In 2025, the University presented 26 applications, with nearly two-thirds in the biotechnology and pharmaceuticals sector according to data from the European Patent Office.
The Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) holds a prominent position in the protection of research results: with 26 European patent applications in 2025, it ranks as the third university in Spain, according to data from the European Patent Office (EPO).
This result continues a sustained trend. A historical study by the EPO covering the 2000–2020 period already ranked the UAB as the second-leading university in the country, with 328 European patent applications. Behind each application lies a discovery that the inventors seek to protect so that it can move toward practical application. A patent enables companies, investors, and other stakeholders to participate in the development of a potential medicine, device, or technology, and to exploit it through a licensing agreement.
Biotechnology and pharmacy account for 17 of the UAB's 26 applications, nine and eight respectively. This specialisation demonstrates the strength life sciences' has in the research that the University protects with a view to their development and application.
These are also two fields in which public research plays a strategic role in Europe. According to the EPO, European research institutions were involved in 34% of biotechnology patent applications and 26% of pharmaceutical applications originating in Europe in 2025.
Computer technology is the third most represented field at the UAB, with four applications. The remainder is distributed among measuring instruments, the analysis of biological materials, medical technology, and specialised machinery.
Cooperation is also reflected in patents: 77% of the UAB's European patent applications in 2025 are shared with other entities, involving a total of 23 different co-applicants.
The protection of inventions is part of a broader journey. Between 2020 and 2025, UAB formalised 39 licence or technology transfer agreements. In 2025, it also launched 59 new valorisation and transfer projects, marking the third consecutive year of growth.
One example is Disrupt Therapeutics: in 2025, the UAB Social Council authorised the granting of a licence on a jointly held patent for compounds for the treatment of cannabis use disorder. The case illustrates how protecting a scientific result can facilitate a company's drive to develop it into potential therapeutic applications.
The Office for Knowledge Transfer and Research Valorisation supports research teams throughout this process: from the evaluation and protection of results to seeking funding and negotiating licences.
