The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has integrated the functions hitherto had the Biopol’H Consortium, as a catalyst for innovation projects in the environment of the Bellvitge University Hospital, the Catalan Institute of Oncology at L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and the Bellvitge Campus of the University of Barcelona.
Biopol’H Consortium was formally broken up on December 20, 2012. However, Biopol’H brand will continue existing to refer to the space where the health, academic and research institutions at the Bellvitge neighbourhood of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat are located. Biopol’H will continue to identify a place to do business and to develop innovations related to the health sector.
Simplification
The IDIBELL CEO, Emilià Pola, stresses that integration of Biopol’H in the institute “simplifies the management model and increases its efficiency, as the new model is integrated into an institution that generates knowledge and new technologies, where all the health and university institutions present in Bellvitge are represented”. The integration of Biopol’H in IDIBELL implies the joining of the City of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat in the Board of the Institute.
Biopol’H Consortium was officially established in 2008, based on an agreement signed by the Government of Catalonia, the University of Barcelona, the city of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat and Biocat, the entity that coordinates and promotes the BioRegion of Catalonia.
During the time it has been operating, the Biopol’H Consortium has launched several projects like the construction of a bio-incubator, where several innovative companies have been settled, the organization of forums for discussion and relationship between companies and researchers, and the starting and management of services and grants to entrepreneurs. The economic crisis has halted planned urban projects and the installation of several companies in the Biopol’H space.
The IDIBELL CEO emphasizes that the implementation of Biopol’H “has made possible to put L’Hospitalet de Llobregat in the map of the innovation in health care”. Emilià Pola stands a firm commitment to biomedical technology transfer and initiatives in the company like innovative public procurement as examples of projects necessary to achieve the objectives of Biopol’H.
In this new phase, the campus will bet to integrate into the industrial and technological network of the city and the region, and to enrich the network of public-private partnerships. Also, there will be launched multidisciplinary projects to exploit the medical knowledge and to generate new business opportunities with great international prospects in the field of health.