The State Research Agency selects the initiative of the Galician biotech company, whose research focuses on SRB5, an antibody targeting the CCR9 receptor to combat ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease.
Santiago/Vigo. 11/12/2025. Galicia is once again at the forefront of biomedicine. The Galician company SunRock Biopharma, a member of the Bioga Business Technology Cluster and headquartered in the Bipolo Sionlla industrial park in Santiago de Compostela, is leading CATIB, a project selected by the Spanish State Research Agency in its 2024 call for public-private partnerships. This initiative, funded by the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, is mobilizing €1.84 million to advance research on Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), which includes conditions such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
The key to CATIB’s strategy, the biotech company explains, is that the project’s work will be carried out “in collaboration with hospitals.” The consortium includes the Galician Public Foundation for Health Research in Santiago (FIDIS) and the Galician Public Foundation for Biomedical Research in Southern Galicia, as well as CIC bioGUNE in the Basque Country and the Malaga Foundation for Biomedical and Health Research (FIMABIS). This collaborative team is working toward a common goal: “accelerating useful knowledge,” emphasizes Sun Rock Biopharma, which notes that the University Clinical Hospital of Santiago (CHUS) and the University Hospital of Vigo (Chuvi) “will play a strategic role in the development of the research.”
CATIB focuses on SRB5, an investigational antibody targeting CCR9, a cell involved in inflammatory processes. “The project aims to advance its preclinical phase, the necessary step before any further biomedical development,” notes SunRock Biopharma.
The impact also stays within Galicia. Of the total budget, over one million euros is channeled to SunRock Biopharma as a loan, strengthening its scientific, technical, and industrial capacity in Galicia. And nearly 400,000 euros are provided as grants to Galician teams through FIDIS and Galicia Sur, bolstering hospital research and its connection to business innovation.
“Leading a project funded by the Spanish State Research Agency from Galicia, and doing so in collaboration with hospital teams, is an opportunity to combine our capabilities here: in business, in healthcare institutes, and in the Galician biomedical ecosystem,” says SunRock Biopharma. With CATIB, the company reinforces its commitment to projects that connect science and industry, with a dual objective: “to generate knowledge and consolidate technological capabilities in Galicia with an international reach.”
A Galician company with a global reach
Founded in Santiago de Compostela, SunRock Biopharma has established itself as one of Spain’s most active biotechnology companies in the development of next-generation therapeutic antibodies for both oncology and inflammatory diseases. Its business model focuses on collaboration with universities and research centers in Europe, the United States, and Asia, and on technology transfer to major pharmaceutical companies once clinical trials are completed. The SunRock team comprises experienced scientists and managers and maintains an international network of collaborators. The company combines Galician innovation with a global perspective, aiming to position Galicia on the world biotechnology map.
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SunRock Biopharma: www.sunrockbiopharma.com / media@sunrockbioparma.com
