Catalan researchers from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona claim the new substance could be used to treat stress, phobias or depression. The drug development was done in cooperation with the Emory University in the US. The new drug still has to go through a long testing process.
The Mobile World Congress will be held in the Catalan capital for the seventh time. It will take place between 14th and 17th of February and will bring have an economic impact of 200 million euros on the city. Visitors are predicted to occupy 30,000 hotel rooms, 25% higher than last year. However, Barcelona could lose the Mobile World Congress’ organisation contract as the current one ends and other cities put forward their candidature.
The tower is located beside the sea in the first number of Diagonal Avenue in the Forum area. It will host the company’s I+D centre and will bring together all the Telefonica offices from around the city.
The company will open a centre for industrial automation engineering in Reus. The centre is scheduled to open in 2011 and will employ around 30 qualified professionals.
A team at the University of Girona and the firm Easy Innova design a new application that helps people find car rides quickly and easily.
Seat will invest 300 million euros in investigation, development and innovation this year, 6 to 7% of its profit. Seat’s ambitious project ‘Forma 0’ aims to create lighter, safer cars.
An innovative new guide book supported by the world-renowned chef Ferran Adrià was presented in El Prat, in the Agrarian Park of the Baix Llobregat county, next to Barcelona, the largest urban agricultural area in Europe. The guide includes a list of over 500 producers that sell directly to consumers.
A collaborative study has shown great possibilities for economic development along the B-30 highway outside of Barcelona, in the area of Vallès. Researchers see collaboration between universities and businesses as an “essential” part of this process.
Leading companies in the infrastructure and information technology industries, Abertis Telecom and Indra will work together with the town halls of both cities in a pilot programme to improve city life. The project foresees the creation of a reference centre in Catalonia focused on providing technological solutions to the cities’ problems.
Barcelona?s Mayor, Jordi Hereu, engaged ?walking together? with SEAT to redefine the future of the car industry and recover from the crisis. In a visit to the SEAT factory in Martorell, next to Barcelona, Hereu offered SEAT to use Barcelona as a platform
The industrial district of Poblenou was decided to become the technological 22@, a cluster of innovation and economic development. After 10 years, the number of high-tech companies is still growing and investigation centres are being set.
Research and Development in Catalonia is on the good track but still presents important weaknesses to be solved. The Catalan Government stresses the strengths underlined in the OECD study and says that the report is in line with its own action plan.