Spain and Portugal are emerging as credible destinations for biotech investment, driven by strong science, evolving capital networks, and lower operational costs, according to comments made on June 12.
Pablo Gabriel Cironi Lopez, director of Life Science Investment at Caixa Capital Risc, said Spain is the more mature market with a robust history of venture-backed companies and technical transfer expertise. However, Hannah Franklin, associate at Biovance Capital—Portugal’s only dedicated biotech venture capital fund founded in 2024—said life science start-ups in Portugal have more than doubled over the past six years.
Both investors said that while scientific quality is high across Iberia, challenges remain. Cironi Lopez identified a lack of serial entrepreneurship and underdeveloped frameworks for spinning out companies as obstacles. Franklin pointed to a gap between academic grants and first institutional funding rounds as another barrier.
In Spain, especially Catalonia and Barcelona, established investment networks have enabled significant international funding for local firms over the past decade. Cironi Lopez said the country may soon face a situation where available capital exceeds project supply. He also noted recent investments from the European Investment Fund and Columbus Venture Partners based in Valencia.
Franklin highlighted Portuguese successes such as CellmAbs Biopharmaceuticals—a spin-out from NOVA University Lisbon—which signed a licensing agreement with BioNTech in 2024 anticipated to surpass one billion euros. She also cited lower costs for lab space and talent acquisition as advantages for Portugal’s sector growth.
Despite progress, both countries still face roadblocks including insufficient infrastructure within technology transfer offices and limited experience among founders ready to scale businesses internationally. "We’re still building the playbook for spinning out companies, and there is a limited track record to follow," Franklin said.
Franklin added that bridging early-stage funding gaps will require more incubators and accelerators capable of supporting academic research transitions into investable ventures: "So we really do need to see more incubators and accelerators that can help bridge that gap..." Both investors agreed that increased connectivity with wider European venture capital networks is helping Iberian hubs become part of broader markets.
