Cares Expo Taipei 2025 | Accelerating Health Innovation in Europe: The Navarra Model for Technology and Collaboration
Innovation and technology are the way forward. We all want the same thing — to use technology to give the best care to people. Cooperation is how we will get there.”— Laura Corcuera
At Cares Expo 2025 in Taipei, Laura Corcuera, Managing Director of Navarra Health Cluster (NHC), shared how the Spanish region of Navarra is advancing a comprehensive approach to health innovation.
Founded as a non-profit association, NHC’s mission is to unite all stakeholders in the value chain of health— from education and research to industry and care providers.
“Navarra Health Cluster is a non-profit alliance that brings together the entire value chain of health — universities, research centers, large and small companies, and the care sector — so that we can identify challenges, gaps, and opportunities, and make them work together,” Corcuera explained.
By fostering collaboration between academia, research, industry, and public institutions, NHC positions itself as a strategic advisor and innovation enabler for the region’s evolving health sector.
Navarra: A Regional Powerhouse in Innovation and Industry
Located in northern Spain bordering France, Navarra stands out as one of the most industrialized and wealthiest regions in the country. Despite its small population, it ranks among Europe’s top innovative regions, with half of its population holding a higher education degree.
The region’s industrial strength spans automotive manufacturing (Volkswagen’s major plant), renewable energy, agrifood, and particularly pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
“Pharma is one of our strongest sectors,” Corcuera noted. “We have the biggest pharma company in Spain, Cinfa, headquartered in Navarra, as well as several biotech factories manufacturing innovative medicines.”
Navarra’s strong industrial base has naturally extended into health innovation, supported by research capacity, manufacturing capability, and high technological literacy. With about 37% of the country’s biotech and medtech startups located in the region, Navarra’s innovation ecosystem is both dynamic and deeply connected to real-world applications in healthcare and social care.
Regional Government Support for Startups and Innovation
Navarra’s success in health technology development is closely tied to its regional government’s strong policies to promote startups and innovation. The government provides a combination of funding, infrastructure, and mentorship to encourage new business creation, particularly in the health and biotech sectors.
“There are strong policies in the region to promote startups,” said Corcuera. “The government provides space, funding, and guidance from experienced business creation experts to help these companies develop. We, as the cluster, work closely with them to identify knowledge gaps and organize joint actions that support these entrepreneurs.”
This public–private partnership model ensures that innovation flows smoothly from research to commercialization. Startups benefit not only from financial support but also from the structured ecosystem NHC provides, which includes access to research partners, hospitals, and care facilities where technologies can be tested and validated.
NHC’s Living Labs: Turning Innovation into Practice
A unique feature of Navarra’s health innovation ecosystem is the Living Lab framework trusted by the European Network of Living Labs. These certified living labs serve as controlled but realistic settings for testing and validating new health technologies with real users — patients, caregivers, and professionals.”
“Navarra has two Living Labs certified by the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL), with a third one in development. They allow new technologies to be tested under reliable conditions,” Carcuera said. “A Living Lab is not a space but a methodology. It ensures that if you test a technology following specific protocols, you can trust the results..”
“For the aged care vertical, we have the most advanced retirement home in Spain, BIDEALDE, located in Navarra. We also have a highly specialized center for cerebral stroke rehabilitation that develops research projects as a Living Lab, ADACEN. And very soon, we will have another one certified for people with disabilities, VIDAAS,” Corcuera added.
One standout example is a smart mobility support device for Parkinson’s patients, developed by a local startup through a Living Lab collaboration. “It’s not a wheelchair but an AI assistive walking support,” Corcuera described. “The device understands how you are today — if you are stronger on one side, it adapts. It helps you uphill, downhill, and stops when you stop. It collects data for doctors and is beautifully designed — light, elegant, and affordable.”
This model demonstrates how Navarra’s ecosystem bridges design, functionality, and accessibility, aligning innovation with real-world health and care needs.
AI and Digital Transformation in the Health Sector
Navarra, like much of Europe, is now entering a new phase of health digitalization— moving from electronic record adoption to integrated AI and data-driven systems. “Navarra is well digitized,” Corcuera said. “Our hospitals and health centers are technologically equipped, our electronic records are fully implemented, and data flows efficiently across systems. The next challenge is interconnection with different centers and using AI meaningfully.”
NHC and its partners are prioritizing AI-enabled innovation in areas such as smart hospitals, rehabilitation, telemedicine, remote monitoring, fall detection, and assistive robotics.
Corcuera observed that AI is being explored to enhance efficiency and personalization in both hospital and home care settings. However, she also emphasized the ethical and technical complexities of AI deployment:
“Implementation of AI is not easy,” she said. “AI must be explainable — you need to understand what the algorithm is doing with the data. This is people’s health. AI cannot be a black box.”
Europe’s strict data protection and privacy regulations, such as the GDPR, add an additional layer of complexity. AI technologies must be non-invasive, respectful of privacy, and culturally adaptable, meaning solutions must work in different contexts — from urban hospitals to rural care centers.
Addressing Key Challenges through Technology
While Navarra is among Europe’s most advanced regions in health innovation, several challenges remain at the forefront. The aging population, rural care accessibility, and workforce shortages are universal issues shared across Europe and Asia alike.
Corcuera noted that remote monitoring and telemedicine are viewed as essential strategies to maintain access to care without overburdening the system.
“Technology can help overcome the problem of distance,” she explained. “If someone lives in the countryside, they no longer need to travel to the main hospital for every test. Some parts of the diagnosis or treatment can be done remotely, with specialists assisting through digital platforms.”
In the context of elderly care, Navarra and other European regions are focusing on how AI and robotics can help seniors remain at home safely and independently.
The long-term vision is to combine technology, personalization, and human-centered care to improve quality of life and reduce system burden.
Collaboration Beyond Borders
Corcuera emphasized that international cooperation is essential for sustainable innovation. “We cannot do it alone. Cooperation is a must — both inside and outside our region,” she said. “At Cares Expo, I saw many examples of technology from Asia that are very inspiring. We face the same problems and share the same goals — innovation and health management for better patient outcomes.
NHC seeks to establish cross-regional partnerships with Asian and global innovators to explore pilot projects, data-sharing initiatives, and mutual technology validation opportunities.
As Corcuera concluded, “Innovation and technology are the way forward. We all want the same thing — to use technology to give the best care to people. Cooperation is how we will get there.”
Coming Up Next
In the coming weeks, we will continue publishing insights from ACIF 2025 speakers and international buyers visiting Cares Expo Taipei 2025, sharing their analyses and perspectives on how different countries are responding to the evolving trends in aging society and care industry.
Through their experiences, we aim to offer readers a broader view of how global collaboration and innovation are shaping the next decade of the care industry.
🚀 Connect with Global Leaders in Aging & Care Innovation!
Sourcingcares links international partners in aging care, long-term care, and health technology, fostering collaboration and driving solutions for a changing world. Our initiatives include Cares Expo Taipei, where the future of elder care takes shape!
🔗 Follow us for insights & opportunities:
📌 Facebook: sourcingcares
📌 LinkedIn: sourcingcares
📍 Explore more at Cares Expo Taipei!