employment and industry, Josep Maria Rañé; the minister of economy and finance, Antoni Castells; and the minister of health, Marina Geli, all trustees of the Catalonia BioRegion Foundation.

Speakers at the event included the director of the Interdepartmental Committee for Technological Research and Innovation (CIRIT), Marta Aymerich, who presented the project; the president of the Catalonia BioRegion's executive committee, Joan Cornet; the president of Laboratoris Esteve, Antoni Esteve; and the rector of the Pompeu Fabra University, Josep Joan Moreso.

The Catalonia BioRegion Foundation came into being on 14 February. It aims to improve quality of life by coordinating the biotechnology activity in Catalonia, above all in life sciences and the agrifood sector. The project seeks to consolidate Catalonia as an international reference point in research of excellence and as a region with a competitive business structure and a solid, dynamic system for transferring knowledge.

The Catalonia BioRegion also aims to promote economic and social development through the development of this highly strategic sector. Biotechnology is acknowledged not only as an important source of new knowledge but also as a key driving force inside the economy. The BioRegion will boost the establishment of more biotech enterprises in Catalonia and attract business interests from abroad.

With the support of the government, the Catalonia BioRegion will promote interrelations between the private and public sectors in order to create an ideal environment for knowledge and technology transfer. It will coordinate activity at universities, public research centres, teaching hospitals, science parks, businesses, venture capital firms and other agencies active in this field.

Joan Cornet and Gerard McGettigan, leading the project

At the first trustees' meeting, held on 14 February 2006, Joan Cornet was appointed president of the foundation's executive committee, and Gerard McGettigan was named director of the Catalonia BioRegion.

Joan Cornet Prat (Manresa, 1950) is a technical engineer and holds a degree in psychology. After working as a hospital-based clinical psychologist for five years, he was mayor of Manresa from 1979 to 1987. During the same period he was vice-president of the Federation of Catalan Municipalities and president of the Health Commission. He was also helped to set up the Catalan Hospitals Consortium, of which he was the first president.

In 1988 he joined the European Commission, where he had a range of responsibilities in the field of European social policy, including the supervision of the creation of EURES, the European Employment Services. From 1994 to 1999 he was general secretary of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg and later led the international cooperation programs between the European Union and the countries of North Africa and the Middle East. In June 2004 he was appointed general secretary of the department of health in the Catalan government. Joan Cornet has lectured on the MBA program at the Free University of Brussels and is currently an advisor to the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and a member of the board of trustees of the Jaume Bofill Foundation.

Gerard McGettigan (Glasgow, 1961) holds degrees in molecular biology and politics and history, and is a specialist in the development of biopharmaceutical products and regulatory affairs. In 1988 he moved to Barcelona to work for the pharmaceutical firm Almirall, first as a clinical researcher and later as director of regulatory affairs. For four years he was in charge of all international regulatory affairs at company level, and also implemented business development strategies.

In 1993 he moved to London to work for Glaxo R&D, and in 1994 joined The Liposome Company, a biotech firm, where he was involved in management and the organization of European operations. Four years later, McGettigan founded his own company, GMG BioBusiness, specializing in product development and regulatory affairs consultancy for pharmaceutical and biotech firms. In 2004, the company's turnover reached €2 million and its portfolio comprised around 70 European and North American companies. In 2005, GMG BioBusiness was bought out by PRA International, where until recently McGettigan acted as director of regulatory affairs, carrying out technical and business development tasks.