Ahead of BioSpain 2026 in Bilbao: Spain’s biotech sector in AseBio’s numbers

Primary source AseBio: BIOSPAIN 2026 convertirá Bilbao en el epicentro europeo del debate sobre el futuro de la biotecnología 21 Jul 2026

408 M EUR

BioSpain 2026, Spain’s largest biotech meeting, runs from 29 September to 1 October at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre, organised by AseBio with the Diputación Foral de Bizkaia, the Basque Government and the Basque Health Cluster. Ahead of it, AseBio has published the sector’s figures and its agenda. Five movements for a manufacturing reader, all from texts published by AseBio.

1. The event

The programme has four tracks (Policy, Health, Bioeconomy, Finance) and the United Kingdom is guest nation. AseBio says the 2026 edition will also discuss how to drive advanced manufacturing. The 2025 edition in Barcelona drew more than 2,400 attendees from 35 countries, 140 investors from 76 entities and more than 4,500 business meetings. AseBio, 21 Jul 2026.

2. The sector in numbers

Sources: column by SID’s co-CEO, 22 Sep 2026 and column by AseBio’s president, 25 Sep 2026. Except 2023 revenue, the figures also appear in AseBio’s release of 10 Jun 2026.

3. Biotech Act II and an industrial capacity study

On 30 September AseBio hosts a session on the future Biotech Act II, focused on scaling biotech innovation, biomanufacturing and value chains, with speakers from Spain’s Ministry of Industry, the European Commission’s DG GROW and IFF. AseBio says it will present the main conclusions of its study on industrial capacities in Spain there, including financing for first industrial plants. A Biotech Act I session is scheduled for 29 September. AseBio, 15 Sep 2026.

4. The host region

According to the latest AseBio report, the Basque Country has 108 biotech companies, close to 10% of the national total. Bizkaia accounts for 45% of the region’s sector companies, 44% of its employment and 56% of its revenue. AseBio lists biomanufacturing among the region’s strengths. AseBio, 21 Jul 2026.

5. Public funding and a CDMO view

On 14 September the Science Ministry, through CDTI, added 100 M EUR to its 2026 calls: NEOTEC doubles from 20 to 40 M EUR and Misiones Ciencia e Innovación grows from 60 to 140 M EUR. The extra money targets dual-use, security or defence projects. AseBio, 22 Sep 2026. In a BioSpain column, 3PBIOVIAN’s Chief Commercial Officer argues that manufacturing should not be treated as a stage after innovation; the Pamplona site turns 20 in 2027. AseBio, 24 Sep 2026.

What it means for a plant

Spain’s published numbers are about companies, R&D and funding. None of these texts gives installed manufacturing capacity: no litres, no plant count, no scale. The industrial capacity study whose conclusions AseBio will present on 30 September is the first place such data could appear. If the study is published, we will read it in full.