Representatives of BIST, COTEC, AseBio, AESEMI and Farmaindustria appeared jointly before the Spanish Congress to advocate for stronger public policies connecting frontier research, technology transfer and industrial development
The leaders of the five organisations that jointly appeared in the Spanish Congress today (from left to right): Alfonso Gabarrón (AESEMI), Eduard Vallory (BIST), Fina Lladós (Farmaindustria), Jorge Barrero (COTEC) and Ion Arocena (AseBio)
The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST) has joined forces with four leading organisations in Spain’s innovation ecosystem — COTEC, AseBio, AESEMI and Farmaindustria — all committed to advancing disruptive innovation in line with the recommendations of the Draghi Report on Europe’s competitiveness. Together, the five organisations advocate for an ambitious public policy capable of articulating the entire DeepTech value chain, from frontier research and technology transfer to industrial scaling and market deployment.
In this context, the organisations took part in an unprecedented joint appearance before the spokespersons of the Industry and the Science, Innovation and Universities Committees of the Spanish Congress, within the ongoing discussions surrounding the future Law on Industry and Strategic Autonomy. The organisations stressed that Spain has the scientific and technological capabilities needed to play a much stronger role in the new global technological wave, but still faces difficulties in transforming groundbreaking scientific discoveries into industrial capacity, intellectual property and high-quality jobs.
Representing BIST, Director General Eduard Vallory highlighted the strategic role of frontier research institutions in generating transformative knowledge and accelerating its transfer to society and industry. He stressed that, from the perspective of the outstanding scientific excellence and innovation capacity of the BIST Community, Europe already possesses the key ingredient needed to raise its level of ambition in innovation-driven industrial development: frontier knowledge. Strengthening Europe’s ability to translate this knowledge into new industries is essential to address the challenges of competitiveness and strategic autonomy while helping preserve the European social model.
Vallory also called for more agile innovation-transfer structures, including regulatory sandboxes that would help overcome current administrative and regulatory limitations, as well as sustained long-term investment to ensure that disruptive technologies developed in Spain can mature and scale successfully within Europe.
A defined roadmap to maximise the impact of the BIST Community’s scientific discoveries
Today’s joint appearance before the Spanish Congress forms part of BIST’s broader strategy to strengthen the valorisation and transfer of frontier research into disruptive innovation and new industrial development.
In 2023, the seven BIST Community centres agreed to collaborate more closely on initiatives aimed at maximising the innovation potential of their frontier research through a Master Plan proposed by the BIST Director General and endorsed by the Board of Trustees. Since then, the centres’ knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) units have been working together to explore joint actions capable of leveraging aggregated critical mass while increasing relevance, coordination and efficiency across the ecosystem.
The strategy has progressively evolved through multiple implementation phases, leading to the definition of a clear roadmap built around two interrelated objectives:
- To launch a joint dedicated technology transfer arm operating within a regulatory sandbox framework, enabling research assets generated by public research centres to be managed through more agile and innovation-oriented mechanisms. The initiative aims to overcome the limitations of regulatory and administrative frameworks designed for conventional public-sector operations, which are often ill-suited to the speed, flexibility and market interaction required by disruptive innovation and the development of new industries.
- To develop coordinated frontier-innovation valorisation and investment mechanisms inspired by successful European initiatives such as EMBL Ventures. This would include, on the one hand, dedicated programmes to support the early valorisation of frontier research, ensuring that the maximum number of promising knowledge assets can emerge, mature and become investment-ready; and, on the other hand, investment-oriented mechanisms developed in partnership with venture capital actors to strengthen the long-term development and transfer potential of high-risk disruptive technologies. All these initiatives should ensure that public research institutions retain strategic control over the value and intellectual assets they generate.
Prof. Luis Serrano appointed BIST Commissioner for Disruptive Innovation
To support the strategic development and implementation of this joint initiative, the BIST Director General, with the endorsement of the Executive Committee, has appointed Prof. Luis Serrano Pubul as BIST Commissioner for Disruptive Innovation.
Prof. Serrano, an Icrea Research Professor who recently stepped down as Director of the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG) while continuing as an active CRG Group Leader, brings extensive experience in translating fundamental discoveries into tangible solutions. He has co-founded six start-up companies — Diverdrugs, Cellzome, EnVivo Pharmaceuticals, Triskel, and, more recently, Pulmobiotics and Orikine Bio — and played a key role in strengthening technology transfer at the CRG throughout his tenure as Director between 2011 and 2025.
These achievements have recently earned him both the Spanish National Innovation Award in the Innovative Career category — Spain’s highest national recognition for scientific and business leadership in R&D — and the Catalan National Research Award.
Press Release (in Spanish) - Nota de Prensa Full text of the statement (in Spanish) - Texto íntegro de la comparecencia
