One-liner: the Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria La Fe (Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe's research institute) runs its innovation activity through the UCIE — Business/Company Innovation Science Unit, established 2018 and resourced by AVI — a clinical testbed linking hospital R&D directly to the Valencian business fabric.
What a founder gets
- Clinical validation access — clinicians, patients, hospital settings and real-world data to test/validate a device, digital-health solution, diagnostic, or therapy (full instrument detail at IIS La Fe UCIE Clinical Testbed).
- Results and Capabilities Portfolio + Collaborative Innovation track — a catalogue of the institute's own patented/licensable research a startup can build on, not just a lab-for-hire.
- Biopolo La Fe — a dedicated business-collaboration space on the hospital campus for companies co-locating with the research institute.
- IP/tech-transfer routes beyond the hospital itself: membership in the Patent Bank (Generalitat + public research bodies, matching entrepreneurs with innovative research to license), ITEMAS (ISCIII's national platform for NHS industrial-capacity transfer, financed by Instituto de Salud Carlos III), INNOSALUD (RUVID-coordinated, AVI-financed health-innovation valorisation initiative), and INNOTRANSFER (Red de Parques Científicos de la Comunitat Valenciana open-innovation initiative, AVI-funded, tied to the region's RIS3 smart-specialisation strategy).
- Access to specialised Scientific and Technological Platforms: Epigenomics, Pharmacogenetics, Genomic, Cytomics, Cell Culture, Microscopy, Advanced Therapies, Multiplex Analysis, and Analytics units, plus La Fe Biobank, Data Science/Biostatistics/Bioinformatics support, Big Data and Digital Health resources, an animal-housing facility, and an Experimental Radiology Unit.
Who it's for
- Healthtech, medtech, digital-health, and biotech startups needing genuine clinical access and validation, IP to license, or a research-grade partner for co-development — spans validation through growth stage.
How to engage
- Contact the UCIE innovation unit directly via iislafe.es/en/innovation to propose a collaboration/validation project.
- General contact: Avenida Fernando Abril Martorell, 106, Torre A, 7ª planta, 46026 Valencia · Tel +34 96 124 67 00 · info@iislafe.es.
- See IIS La Fe UCIE Clinical Testbed for the step-by-step engagement routes and how to pair this with device certification (IBV) or other AVI-funded innovation grants.
Key facts
- UCIE established 2018 — explicitly created to link IIS La Fe R&D with the Valencian business fabric in collaboration with technology institutes (i.e., designed as a connective-tissue unit, not a standalone lab).
- Resourced by AVI (Agencia Valenciana de Innovación) — the necessary operating resources for UCIE come from AVI, making AVI both funder and de facto governance anchor.
- Innovation output ("La innovación del IIS La Fe en cifras"): 51 current patents · 50 software/IP registrations · 7 licensed rights · 2 spin-offs.
- Network memberships: ITEMAS (since the Innovation Area's creation in 2010; ISCIII-financed), Patent Bank (Generalitat + public research bodies), INNOSALUD (RUVID-coordinated, AVI-financed), INNOTRANSFER (Red de Parques Científicos CV, AVI-funded, RIS3-aligned).
- Governance structure (per site): Board of Trustees, Executive Board, Research Commission, External Scientific Committee, and a dedicated Innovation Committee — innovation has formal institutional standing, not an ad-hoc side function.
- Hospital affiliation: Hospital Universitari i Politècnic La Fe, one of the region's largest teaching hospitals — the clinical-scale asset behind UCIE's testbed value.
Relations
- Funded by: AVI
- See also: INCLIVA
- See also: IBV
- See also: Biotech-Health (niche)
- Runs: IIS La Fe UCIE Clinical Testbed