Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS)

What Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS) does

AQuAS (Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya) is a public agency of the Generalitat de Catalunya, operating under the Departament de Salut since its founding in 1994. Headquartered in Barcelona with approximately 100 employees, the agency serves as the designated Health Technology Assessment (HTA) body for Catalonia and leads the RedETS national network for the evaluation of digital health technologies in Spain. Its core products include the Central de Resultats, a longitudinal benchmarking system covering 565 quality indicators (expanded by 20% in 2025), and proprietary methodological frameworks for evaluating AI-based clinical tools and other health technologies.

The agency's 2025 product roadmap centers on structured AI procurement processes across clinical domains (chest X-ray at €920K, stroke at €810K, skin lesions at €1.05M, and medication-information tools) and on the INNOPASS innovation-access program launched in July 2025. It has expanded its European footprint through leadership of the EDiHTA consortium from October 2025 and participation in the JA PCM project from January 2026. Sandra García-Armesto serves as Director.

AQuAS has no commercial pricing model; it is funded through the Catalan government's health budget and supplemented by EU project co-financing. Its customer base is structurally limited to the Catalan public health system and, increasingly, EU-level HTA consortia, making it a mandate-driven public entity rather than a market-driven commercial organization.

Name

Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS)

Legal name

Agència de Qualitat i Avaluació Sanitàries de Catalunya (AQuAS)

Website

https://aquas.gencat.cat

Company type

Private

Founded year

2003

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

AQuAS is the designated Health Technology Assessment agency of Catalonia, evaluating digital health and AI clinical tools for the Catalan public health system under the Generalitat de Catalunya's Departament de Salut. It operates the Central de Resultats benchmarking platform and leads the RedETS national HTA network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barcelona

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: As a public agency under the Generalitat de Catalunya's Departament de Salut, AQuAS operates primarily through government funding allocated for health quality evaluation, technology assessment, and research support services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

AQuAS is a public agency under the Departament de Salut of the Generalitat de Catalunya that conducts health technology assessment (HTA), healthcare quality evaluation, and research impact assessment for the Catalan public health system. It operates programs such as Central de Resultats (public reporting on health outcomes), SARIS (research and innovation evaluation), Essencial Salut (reducing low-value clinical practices), Decisions Compartides (shared decision-making), and the PASS program for innovation access, including AI solution procurement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Essencial Salut: Project focused on reducing low-value practices in healthcare and promoting evidence-based recommendations
• Central de Resultats
• Observatori de les Desigualtats en Salut
• SARIS
• Decisions Compartides
• PASS
• Programa Salut/IA
• Central de Resultats de Recerca

Products and services

• Central de Resultats
• SARIS (Sistema d'Avaluació de la Recerca i Innovació en Salut)
• Essencial Salut
• Decisions Compartides
• Observatori de les Desigualtats en Salut
• PASS (Programa d'Accés a la Innovació al Sistema de Salut de Catalunya)
• Programa Salut/IA

Quantifiable outcome

• 565 quality indicators tracked and publicly reported through Central de Resultats
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability16 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and major.

• Global Health ConnectorminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2026AQuAS participates in Global Health Connector events and initiatives, presenting at 4YFN/MWC 2026 on digital health innovation.
• Sciensano (Belgium)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Sciensano, the Belgian Institute of Health, coordinates the JA PCM (Joint Action on Personalised Cancer Medicine) European project. AQuAS participates as a partner leading the Evaluation work package (WP3).
• Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026ICO is a key Catalan oncology institution participating in the JA PCM project alongside AQuAS, contributing to personalized cancer medicine initiatives.
• Vall d'Hebron Institut d'Oncologia (VHIO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026VHIO participates in the JA PCM project with AQuAS, contributing expertise in oncology research and personalized cancer medicine.
• EDiHTA Consortium (European Digital Health Technology Assessment)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025EDiHTA is a Horizon Europe project developing a specific framework for evaluating digital health technologies. AQuAS hosts the general assembly and leads Task 4.1 on defining evaluation domains and dimensions.
• BiocatcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBiocat coordinates the PASS (Programa d'Accés a la Innovació al Sistema de Salut de Catalunya) program. AQuAS collaborates with Biocat and CatSalut on innovation access initiatives including INNOPASS, providing expertise in evaluation and innovation support.
• Servei Català de la Salut (CatSalut)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCatSalut is the Catalan Health Service. AQuAS works with CatSalut on multiple initiatives including the PASS program for innovation access and health data analysis projects.
• RedETS (Red Española de Agencias de Evaluación de Tecnologías Sanitarias)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAQuAS leads digital health evaluation within RedETS, the Spanish network of HTA agencies. AQuAS developed and promotes the methodological framework for evaluating digital health technologies.
• CIBERESP (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Epidemiología y Salud Pública)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAQuAS actively participates in CIBERESP through Group 15 (G15), contributing to health services research and clinical practice improvement projects, funded by Instituto de Salud Carlos III.
• Institut Català d'OncologiamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerICO collaborated with AQuAS on the Essencial Salut recommendation regarding HPV infection treatment, providing clinical expertise for the evidence-based recommendation.
• Universitat Politècnica de ValènciamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPV partners with AQuAS to organize the iRaise program for healthcare innovation training and mentorship, which won the EIT Health Spain Best Education Project 2024 award.
• TIC Salut SocialmajorTechnology or IntegrationTIC Salut Social collaborates with AQuAS on digital health projects including AI challenge initiatives and health data platform development.
• Consorci de Salut i Social de CatalunyamajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates with AQuAS on innovation procurement and digital health initiatives including AI solution challenges.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• INESSS (Institut national d'excellence en santé et en services sociaux): Quebec's provincial HTA and clinical guidelines agency producing evidence-based recommendations for the public health system. Direct peer as a sub-national, publicly mandated HTA body with comparable scope to AQuAS.
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ): US federal agency producing evidence-based quality and HTA reports for healthcare decision-makers. Direct peer in measuring healthcare quality, producing clinical effectiveness reports and supporting system-wide improvement.
• KCE (Belgian Health Care Knowledge Centre): Belgian federal HTA and health services research centre producing evidence reports for public decision-makers. Direct peer in statutory HTA and a frequent co-participant in EU HTA Joint Actions alongside AQuAS.
• Institut für Qualität und Wirtschaftlichkeit im Gesundheitswesen (IQWiG): Germany's federal HTA institute producing evidence-based reports for reimbursement decisions. Direct peer in statutory HTA, health technology evaluation and benefit assessments.
• National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE): UK statutory body performing health technology assessment, clinical guideline development and quality evaluation for the NHS. Directly comparable to AQuAS as a national/regional HTA and quality agency serving a public healthcare system.
• Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH): Canadian independent HTA agency providing formulary and clinical evidence assessments to public payers. Direct peer in producing evaluations, recommendations and horizon-scanning reports.
• Zorginstituut Nederland: Netherlands' national HTA and quality institute managing the basic benefits package and quality standards. Direct peer in combining HTA, quality measurement and public data transparency functions.
• Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS): France's independent public authority for health quality, HTA and clinical guideline production. Direct peer: both are statutory HTA/quality agencies within Europe's largest public-payer healthcare systems.
• SBU (Swedish Agency for Health Technology Assessment and Assessment of Social Services): Sweden's national HTA and health services evaluation agency producing systematic reviews and evaluations for policy and clinical decision-making. Direct peer in producing independent HTA and quality assessment reports.
• Osteba (Basque Office for Health Technology Assessment): Basque Country's regional HTA unit and a fellow RedETS member, jointly producing Spanish national evaluations through the same network as AQuAS. The closest structural peer — a Spanish autonomous-community HTA within the RedETS framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AQuAScat
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@aquasgencatsalut
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/aquas-salut

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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