Alcura Summit 2025 brings together international biotechnology leaders to drive innovation in clinical trials and advanced therapies

Barcelona, November 25, 2025.- Alcura, a company specializing in comprehensive solutions for clinical trials and part of Cencora, has held the Alcura Summit 2025 in Barcelona, a meeting that has brought together professionals from the biomedical ecosystem to analyze the trends that are transforming clinical development: biotech disruption, the revolution of advanced therapies,  the rise of emerging biopharma, artificial intelligence applied to research and the growing need for global collaborative models.

The event kicked off with the intervention of Remedios Parra, vice-president and general manager of Cencora Spain, who underlined the strategic role of Barcelona as a city of reference in scientific innovation and headquarters of the Cencora Clinical Trials Hub, a centre of expertise that offers global support to research from all over the world. "We met to explore the disruptive innovations that are transforming the clinical trials market," Parra said. "Alcura is today an integral partner that accompanies the entire life cycle of therapies, from research to commercialization, offering solutions designed for the specific needs of each trial," he added.

Remedios Parra has also highlighted Alcura's achievement of the MIA (Manufacturing and Importation Authorization) certification, a milestone that allows the company to expand its reach beyond trial management and also support the commercialization of advanced therapies, especially in Cell & Gene Therapies. "This certification reinforces our commitment to integrated solutions that accompany the most innovative treatments from their development to their arrival at the patient," he added.

The Crucial Role of Women in Health Care and Research

Mary Stutts, CEO of the Healthcare Businesswomen's Association (HBA), addressed today's workforce development, inclusion and talent challenges in the healthcare and biotechnology sector. Stutts highlighted that, despite the fact that women represent up to 70% of healthcare professionals and 90–95% of caregivers globally, they are still underrepresented in clinical trials, key research areas and decision-making positions.

"Women do not participate less in research because they do not want to; it's because they are not given the opportunity," said Stutts. "Data from a recent study by the HBA Think Tank has revealed that less than 10% of medical specialists worldwide believe they have the tools and knowledge to treat them appropriately."   A staggering 748 therapies related to chronic diseases have not been adequately tested in women. Since women are the world's caregivers, this gap in their own health poses a significant risk to global health care.

In addition, Stutts wanted to highlight the relevance of new technologies such as artificial intelligence to improve this trillion-dollar healthcare gap, offering opportunities to correct this inequality by facilitating better patient education and identifying and selecting diverse patients for clinical trials and research initiatives.

The unstoppable rise of emerging biopharma

Another key moment of the Summit was the exclusive presentation by Murray Aitken, executive director of the IQVIA Institute, who shared the conclusions of the new international study on the biotech market. According to the data presented, emerging biopharma (EBP) is already responsible for 53% of global clinical trials and has originated 85% of the new drugs approved in the US in 2024, consolidating itself as the main driver of biomedical innovation.

Aitken also highlighted the growing role of China – which accounts for 30% of global clinical trials – and the most expanding therapeutic areas: obesity, oncology, neurosciences and cell and gene therapies. "We are entering a new era in which innovation, pricing and regulatory policies will be key factors for the future of the commercial market," he said.

Disruptive Biotech: when innovation breaks traditional models

The "Disruptive Biotech" round table, with the participation of Andrea Romero, CEO, Co-founder Konexio Biotech, Ramón Mel, CEO-SOLTI Cancer Research, Stefanos Theoharis, CEO, OneChain Immunotherapies and Alexandre Marfany, CEO and Chairman, CELLAB CDMO, has analyzed the current state of biomedical innovation and the challenges faced by emerging companies.

Among the topics discussed were the deepening of molecular biology and ultra-personalized therapies; the integration of artificial intelligence in research, manufacturing and regulation; the new European regulatory changes in advanced therapies (GMP and SOHO); the critical importance of CDMOs as strategic partners from the outset; the need for global collaboration, especially to access the European market; and the differential role of China as an accelerator of innovation. "The biotechs that will survive will be the ones that collaborate: no one can innovate alone in such a complex environment," the experts concluded.

Clinical innovation from Spain: case studies

The Summit also included a session dedicated to oncology research in clinical case format, carried out by Manuel Sanz, COO at Oncomatryx Biopharma, and Oriol Nicolás, general manager of Alcura Spain and member of the Executive Committee of Cencora Spain, who presented a disruptive approach based on the modulation of the tumour microenvironment. Its therapy, focused on fibroblasts associated with cancer in the environment of the tumour microenvironment. It seeks to improve the efficacy of treatments such as immunotherapy or chemotherapy in metastatic solid tumours, such as pancreatic, colon or lung cancer resistant to these conventional treatments.

Sanz has valued the collaboration with Alcura to enhance the success of his company: "we are committed to collaboration with third parties because we do not want to be experts in manufacturing, or quality, or distribution, but we trust in the capabilities of the partners, especially in regulation. Whenever there is an obstacle, we ask the experts for help. We collaborate to solve the problems that arise."  

Similarly, Jedd Comiskey, Head of Europe at Outlook Therapeutics, and Guillaume Nebout, Vice President of International Marketing Services at Cencora, shared their experience in the regulatory and commercial launch of new treatments in Europe, where they stressed that starting commercial planning at an early stage is key, as well as adapting the model to each country through hybrid strategies that combine local teams with partners specialized such as Cencora.

"Today we have taken an important step in our shared mission to create healthier futures, driving innovation and strengthening strategic alliances across the clinical trial ecosystem."  This vision was concluded by Javier Casas, Regional Vice President and Managing Director of Cencora for Spain, Norway and the Netherlands, who highlighted the importance of collaboration, scalability and patient-centred approaches to guarantee significant results in clinical research.

He also emphasized the value of Alcura and Cencora's integrated services, which allow partners to be accompanied from early trial management to large-scale commercialization, guaranteeing personalized support and solutions adapted to each need.