"Around 60% of pharmaceutical companies in Spain are foreign. There are more than 500 companies employing over 60,000 people"

Spain’s healthcare sector has established itself as one of the most dynamic and competitive globally. It comprises approximately more than 1,000 biotechnology companies, 500 pharmaceutical firms, and 1,000 medical technology companies, operating alongside an integrated healthcare system that includes 850 hospitals and an extensive network of research centers and universities.

“A number of major industry multinationals have chosen Spain as the destination for their R&D, production and service centers.”

Spain’s strong scientific output, ranked 9th worldwide and 3rd in Europe, combined with a highly skilled workforce, cutting-edge infrastructure and technologies, and an integrated healthcare system, creates a highly attractive ecosystem for foreign companies. This environment supports the development of innovative products across the entire value chain, from early-stage research activities to subsequent development, validation, and production phases.

In the field of Life Sciences, the pharmaceutical industry is the industrial leader by volume of spending on research, and accounts for over 20% of total private R&D investment in the country.

Spain is the first country in Europe and the third worldwide in terms of clinical trial development, with companies investing over 900 million € annually in these studies, 60 % of the total R+D pharmaceutical investment in Spain. The combined public and private hospital network, along with Spain’s advanced regulatory framework, provides foreign companies with an ideal environment for progressing the clinical validation of their products.

Regarding the manufacturing stage, Spain hosts 181 pharmaceutical plants, representing an annual investment of 1 billion € and employing more than 36,300 people. The availability of highly qualified human resources, competitive labor costs, and Spain’s strategic geopolitical location offer foreign companies an optimal setting for establishing their manufacturing operations.

4,600 biotechnology companies form an industry in which innovation and R&D are key. Half of these lead the healthcare industry with the launch of innovative new products in diagnostics and therapeutics.

Innovation in healthcare technology in Spain offers great potential for development, mainly due to the large size of the market. Spain is one of Europe's principal markets, with over 1,000 companies, 500 of them manufacturers.

The value of exports surpassed 4,900M € annually, 85% of the manufacturing companies export their equipment, products or services.