More than 200 meetings between scientists and entrepreneurs at first edition of Health & Bio Team Dating

In 2015, Biocat was one of the organizations that promoted the first edition of Health & Bio Team Dating, an innovative event to bring science and business together in order to create new entrepreneurial projects, organized by the Banc Sabadell BStartup program, along with Biocat, CataloniaBio and the Bosch Gimpera Foundation. Nearly 80 scientists and managers participated in the event, where more than 200 meetings were held.

The event, the first of its kind in Catalonia, featured researchers with a scientific project in the healthcare and life sciences sector who were looking for professionals specializing in business plans and finding funding, and professionals with business experience and the drive to take a new technology from laboratory to market. Using the speed-dating format, the participants had 30 minutes in each meeting to present their project and experience to their potential partner.

Bridging the gap between science and business

The first Health & Bio Team Dating event, held at the Valkiria Hub Space in Barcelona, bridged the gap between scientists and the business world. According to the 2015 Biocat Report, by late 2015 Catalonia was home to 41 research centers working in the life sciences or related fields, with 8,176 people on staff, 5,499 of which are researchers.

So, initiatives like Health & Bio Team Dating speed up technology transfer, which the healthcare ecosystem in Catalonia needs to be more innovative and competitive. Given the success of the event in terms of participation and the positive feedback from both researchers and entrepreneurs, Biocat and the other organizations promoting this event are working on another edition for 2016, which hopes to attract twice as many participants and will take place in the fourth quarter of the year.