AseBio Expands Global Deal-Making with Annual BIOSPAIN 2026
Annualization of Spain's Bioindustry Event
The Spanish Bioindustry Association (AseBio) has transitioned BIOSPAIN from a biennial to an annual event, with the first annual edition scheduled for September 29 to October 1, 2026, in Bilbao. Following the 2025 event, which attracted over 2,400 participants from 35 countries, the decision reflects the industry's growing demand for consistent partnering opportunities. The 2026 event will be co-hosted by the Basque Government, Bizkaia Provincial Government, and the Basque Health Cluster, with one-on-one meetings conducted via the partneringONE platform. The shortened event cycle allows investors to assess pipeline progress and follow-on funding requirements on an annual basis.
A Turning Point Driven by Record Investment
Spanish biotech companies increased to 1,119 in 2025, a 10.4% rise, with private investment reaching €480 million across 59 deals, a 125% year-on-year increase. R&D investment in 2024 also rose by 13.9% to €1.46 billion, while industry revenue reached €13.27 billion, representing 1.2% of Spain's GDP. Twelve capital-raising rounds involving international investors brought in €320 million, and CDTI Innvierte invested €47.2 million in 10 companies. Annualization strengthens the event's role as an infrastructure for connecting capital from early research to clinical and manufacturing scale-up.
Commercial Assets and Clinical Pipelines
PharmaMar (PHM)'s Zepzelca (lurbinectedin) is an alkylating anti-cancer agent that inhibits tumor cell proliferation. It received FDA accelerated approval on June 15, 2020, for recurrent metastatic small cell lung cancer. On October 2, 2025, the FDA approved Tecentriq (atezolizumab, PD-L1-targeting) in combination with Zepzelca as first-line maintenance therapy for extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. The standard induction therapy is carboplatin, etoposide, and atezolizumab, with Imfinzi (durvalumab) as a competing immunotherapy. Oryzon Genomics (ORY)'s iadademstat (ORY-1001) is an oral small molecule targeting the epigenetic enzyme LSD1, currently in Phase 2a trials (ALICE and ALICE-2) for acute myeloid leukemia. The concentration of commercial products and clinical-stage assets on one platform enhances the quality of licensing, co-development, and regional rights deals.
Implications for Investment and the Job Market
The 2025 event saw 140 investors from 76 investment firms and 1,065 organizations, with over 4,500 meetings held. The 2026 agenda includes the European Biotech Act, bio-scale-up, AI medical device compliance with MDR and AI Act, and next-generation ALS therapies. This expansion not only reflects growing investment but also increases hiring demand across regulatory science, clinical operations, business development, and manufacturing. However, the event's expansion alone does not guarantee company valuation growth; the key performance indicators remain actual investment, upfront payments, and clinical milestone conversions.
Spain's bioindustry raised €480 million across 59 deals in 2025, with company numbers rising to 1,119, demonstrating that the annualization of BIOSPAIN is not just an event expansion but a shortening of the capital and technology transaction cycle. PharmaMar (PHM)'s FDA-approved Zepzelca is expanding its commercial footprint in the $9.6 billion small cell lung cancer market in the top seven countries, competing with carboplatin, etoposide, and Tecentriq or Imfinzi-based standard therapies. Oryzon Genomics (ORY) is testing co-development demand for its Phase 2a LSD1 inhibitor iadademstat in acute myeloid leukemia, while Grifols (GRFS) and Almirall (ALM) are broadening their engagement with global investors and pharma companies. Short-term success will be measured by partneringONE meeting numbers and follow-on investment deals, while mid-to-long-term success will be determined by clinical and manufacturing scale-up under the European Biotech Act and upfront licensing payments.