CaixaResearch Institute

What CaixaResearch Institute does

CaixaResearch Institute is the first interdisciplinary immunology research center in Spain and Portugal, inaugurated by Fundación "la Caixa" in Barcelona. The institute focuses on the most prevalent disease areas — neurological, oncological, infectious, and cardiovascular — through immunology-led research, and operates as part of the broader CaixaResearch programme that funds excellence in health and biomedicine across universities, hospitals, and research centers in Spain and Portugal. The institute's defining assets are a 20,000+ m² physical research facility in Barcelona (designed to accommodate 500+ personnel, first module targeted for 2025) and a consortium of seven flagship research centers (IrsiCaixa, ISGlobal, VHIO, BBRC, CNIC, CNIO, Fundación SHE) plus a wider network of hospital and academic partners.

The underlying technology portfolio spans molecular cancer therapy (UITM-CaixaResearch at VHIO: 35+ FDA-approved drugs traceable to its trials, 7,800+ patients enrolled in 1,320 clinical trials from 2010-2020, with development timelines reduced from 8-10 years to 2-5 years via personalised medicine), CAR-T 19 immunotherapy (Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Project ARI, hospital-use exemption for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia), the pioneering CaixaResearch Artificial Placenta prototype (~€7M planned over 5 years, validated in an ovine model), the WIDER Barcelona NOTES digestive endoscopy programme (€14M+ since 2009, 9,000+ patients/year at Vall d'Hebron), and large longitudinal cohorts including the Alfa Study (~3,000 cognitively unimpaired volunteers enabling Alzheimer's preclinical biomarker detection up to 20 years before symptoms) and the Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (5,000+ healthy volunteers). AI/ML features in selected projects: BBRC's MRI-based Alzheimer's candidate identification algorithm, ML for hemodialysis complication prevention (CaixaImpulse 2023), and NLP for a personality disorder app (Validate 2018).

CaixaResearch operates as a non-profit foundation programme that distributes research funding through two channels: (1) direct, multi-year structural support to flagship centres and named hospital/academic partners (commitments ranging from €660K to €14M per programme), and (2) open competitive public calls (convocatorias) — CaixaImpulse, Health Research, and Health Promotion Research — with individual project grants up to ~€700K, peer-reviewed by international experts. Construction financing for the institute was structured as an €80M EIB loan to CriteriaCaixa as part of a €110M total project budget, with continued structural support from Fundación "la Caixa" reflecting its 120+ year commitment to health. Customer segments are research institutions and hospitals; end beneficiaries are patients and the broader Spanish/Portuguese public via dissemination through events, streaming debates, owned media, and press.

Name

CaixaResearch Institute

Legal name

Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, "la Caixa"

Website

https://caixaresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2025

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CaixaResearch Institute is a Barcelona-based non-profit and the first interdisciplinary immunology research center in Spain and Portugal, operated by Fundación "la Caixa". It funds and conducts biomedical research across infectious, oncological, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases via flagship centers and competitive grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Research Funding

NAICS

Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)

akta.pro primary industry

Biomedical Sciences & Medical Research Institutes (University-Based) (EDAHAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Global Health Institutes & Programs (EDAHAGAM), Public Research Universities with Academic Medical Centers (AMCs) (EDAHAAAC)

Keywords

• Biomedical research funding
• Immunology research institute
• Health research grants
• Clinical research programs
• Translational medicine research

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. EIB Loan Financing: €80 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) to CriteriaCaixa to fund the construction of the CaixaResearch Institute, part of a total project budget of €110 million. Loan structure tied to biomedical infrastructure investment.
2. Fundación "la Caixa" Foundation Endowment: Fundación Bancaria Caixa d'Estalvis i Pensions de Barcelona, "la Caixa", provides continued structural support to flagship research centres (IrsiCaixa, ISGlobal, VHIO, BBRC, CNIC, CNIO, Fundación SHE) and funds competitive research and innovation calls in Spain and Portugal. The Foundation's commitment to health spans more than 120 years.
3. Public-Private Co-financing (EU Horizon 2020 / national): Programmes such as BITRECS at IDIBAPS receive co-financing from the European Commission (Horizon 2020) in addition to the Fundación "la Caixa" contribution, indicating blended capital from EU and national public sources.
4. Competitive Research & Innovation Grants (Convocatorias): Open competitive calls (Convocatorias de Investigación e Innovación; CaixaImpulse; Convocatoria de Investigación en Salud; Convocatoria de Investigación en Promoción de la Salud) provide grants of up to approximately €700,000 per project for health innovation in Spain and Portugal (as referenced in February 2026 Global Health & WASH funding cycle).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

CaixaResearch Institute is a non-profit interdisciplinary immunology research center and grant-making programme operated by Fundación "la Caixa" in Barcelona. It funds biomedical research through direct collaboration agreements and public competitive calls (convocatorias) directed at universities, hospitals and research centres in Spain and Portugal, while also operating its own dedicated 20,000+ m² immunology research facility focused on infectious, oncological, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CaixaResearch Institute A dedicated interdisciplinary immunology research center in Barcelona, Spain, operated by Fundación "la Caixa" and the first specialized immunology research center in Spain and Portugal. Spans over 20,000 m² and will accommodate more than 500 personnel, with construction funded by an €80M EIB loan and a total project budget of €110M.
• Programas de Investigación en Salud (Health Research Programs)
• Convocatoria de Investigación en Salud (Health Research Call) Competitive annual funding call supporting biomedical research projects across the program's thematic areas, supporting translational and basic research projects at Spanish and Portuguese institutions.
• Convocatoria CaixaImpulse de Innovación en Salud (Health Innovation Call) Competitive innovation funding call supporting health innovation projects in Spain and Portugal, providing grants of up to approximately €700,000 per project.
• Convocatoria de Investigación en Promoción de la Salud (Health Promotion Research Call) Competitive funding call supporting health promotion research projects, addressing preventive and population-level health interventions.
• European Projects and International Collaboration Programme International research collaboration programme co-financing projects with European and Portuguese partners (e.g., Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, Horizon 2020), enabling cross-border biomedical research.
• Structural Research Support to Flagship Research Centres Multi-year structural funding to seven flagship research centres (IrsiCaixa, ISGlobal, VHIO, BBRC, CNIC, CNIO, Fundación SHE), providing sustained multi-million-euro grants for institutional research capacity.

Quantifiable outcome

• FDA approval of 35+ new cancer drugs tied to VHIO/UITM-CaixaResearch trials (2010-2020)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, major and minor.

• BCNatal (Hospital Clínic / Hospital Sant Joan de Déu) — Artificial Placenta ConsortiumflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Pioneering European project led by Dr Eduard Gratacós (2021-2023, phase 1 funded at €3,336,450 and total planned investment close to €7 million over 5 years). Aimed at building an artificial placenta model to improve survival and minimise severe neurological sequelae in extreme premature newborns; validated through an ovine animal model before potential clinical application.
• Hospital Clínic de Barcelona — IDIBAPSmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Structural alliance since 2019 (€4,500,000, 2019-2022) to potentiate the Cancer Immunotherapy Research Unit, including CAR-T 19 development under Project ARI which achieved hospital-use exemption authorisation for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
• Hospital Sant Joan de Déu — Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona (PCCB)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018€3,000,000 grant (2018-2023) supporting the new PCCB — to be the largest paediatric cancer treatment and research centre in Europe (400 new patients/year; 13,196 m² across four floors).
• Instituto Guttmann — Barcelona Brain Health Initiative (BBHI)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016€3,000,000 grant (2016-2021) led by Drs Álvaro Pascual-Leone and David Bartrés Faz; 5,000+ healthy volunteers aged 40-65 in the BBHI brain health cohort, with a 1,000+ subgroup in deep study.
• Fundación SHE (Science, Health and Education Foundation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015Fundación "la Caixa" joined the Board in 2015 subsidising the SI! Programme (school cardiovascular health intervention for ages 3-16, 2010-2025); 30,000+ students and 1,993 teachers impacted; Healthy Communities community-based intervention launched 2020.
• BBRC (Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2010Continued structural support since 2010; co-created by Fundación Pasqual Maragall with the support of Universidad Pompeu Fabra and Fundación "la Caixa"; powered by Alfa Study cohort (~3,000 volunteers) focused on Alzheimer's prevention.
• Hospital Universitario Vall d'Hebron — WIDER Barcelona (World Institute for Digestive Endoscopy Research)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Continued support since 2009 with more than €14,050,000 (2009-2022) for the World Institute for Digestive Endoscopy Research (WIDER Barcelona) and the new VHIR research building (€3,000,000, 2020-2023). Pioneered NOTES (Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery) procedures.
• VHIO (Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008Continued structural collaboration since 2008; host of UITM-CaixaResearch Molecular Cancer Therapy Research Unit (created 2010); 7,800+ patients in 1,320 trials from 2010-2020; 35+ FDA-approved drugs traceable to unit trials; Cancer Research Programme (2020-2023).
• CNIC (National Center for Cardiovascular Research Carlos III)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Continued collaboration since 2005 supporting molecular-genetic cardiovascular research, training (CNIC-JOVEN), and cardiovascular health education; renewed Severo Ochoa distinction. 400+ staff (85% in research).
• ISGlobal (Barcelona Institute for Global Health)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerContinued support since 2010; alliance between Fundación "la Caixa" and hospital, academic and governmental institutions; Severo Ochoa Centre of Excellence since October 2019; 400+ professionals in nine research programmes spanning infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases linked to environment.
• IrsiCaixa (AIDS Research Institute "la Caixa" Foundation)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerContinued structural support for HIV/AIDS research as one of seven flagship centres funded by the CaixaResearch programme.
• CNIO (National Center for Oncological Research)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner for cancer research as one of the seven flagship centres supported by CaixaResearch.
• Hospital Universitario La PazminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecipient of grants for PIK3CA-related overgrowth spectrum (PROS) genetic diagnosis projects in rare disease research.
• CIMA Universidad de Navarra (Centre for Applied Medical Research)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRecipient of HepaCare liver disease and liver cancer project funding (€2,850,000, 2017-2020) led by Drs Matías Ávila and Juan José Lasarte, and CAR-T-related strategic collaborations.
• Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Girona (IDIBGI) — GenCardio UnitminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCardiovascular Genetics Unit (GenCardio) supported since 2008 with €6,350,000 (2008-2023); Moscat Sudden Death in Catalonia project performing 1,000+ genetic analyses and visiting 2,000+ family members.
• Fundación para la Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-financing partner on selected CaixaResearch Health Research call projects in Portugal (e.g., collaboration on telomere and Huntington projects).

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Allen Institute: US non-profit research organisation running large-scale projects in brain science, cell science, and immunology. Comparable as an endowed institute building platform/cohort-style research programmes with cross-disciplinary teams.

Direct peers

• Salk Institute for Biological Studies: California-based non-profit research institute focused on cancer, neuroscience, immunology, and plant biology. Comparable as an endowed non-profit institute running multiple disease programmes including immunology and neurodegeneration.
• Wellcome Trust / Wellcome Sanger Institute: Large UK charitable foundation funding biomedical and health research, including the Sanger Institute. Comparable as an endowed health-research foundation with deep capital base, immunology/genomics programmes, and European footprint.
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI): Large US non-profit biomedical research organisation operating its own research campuses and investigator network. Directly comparable as an endowed non-profit research institute running multi-theme biomedical programmes with long-horizon funding.
• The Francis Crick Institute: Europe's largest biomedical research institute under a single roof, located in London. Directly comparable as a flagship interdisciplinary biomedical research facility with multiple disease programmes and large physical infrastructure (>20,000 m² equivalent).
• Institut Pasteur: Paris-based non-profit foundation dedicated to infectious disease, immunology, and biomedical research. Directly comparable as an endowed immunology-focused research foundation with flagship-centre-style programmes and global public-health ambitions.
• Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard: US non-profit genomics and biomedical research institute founded by major endowments. Comparable as an endowed non-profit research hub running large-scale cohort, genomic, and translational programmes with multi-institution partnerships.

Regional players

• Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Oncológicas (CNIO): Spain's national cancer research centre, partner-supported by Fundación 'la Caixa' itself. Comparable as a Spain-based flagship research centre funded through the same CaixaResearch programme and addressing one of CaixaResearch's disease pillars (cancer).

Broad incumbents

• Karolinska Institutet: Sweden's premier medical university with deep immunology, cancer, and neuroscience research portfolios. Comparable as a publicly funded biomedical research powerhouse operating across the same disease themes as CaixaResearch.
• European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL): Intergovernmental research organisation in molecular life sciences with sites across Europe. Comparable as a publicly funded European biomedical research network operating across multiple sites and disease areas.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/caixaresearch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/playlist?list=PLp5NbUWNrI9eeZsl4SAD2Xf5fh0hd_6fz

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CaixaResearch Institute