HIPRA underlines to Minister Duch the need to strengthen Europe’s manufacturing capacity, highlighting projects such as SPEEDCELL, LWNVIVAT and EU FAB in which the company plays a key role
Girona, 20 July 2026 – The Minister for the European Union and Foreign Action of the Government of Catalonia, Jaume Duch, visited the HIPRA Campus this Monday, the company’s facilities in Aiguaviva, officially inaugurated last September. During the visit, the Minister gained first-hand insight into HIPRA’s manufacturing capabilities, its fully integrated value chain, from research to distribution, and the company’s strong commitment to scientific research.
“HIPRA is an example of what Catalan companies represent around the world: innovation, ambition and commitment. Companies like this project a Catalonia capable of leading strategic solutions at both the European and global levels", said Minister Duch.
After visiting the Campus’s R&D and Manufacturing facilities, designed as a benchmark environment for research, technological development and the attraction of highly qualified talent, the Minister met with members of HIPRA’s executive management team. During the meeting, Duch learned more about HIPRA’s activities, its growth strategy and its strong commitment to the One Health approach, which integrates human, animal and environmental health as key pillars in addressing major global health challenges.
During the meeting, the participants discussed in detail HIPRA’s vaccine and biotechnology projects, with particular emphasis on cross-cutting initiatives linked to European institutions. These include SPEEDCELL, which aims to reduce the development time for vaccines and biological products in emergency situations to just 100 days. They also highlighted LWNVIVAT, a project focused on developing a vaccine against the West Nile virus, a zoonotic disease for which there is currently no approved treatment or human vaccine. In the field of animal health, HIPRA’s management also presented the company’s participation in another European consortium. The VAX4ASF project aims to develop and evaluate vaccines against african swine fever (ASF) in order to improve disease prevention and control across Europe while strengthening animal health and food security.
HIPRA also pointed to the Minister that supporting the primary sector and strengthening food sovereignty are strategic priorities for the company. In this context, particular attention was given to the future EU Livestock Strategy, currently under discussion within European institutions. The initiative seeks to address the main challenges facing the livestock sector, including in Catalonia, such as generational renewal among farmers and livestock producers, the transition towards more sustainable production models, and the enhancement of animal welfare.
The meeting also covered HIPRA’s participation in EU FAB, a strategic initiative of the European Commission’s Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA), under which HIPRA is one of four selected European manufacturers. The program is designed to ensure a rapid manufacturing response to future public health emergencies. The need for Europe to reduce its dependence on third countries for the production of vaccines and other healthcare products became evident during the COVID-19 pandemic and has become even more relevant in today’s geopolitical context. In the field of animal health, HIPRA’s management also explained to Minister Duch the importance of prevention and veterinary vaccination in reducing production costs by preventing disease, minimizing environmental impact through lower emissions, and enhancing the competitiveness of the livestock sector.
Finally, HIPRA shared with the Minister the company’s historic achievement in developing and manufacturing the first COVID-19 vaccine to be entirely developed and produced in Europe and Spain. This milestone was made possible thanks to the expertise the company has built over more than 50 years of experience in developing vaccines for animal health.
With Spain’s first COVID-19 vaccine, HIPRA took a major step towards strengthening Europe’s biotechnological manufacturing autonomy, fully aligned with the company’s One Health vision. In recognition of this contribution to strategic autonomy, HIPRA was awarded the National Industry Award "Bien Hecho en España" by Spain’s Ministry of Industry and Tourism in February this year.