Biomedical research is a basic career that requires constant institutional reinforcement. As part of the CERCA institution (Research Centres of Catalonia), which in turn belongs to the Catalan Government, the biomedical institution Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS) is a research centre associated with the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, the Universitat de Barcelona (UB) and the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (the Spanish Council for Scientific Research, known under the acronym IIBB-CSIC). Thanks primarily to a donation received by the University of Barcelona from the Fundació CELLEX, refurbishment and equipment work was carried out on 5,150 m² of laboratories, science and technology services and annex spaces on the five floors of the south wing of the Medical School, four of which have been granted to the IDIBAPS for use.

The CELLEX Biomedical Research Centre, which opened its doors in January 2013, is the result of an ambitious collaboration between the public and private sectors. The centre sits within the walls of a hundred-year-old building that still boasts its original exterior architecture and forms part of the city’s architectural heritage, yet which is fully equipped with today’s latest technologies and modern comforts. Inside are more than two hundred researchers from twenty-three research groups from the IDIBAPS, who carry out top-notch translational research related to areas such as oncology, cardiology, autoimmune diseases, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, the neurosciences and neurodegenerative diseases, nephrology and urology.