The 10th New Aquitaine Euskadi Navarre Bio-Health Meetings (10RNAEN), held on 17–18 March 2026 in Bilbao, have once again consolidated their position as a key event for the euroregional health ecosystem, offering a valuable opportunity to discover innovative talent and strengthen connections between companies, research centres and investors.
The event brought together more than 100 participants and 71 organisations, including startups, companies, entrepreneurs, researchers, investors and health innovation stakeholders from New Aquitaine, Euskadi and Navarre, with the aim of fostering cross-border partnerships, sharing knowledge and developing collaborative projects.
The event, organised by Basque Health Cluster together with Navarra Health Cluster, ALLIS-NA and the Euroregion NAEN, brought together key players in the sector to drive new collaboration opportunities in the biopharma and medtech fields.
The event opened with an institutional session led by Jaione Ganzarain Epelde, Deputy Minister for Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of Euskadi; Mikel Irujo, Regional Minister for Economic and Business Development of the Government of Navarra; and Philippe Nauche, Vice-President for Health and the Silver Economy of New Aquitaine, who highlighted the strategic importance of euroregional cooperation in the field of health.
A strategic platform for cooperation and competitiveness
One of the highlights of the event was the round table “European Preference in Health: criteria, capacities and interregional cooperation”, featuring Alicia López de Ocáriz, President of Navarra Health Cluster. The discussion underscored the importance of strengthening interregional cooperation as a key lever to enhance the competitiveness of the health sector in Europe.
Asimismo, la sesión en formato reverse pitch permitió a inversores compartir sus tesis de inversión, áreas de interés y criterios, ofreciendo a startups y empresas una visión directa de las oportunidades existentes y facilitando la generación de nuevas conexiones.
Navarra Health Cluster actively participated in the event with the aim of showcasing the Navarrese ecosystem, supporting its member organisations and continuing to promote new collaboration opportunities with stakeholders from New Aquitaine and Euskadi.
Recognition of the Navarrese ecosystem’s talent
The event also hosted the Euroregional Bio-Health Award 2026, which recognises innovative projects with high potential in the field of health.
In this edition, Navarre had a strong presence, with seven Navarra Health Cluster member organisations among the finalists: Amets Biotechnology, DARWIN Biomed, Genbioma, MIMO Biosciences, Nanogrow Biotech, Opportunity Health and RECOMBINA Biotech.
The companies awarded in this edition were:
- Popcorn Therapeutics (Biopharma), for its platform based on oncolytic viruses to treat high-risk paediatric cancer.
- Opportunity Health (MedTech), a Navarre-based startup and NHC member, for developing the first automatic and self-applicable anti-choking device.
A recognition that highlights the innovation capacity, talent and potential of Navarre’s health and life sciences ecosystem within the Euroregion.
