Cluster consolidation
In the 2011 fiscal year, with the publication of the second edition of the biennial Biocat Report, this focal point has taken on particular importance among Biocat’s strategic priorities, taking into account, additionally, that the data collected in the survey used to create this report has also allowed us to carry out an in-depth update of the Biocat Directory —which now has the technological support of a CRM system, the first phase of which was implemented in 2012.
Mutual awareness and interaction among members of the BioRegion (the Directory had 1,150 registered entries as of December 2011) is key for the growth and consolidation of our cluster. This interaction is fostered through events like the Biocat Forum, but to take this one step further in thematic areas where Catalonia excels, like oncology and nanobiomedicine, in 2011 we helped start up the Oncocat collaboration network and the BioNanoMed Catalonia alliance (see side note).
Oncocat and BioNanoMed Catalonia networks created
Pau Bruguera (Biokit), Montserrat Vendrell (Biocat) and Josep Samitier (IBEC) at the presentation of BioNanoMed.
Oncocat and BioNanoMed Catalunya are two initiatives that aim to raise awareness and projection of Catalonia’s potential in these arenas, but above all to give companies and research centers a common meeting place that encourages joint work projects. The two networks already have more than 60 member companies and organizations, their own websites, and in 2011 participated in various international fairs (BIO Washington, Euromediag International Convention, BIO-Europe Düsseldorf, among others).