Introduced in 2020, the Novartis Biome Spain sits at the headquarters of Pier03 in Barcelona, Spain.

The Novartis Biome was introduced in San Francisco in November 2018, and in 2020 added Spain to its network of global innovation hubs. Today, Novartis Biome Spain has its physical headquarters at Pier03 in Barcelona Tech City.

The Novartis Biome Spain connects Novartis and the digital health ecosystem and allows us to provide innovative, high-impact solutions to patients, healthcare professionals and the national health system - acting as a catalyst for impactful digital collaboration.

In short, we want to:

  • Be the number one partner in the digitisation of the healthcare system in Spain
  • Put data science and digital solutions at the service of patients around the world
  • Work across the entire ecosystem with partners from both public and private institutions

 

Clara Cuervo, Novartis Biome Spain Lead
Novartis Biome Spain Lead
Clara Cuervo

“Medicine has always been a source of innovation. The possibility of breaking down silos and reinventing medicine together is the real novelty. The Novartis Biome aims to be a catalyst to generate scalable and high-impact digital solutions. To this end, we seek to foster greater collaboration to accelerate the adoption and impact of digital solutions that generate value for patients and healthcare professionals and contribute to the sustainability of the system.”

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Through our global network of innovation hubs, we focus on finding digital solutions that drive and accelerate drug availability, early-stage research, optimization, and access to clinical trials. We work in partnership with healthcare professionals to accelerate research and development, and foster operational excellence processes, creating a range of services that extend beyond just medicines.

The Novartis Biome enables us to:

  • Identify the needs of our patients and professionals through methodologies based on co-creation and a trial-and-error environment
  • Identify the right partners by launching challenges based on open innovation models
  • Test the solution in the market by collaborating with institutions, healthcare professionals and patient associations, enabling teams to make decisions based on the resulting data
  • Offer advice on implementation planning, risk mitigation and, in some cases, long-term partnership agreements that help teams in the scalability of the solutions offered

 

Areas of Focus

We have a strong focus on addressing some of the world’s most challenging healthcare issues. For us, partnerships and cross-industry collaboration is vital to drive efficiencies in the healthcare system and ultimately improve patients’ lives. At the Novartis Biome Spain, we are currently focusing on six fields:

  • Dermatology
  • Rheumatology
  • Neurosciences
  • Oncology
  • Ophthalmology
  • Pediatric Endocrinology
Jesus Ponce, General Manager Pharma and Country President Novartis Spain
General Manager Pharma and Country President Novartis Spain
Jesus Ponce

“The ideas, initiatives and projects that emerge from young technology companies, i.e. start-ups, are largely responsible for the transformation that the healthcare sector is currently undergoing. The scope of new technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence and other digital tools is opening up a wide range of opportunities in the field of healthcare. Our responsibility as an institution is to embrace these opportunities and use them for the benefit of patients, while encouraging their adoption in the healthcare system in order to improve and prolong people's lives.”

Jose Marcilla, General Manager Novartis Oncology Spain
General Manager Novartis Oncology Spain
Jose Marcilla

“We are experiencing a revolution characterised by the convergence between biomedical innovation and digital innovation, which is allowing us to reimagine medicine. Change requires a culture that is more flexible, more curious, more entrepreneurial and more open to collaboration. At Novartis we believe in collaboration as a tool to drive innovation. And Biome is our proposal for participating in this movement of technological and digital transformation in an open, collaborative and sustainable way.”

Joaquin Rodrigo, General Manager Sandoz Spain and Portugal
General Manager Sandoz Spain and Portugal
Joaquin Rodrigo

“Sustainable innovation and digital transformation are key elements in responding to the challenges of the present and future healthcare system. We have the firm will to set ourselves up as an agent for the transformation of the healthcare system, having a positive impact on society and its environment. And to do so, we want to reimagine medicine through sustainable innovation, enabling the release of resources through the incorporation of pioneering treatments and solutions, so that these resources can be reinvested in innovation, helping the sustainability of healthcare systems for the benefit of patients.”