Leading Recipient of Horizon Europe Funds
On Wednesday 21st October 2026, new data revealed that IDIBAPS, the August Pi i Sunyer Biomedical Research Institute, is the top-funded biomedical research centre in Catalonia under the Horizon Europe programme. Between 2021 and 2025, it secured €38,584,445 in European R&D&I funding, ranking ninth among all Catalan institutions and first within its category of biomedical research centres. The figures come from an assessment published by AGAUR, the Catalan Agency for Management of University and Research Grants, using data from the European Commission.
Research Leadership and Coordination
IDIBAPS participated in 46 Horizon Europe initiatives during this period and coordinated 21 of them, highlighting its role as a central node in European scientific collaboration. This includes projects funded through competitive calls such as the European Research Council (ERC), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA), Cluster Health, and Pathfinder grants. The institute's success reflects both the strength of its research proposals and the effectiveness of its European and International Projects Office (OPE), a nine-member team of specialists in securing and managing international research funding.
Catalonia’s Broader Scientific Strength
Catalonia leads Spain in attracting Horizon Europe funds, accounting for 34% of the national total, €1.889 billion. The health sector is a major contributor, drawing €217.9 million with a 4.1% success rate in grant applications. Only the digital, industry, and space sectors (€240.4 million) and climate, energy, and mobility projects (€235.1 million) received more funding in the region.
IDIBAPS’s performance underscores Catalonia’s growing influence in European science and its ability to translate competitive funding into cutting-edge medical innovation.
The institute, formed in 2023 through the merger of the Hospital Clínic Foundation for Biomedical Research and the original IDIBAPS consortium, operates as a non-profit foundation with governance from the Catalan government’s departments of Health and Research, the University of Barcelona, and Clínic Barcelona Hospital.
Primary sources: exteriors.gencat.cat. Reported by diaricatalunya.cat, clinicbarcelona.org, Diari Catalunya.
