The Biotech Sector Is Growing Stronger and Generates 400 Million Euros Annually in Pontevedra, Galicia

Just over five years ago, few people knew what a PCR was and had never heard of messenger RNA. Then, the race to find a COVID vaccine put the spotlight on biotechnology. During this time, awareness of the importance of what are known as life sciences has grown, and the number of companies in the sector and its economic weight have also grown, to the point that Galicia (and Pontevedra) is currently the autonomous community where the sector has strengthened the most, after Catalonia.

According to data provided by the Biotechnology Business Cluster of Galicia (Bioga), this sector has a turnover in the Galician community of just over 1.5 billion euros per year and already represents 2% of Galician GDP, with an average turnover per company of 9.5 million euros, according to the Asebio 2023 Report (prepared annually by the Spanish Association of Biocompanies since 2003), which highlights that 30% of Galician turnover originates in the province of Pontevedra, around 400 million euros.

The province of Pontevedra has several strategic hubs that host these companies

The average turnover of life sciences companies in Galicia grew by 31.94% in 2023, from 7.2 million to 9.5 million, revealing a clear trend toward business consolidation for these companies.

“During the Covid pandemic, people realized the real importance of science and the impact it has on human and animal life and therefore the significant commitment that society would have to make to support the development of science and its practical application, which is the basis of biotechnology,” emphasizes Catalina Fernández de Ana Portela , CEO and founder of Hifas da Terra , a leading company in the biotech sector in the city of Pontevedra.

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“The sector has experienced exponential growth , and investment sectors have turned to biotechnology. This represents growth both in terms of social esteem and very strong private investment,” added Fernández de Ana Portela.

In 2004, Spanish biotechnology companies raised €13 million in 17 transactions, and twenty years later, Spanish biotechnology companies raised more than €228 million in 42 transactions, a figure that demonstrates the strengthening of the sector.

Strategic poles in the province

According to the 2023 Asebio Report, Galicia’s biotechnology ecosystem is comprised of 66 companies, representing 6.78% of the total in Spain. The Galician region is the sixth largest in Spain in terms of the total number of biotech companies. The province of Pontevedra also has several strategic hubs that host these companies, such as the Zona Franca (Free Trade Zone) and O Porriño.

On the other hand, the cluster that has brought together these companies for fifteen years, Bioga, includes 179 companies that carry out some activity related to biotechnology in Galicia, of which 54 are located in the province and nine in the provincial capital.

Along with Galicia, the other five firms with the largest number of biotech companies in the country are Catalonia, Madrid, Andalusia, the Basque Country, and the Valencian Community. Together, these six companies represent more than 80% of Spain’s biotech sector.

Among the benefits of biotechnology are the development of increasingly effective drugs, as well as the so-called regenerative therapies, the development of vaccines, antibiotics, molecular diagnostic techniques and genetic engineering techniques to treat diseases, but also biotechnology companies are those that create more nutritious and pest-resistant foods, and companies that produce biofuels, biodegradable plastics and other sustainable products are part of the sector.

The sector with the most female researchers in Pontevedra

Biotechnology enrollment has increased by 25% in recent years, reaching 9,300 students nationwide. The biotech sector remains one of the leaders in terms of the number of researchers (13.7% of employees), and women represent 53% of the total.

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(Featured image by Hayffield L via Unsplash)

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First published in DiariodePontevedra. A third-party contributor translated and adapted the article from the original. In case of discrepancy, the original will prevail.

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