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- The spin-off HelixAI is launched with the aim to transform multi-omic data analysis.
- Strong funding momentum advances oncology innovation, with Ona Therapeutics raising a major Series B round to accelerate its ADC pipeline and Gate2Brain securing a strategic partnership with Shilpa Biocare to advance a pediatric brain cancer therapy.
- The MAF Test® is incorporated into national clinical practice guidelines, immediately empowering oncologists to personalize breast cancer treatments.
Year after year, IRB Barcelona reinforces its unwavering commitment to translating fundamental scientific discovery into real-world societal impact. Driven by a vibrant ecosystem of entrepreneurship, strategic global alliances, and pioneering research, the Institute’s spin-offs and technologies are making significant waves across the healthcare sector.
The first half of 2026 has marked a spectacular period of growth, witnessing milestones that range from cutting-edge artificial intelligence platforms and massive venture capital injections to breakthroughs in central nervous system drug delivery and direct clinical practice integration.
HelixAI: Unlocking biomedical data via graph foundation models
IRB Barcelona launched HelixAI, the Institute’s ninth spin-off company. Founded in partnership with ICREA, the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), and the technology firm Napptilus, HelixAI was established to translate biology into structured, personalized longevity intelligence.
Co-founded by Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah (IRB Barcelona/ICREA), Prof. Pere Barlet (UPC), and Rafa Terradas (Napptilus), the company introduces a powerful synergy between elite research and deep technological and commercialization expertise.
Ona Therapeutics: Securing $86.6M Series B funding for first-in-class antibody-drug conjugates
Demonstrating the maturity of IRB Barcelona's spin-off portfolio, Ona Therapeutics (Ona) announced the successful closing of an oversubscribed $86.6 million Series B financing round.
Founded in 2019 by Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah, Ona is pioneering the development of precision-engineered antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) that target the biological mechanisms underlying tumour resistance and metastasis. This landmark financial milestone facilitates Ona's transition into a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical leader, equipped with a first-class advisory and executive board to steer its programmes through human validation.
Gate2Brain: Strategic partnership and €7M investment to breach the blood-brain barrier
Biotech innovator Gate2Brain secured a major strategic partnership with global pharmaceutical player Shilpa Biocare (a subsidiary of Shilpa Medicare Limited).
Founded in 2020 as a joint spin-off from IRB Barcelona, the University of Barcelona (UB), and the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute, Gate2Brain focuses on solving one of neurology's most formidable challenges: safely delivering therapeutic agents across the highly restrictive blood-brain barrier (BBB).
Led by CEO and IRB Barcelona alumna Dr. Meritxell Teixidó, the strategic alliance validates Gate2Brain's unique peptide shuttle tech platform while delivering the largest single financial injection in the company’s history.
Inbiomotion: MAF Test® enters official clinical guidelines, directly reshaping breast cancer care
IRB Barcelona’s innovation ecosystem achieved an immediate, direct impact on patient health through Inbiomotion.
In an extraordinary milestone for clinical translation, Inbiomotion, founded by Dr. Roger Gomis, announced that its proprietary MAF Test® has been officially incorporated into the 2025 SEOM-GEICAM-SOLTI Clinical Practice Guidelines for Early-Stage Breast Cancer. Co-developed by Spain’s leading oncology societies, this consensus document serves as the absolute benchmark for clinical decision-making nationally and exerts strong influence across international medical standard-of-care frameworks.
From the creation of cutting-edge computational tools to clinical guidelines actively directing patient care, IRB Barcelona continues to prove that public-private knowledge transfer is a crucial pillar of modern medicine.
About IRB Barcelona
The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) pursues a society free of disease. To this end, it conducts multidisciplinary research of excellence to cure cancer and other diseases linked to ageing. It establishes technology transfer agreements with the pharmaceutical industry and major hospitals to bring research results closer to society, and organises a range of science outreach activities to engage the public in an open dialogue. IRB Barcelona is an international centre that hosts 400 researchers and more than 30 nationalities. Recognised as a Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since 2011, IRB Barcelona is a CERCA centre and member of the Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology (BIST).
