On Tuesday, the Spanish government is expected to announce the opening of a trade office in Massachusetts and the creation of a $200 million venture capital fund based here to help Spanish entrepreneurs and scientists commercialize their life science research.
The fund represents the most significant investment ever of Spain’s public dollars into a US venture fund. Spain’s deputy prime minister Carlos Cuerpo — the equivalent of their vice president — will discuss the fund and the trade office at the Spain-US Business Summit at Winthrop Center in downtown Boston.
Cuerpo plans to make his remarks live via a video link Tuesday morning Boston time before flying here later in the day. Cuerpo, an economist by training who also serves as Spain’s economy and trade minister, will participate in a fireside chat at MIT on Wednesday with MIT economics professor and Nobel laureate Daron Acemoglu.
Spain’s Deputy Prime Minster Carlos Cuerpo is expected to be in Boston this week as the country prepares to help launch a $200 million life sciences fund in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)Geert Vanden Wijngaert/Associated PressAccording to his office, Cuerpo will be in the Boston area for a day before heading to Washington for the spring meeting of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group. He has appointed Isabel Rata, a career civil servant, to run the new Spanish trade office in Boston, the eighth one the country has in the US. She will relocate from Madrid this summer.
“It’s a powerful sign that Massachusetts remains a global hub where ideas turn into companies and companies deliver real opportunity for people across our state.” said Governor Maura Healey in statement. She is attending the Spain-US Summit and scheduled to meet with Cuerpo during his visit.
Spain is emerging as a life sciences hub in Europe, but lacks the access to capital and industry connections to turn scientific breakthroughs into blockbuster drugs. Typically, Spain would set up a fund in its own country but decided to do it in Massachusetts because it wants to encourage Spanish entrepreneurs and startups to tap into the world-renowned life sciences ecosystem here. The fund would also support US biotech firms too.
The Spanish government is seeding the fund with $57 million and the rest will be raised by two Spanish entrepreneurs based in Massachusetts: Ricardo Garcia, founder of the Richi Foundation and Oncoheroes Biosciences, and Gorka Fius, founder of Dreavent Capital.
Also at the Spain-US Summit, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is expected to announce a new city-led initiative related to attracting both national and international companies and innovators to Boston. M&T Bank, working with the Boston Foundation, is aiming to seed the public-private partnership with several million dollars.
Hasbro is planning to relocate its headquarters in Pawtucket, RI to an office in Boston’s Seaport District. Globe Staff“Leading companies — from Uniqlo and Hasbro to Dechra and Lovable—are choosing Boston because it’s the best city to raise families and a place where talent, ideas, and innovation thrive,” Wu said in a statement. “Through this partnership, we will bring together Boston’s leadership across sectors to recruit even more companies, attract more investment, and drive economic growth.”
Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.