Supported by Interreg and with 12 partners, it has created conditions and tools to establish the Iberian cluster internationally
On the 28th, the School of Engineering of the University of Minho (EEUM) hosted the final meeting of the IberoBio project – Iberian Cross-Border Biotechnology Hub in Braga, which aimed to disseminate the results and tools created, sign an agreement with the 12 partner entities and provide an outlook for the sector. Over the last two years, IberoBio has received €2 million from the Spain-Portugal Interreg Programme (POCTEP / ERDF), strengthening collaborations initiated in 2017 between science, companies and public entities to establish Iberian biotech in the world.
The IberoBio session took place from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the EEUM auditorium (building 16) on the Gualtar campus, with free admission. On the Portuguese side, the consortium brings together UMinho, the Portuguese Bioindustry Association (P-BIO), the UNINOVA institute and the Colab4Food and GreenCoLab collaborative laboratories. From Spain, there is the Bioga cluster (leader), the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion, the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Free Trade Zones of Vigo and Cadiz, the Municipality of Salamanca and the Fundecyt/Extremadura agency.
The overall results of IberoBio were explained by Bioga manager Loli Pereiro. This was followed by the announcement of the five tools developed by this consortium, now accessible to companies and other players in the field: a map of biotech resources, with a directory of infrastructure and scientific and technological know-how along the border; a specialised recruitment platform, bringing professionals and companies together; a training and capacity-building portal on internationalisation, innovation and biotechnological processes; a collaborative space for the creation of R&D projects between companies, start-ups and scientific centres; and an updated search engine with investment and public and private financing opportunities.
These tools aim to increase competitiveness, attract talent, promote open innovation, facilitate access to funds and boost the digitalisation and internationalisation of Iberian companies, explains the Portuguese coordinator of IberoBio, José António Teixeira, who is also a professor at EEUM and a researcher at the Centre for Biological Engineering at UMinho (CEB). ‘This consortium has shown that the Portuguese-Spanish border is a hub of opportunities; we have created an integrated ecosystem that works side by side and we have left a solid legacy and real tools for biotechnology to be an engine of sustainable development and internationalisation,’ he adds.
Lecture by influential Katie King
The final session featured a lecture by British Katie King, CEO of BioOrbit, who wants to manufacture cancer drugs in space and is also a ‘Top 10 Influencer in AI,’ best-selling author, and BBC commentator. The programme also included a round table discussion on the challenges of biotechnology, with Loli Pereiro (Bioga), Simão Soares (P-BIO), Gerald Striedner (European Society for Biochemical Engineering) and Ana Machado Silva (Sonae MC). A declaration of intent was also signed by the 12 founding entities of the Iberian Cross-Border Biotechnology Cluster to ensure the continuity of the network after the formal end of the project.
IberoBio covered the regions of the North, Centre, Alentejo and Algarve in Portugal, and Galicia, Castile and León, Extremadura and Andalusia in Spain, with biotechnology as a key area for economic and scientific growth in this territory. Throughout its implementation, the project provided direct support services to more than 130 SMEs and entrepreneurs. At UMinho, IberoBio involved scientists from CEB, the Centre for Molecular and Environmental Biology (CBMA) and the Centre for Research in Management, Markets and Society (iBMS).
