend to be smaller and have less capital than big pharma or larger biotech companies, and we didn’t want them to be overwhelmed by human health and pharma companies at BIOSPAIN 2025.”
As sustainability is becoming a key focus of biotechs, the Green Forum provides a space for stimulating scientific exchange on issues like reducing fertilizer and pesticide use in the food tech and agricultural sectors.
“We’re also seeing more investors specializing in food tech investments. We’re inviting them to do reverse pitch presentations to explain their investment strategy, their areas of focus and target investment amounts, and the challenges in their space,” states Miltimore.
These reverse pitch presentations could in turn help agri-food biotechs make more informed decisions on their strategy, growth, and development.
Finally, the Talent Day on October 9th will provide PhD students and researchers to network and explore career opportunities with top recruiting companies.
Advice for BIOSPAIN 2025 attendees
“Preparation is the key to making the most of BIOSPAIN 2025. Also, be open to people you weren’t expecting to meet – it could be someone you met at the welcome reception in the museum, or ran into at a booth,” encourages Miltimore. “You never know, you might have a stimulating discussion with that person during a coffee break.”
According to Miltimore, it’s important to strike a balance between scheduled meetings and free time to collect your thoughts and make new contacts.
“My advice is to make sure that you have enough slots for meetings and slots for non-meetings,” says Miltimore. “Go to the sessions, and just approach the people in the booths.”
Beyond biotech: Barcelona’s local vibes
Naturally, the appeal of Barcelona extends beyond its biotech infrastructure, and the organizers of BIOSPAIN 2025 want attendees to experience the city’s appealing climate and cultural attractions as well.
“The weather in Barcelona is lovely at that time of the year,” says Miltimore. “If we’re lucky, it might be nice enough to swim!”
“There are many cultural attractions to see in Barcelona as well,” says Miltimore. “We will host a night at the Museum de Marítim de Barcelona, which is one of my favorite museums in Barcelona. It’s essentially a 15th century shipyard where Mediterranean galleys were built, now converted into a space for preserving Catalonian maritime culture.”
“We have agreements with local businesses in Barcelona’s downtown district and Paso de Gracia, one of the city’s major shopping streets, for BIOSPAIN attendees to have tastings of the local cuisine in a traditional environment. We call it the Tapas Route. There will be music as well – we will have fun!”
Making connections at BIOSPAIN 2025
Biotech is as much about science as it is about making connections with other researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors, and BIOSPAIN 2025 is a place where these types of long-lasting connections are made.
“When I go to BIOSPAIN, I’m constantly bumping into people I met before and haven’t seen in two or three years,” says Miltimore. “It’s a lovely opportunity to both meet new people and reconnect with colleagues you haven’t seen in a long time.”
For a deeper look at what’s in store at BIOSPAIN 2025, listen to our special podcast episode below.
Don’t miss the opportunity! Register now and reserve your seat for BIOSPAIN 2025 here.
