The Basque Bioregion, BioBasque, demonstrated its strength and growing projection by participating in BioSpain 2008 from 17 to 19 September. The 2008 edition of BioSpain, the biggest biotechnology forum in Southern Europe, was held in Granada and attended by entities from 35 countries. A substantial delegation from the Basque Bioregion, composed of about 60 persons and headed by the Biobasque Agency, as the representative of the Bioregion, travelled to the Andalusian city.

As the main core of the delegation, we can highlight the presence of 17 biocompanies: A&B Laboratorios, Abyntek Biopharma, Biobide, Bioftalmik, Biolan, DRO Biosystems, Guserbiot Histocell, Innoprot, Inteman, Mondragón Corporación, Noraybio, Owl Genomics, Pharmakine, Progenika Biopharma, Vacunek and Vita Aidelos. In addition to these companies we have to add the attendance of public investors (Sociedad de Gestión de Capital Riesgo) and private ones (Talde and Ysios). The University of the Basque Country and several technological research centres (Gaiker, Ikerlan, Neiker and Vicomtech) represented the scientific-technological field in the Bioregion, while at the same time the Technology Parks and company incubators demonstrated the support system for innovation and business development.

The entities that took part in the forum took advantage of their presence to reach business agreements, make contacts and lay the foundations for future business with a range of organisations. To this effect, the head of the BioBasque Agency, María Aguirre, placed a “highly positive” evaluation on the Basque participation in BioSpain 2008, “especially due to the excellent results that the companies have achieved from their partnering meetings”.

María Aguirre also expressed her high level of satisfaction due to the specific weight acquired by the Basque Bioregion. “The Basque Country has become consolidated on the national and international scene as a pioneer and as the driving force for the Bioregions Network”, she affirms.

The BioBasque Agency emphasises that “the Basque Bioregion has again been the subject of a success case study, this time by a group of five experts from Canada, the U.S.A., Germany and the United Kingdom, led by Jorge Niosi, chair professor at the University of Montreal”.

BioSpain 2008 was the framework chosen to present the Spanish Bioregions Network (RBR), of which BioBasque is a founder member, together with four other bioregions from the same number of autonomous communities: BioCat from Catalonia, the Andalusian Bioregion, Madrid Biocluster and Bioval from the Valencian Community.

The Network has emerged due to the natural growth which has occurred in recent years and represents a turning point in the sector, which can now count on a new instrument that facilitates the coordination of initiatives and interlocution between autonomous communities and central government and, in short, manages to speed up development of the biotechnology sector and biosciences in general.