Biocat takes Catalan companies to China to meet with pharmaceutical companies and investors

This October, Biocat participated for the first time in the Sino-Europe Innovation Week of Health Technology, in China, coordinating a mission from the BioRegion of Catalonia with the companies Aromics, Avida Biotech and GoodGut, plus Smart Bcn Technologies, which is originally from Catalonia but based in Malaysia.

The Sino-Europe Innovation Week of Health Technology (SIWHT 2019) is a top-notch international event that aims to establish platforms for communication between European businesspeople and Chinese investors in the life sciences in order to integrate them into the Chinese market and innovation ecosystem. The goal of the mission was to explore collaboration opportunities open to these Catalan companies, make personal contact with Chinese representatives and hear about the experience other European clusters have had with the Asian giant.

The Catalan mission included a roadshow in two of the most powerful technology cities in China: Shanghai and Nanjing. The participating companies had the chance to pitch their projects and hold one-to-one meetings with potential investors in Asia. In Nanjing, the participating European clusters met with higher-ups at the main economic and diplomatic institutions in the regional government. All of the European clusters agreed that this life sciences hub acts as a driving force in China, made up of the city of Suzhou and its industrial park. The mission included a visit to some of the most important healthcare incubators in the region.

The Catalan companies participated in the International Innovation Day, competing against other entrepreneurs from the visiting European clusters. At the event, GoodGut and Aromics received awards for the most innovative initiatives at the event, along with other European companies.

Biocat was also on the panel for a discussion of the opportunities for European clusters in China, the fastest growing market. The panel debated the strategies European companies can use to break into the market in this country.

The Sino-Europe Innovation Week of Health Technology is organized by the partnering platform iCCAMT (International Co-Innovation Center for Advanced Medical Technology) and the investment fund Beijing YG Venture Capital M&C, and this year co-organized by Biocat, Technopark Zurich, Medical Valley GmbH, Steinbeis, BioTalk GmbH, SinoScandinavian Innovation & Entrepreneurship Centre, Business Sweden and Swissnex China.