BHC Eguna 2025 projects Basque Health Cluster as a strategic driver of the health ecosystem in the Basque Country

A new edition of BHC Eguna, the annual event organised by Basque Health Cluster (BHC), brought together nearly 200 professionals and institutions from the biohealth sector. More than just a meeting point, the event has established itself as a strategic space for analysing the challenges facing the sector, renewing collective commitment and reaffirming health as an industrial driver for the future of the Basque Country.

General Assembly: governance, ambition and shared vision

The day began with the 2025 General Assembly, at which the results for the year were presented and the roadmap for the new strategic cycle was outlined. Asier Albizu, president of BHC, opened the event by highlighting the cluster’s current maturity and consolidation.

Idoia Muñoz, managing director, presented the main milestones of 2024 and the focus of the 2025 Strategic Plan, which centres on accelerating the sector’s growth through innovation, cooperation and international projection, with a strategic view of the challenges that will shape BHC’s activity: the structural implementation of emerging technologies, the strengthening of specialised talent, the international projection of the ecosystem and the development of new industrial opportunities.

Cendoya: reindustrialising Europe through health

The event, which was open to the public, began with institutional speeches and gave way to a far-reaching keynote address by Manuel Cendoya, an international executive and advisor. Under the title ‘The inevitable reindustrialisation of Europe through the health sector: a task for all’, Cendoya defended the urgent need for Europe to regain its productive, technological and regulatory sovereignty in health.

In his speech, he presented healthcare not only as a social right, but also as a key economic and geostrategic lever. He called for public-private collaboration, ambitious industrial policies and the strengthening of local capabilities in critical technologies such as biomaterials, clinical engineering and applied artificial intelligence.

Recognition of business leadership and transformative vision

During the event, the José Miguel Azkoitia Award was presented to Pedro Salazar, Managing Director of AJL, in recognition of his professional career, which shows a path of constant growth, marked by the development of management skills, adaptability and the implementation of innovative strategies. This career path demonstrates a great contribution in the business and management field in the Basque Country, leading the only manufacturer of intraocular lenses in the whole of Spain.

A heartfelt tribute was also paid to José Luis Goenaga, one of the great promoters of applied R&D in the Basque Country. Goenaga was a key figure in the creation and consolidation of Tecnalia, and his legacy lives on in the architecture of the Basque science, technology and innovation system. His role as a bridge between technology, business and public policy has been essential in positioning the Basque Country as a European benchmark in industrial innovation.

Institutional closing ceremony: industrial vision with purpose

The Deputy Minister for Industrial Promotion, Andoitz Korta, closed the event with a clear message: the health sector is now an industry, and the Basque Country is ready to lead its transformation. He underlined the importance of the Basque Health Cluster as a strategic hub within Basque industrial policy and called for its role as a space for innovation, competitiveness and collective well-being to be strengthened.

2024: key milestones for an expanding ecosystem
The BHC closed 2024 with intense and highly strategic activity:

• More than 130 associated entities and 24 new partners.
• 66 events promoted, both independently and in collaboration.
• Participation in international fairs such as MEDICA and Swiss Biotech Day.
• Leadership in projects such as TerminAI and new alliances with entities such as Novo Nordisk and BIOEF.
• Incorporation as an Agent of the Basque Science, Technology and Innovation Network (RVCTI).
• Strengthening of its institutional activity and coordinated lobbying actions, representing the sector before bodies such as the Basque Parliament, government departments, European technology platforms and industrial policy working groups.
• ‘We are the heartbeat of progress’
  BHC Eguna 2025 has shown that the cluster is not just a network of companies, but a community with a purpose, capable of thinking strategically, acting collectively and positioning itself as a key agent of transformation.

In the words of Idoia Muñoz: ‘The health sector has the potential to transform not only the economy, but also our society. In the Basque Country, we have the talent, commitment and vision to be protagonists of that transformation. And BHC is the tool to make it possible.’