Nordic Life Science 1
moderated by Mikael Mattsson, CEO of Svexa, and h
e and the panelists discussed, among other things, what is required to harness health data to fulfill its full potential to improve our health. Tine Jess, Professor, PREDICT National Center of Excellence, Denmark, spoke about what a goldmine Denmark, as well as the rest of the Nordic countries, possess, but also that there are challenges that the region needs to overcome, particularly political and leadership issues. The panelists also discussed how the Nordic countries can collaborate better when it comes to health data and utilizing health data better. There are challenges, but the potential is enormous they concluded. To be continued … The second day of the event started with a very interesting session about developments within CNS diseases titled “New era in CNS: Rising from the ashes.” This session was moderated by Marc-Olivier Bévierre, Life Science Practice Leader, Cencora. Nordic life science companies have been actively involved in the recent developments in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological disorders, not least Swedish BioArctic, and the session included recent success within the field. The panelists also discussed the key factors to advance treatments of CNS diseases. It was particularly interesting to listen to Gunilla Osswald, CEO of BioArctic, and learn more about the potential of her company’s Alzheimer’s treatment, as well as her view on the future of the field and why she believes that we are entering a new era within CNS. Winners announced Awards were also handed out to up-and-coming companies. For example, the Nordic Stars pitch competition welcomed 30 SMEs from across the Nordics, each of which gave a four minute pitch on-stage to the jury and an audience of investors. “The competition this year was very impressive – it was really challenging to select a winner,” said jury member Stephan Christgau, founding partner at Eir Ventures. Loma Therapeutics won Merck’s award, the Advance Biotech Grant Program – Nordics, which is sponsored by Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany. The prize includes bioprocessing technologies and services to an amount of EUR 45,000. The Danish pharmaceutical start-up NEUmiRNA Therapeutics took home the NLSDays Nordic Star 2023 Award, which consists of a EUR 10,000 cash prize and additional in-kind services. “Many small Nordic companies are maturing, they have a clear business plan and they know where they’re going. NEUmiRNA Therapeutics is a great example of this. They’re addressing an unmet medical need, they have a clear plan, and they’re first in class. They have a good and diverse team and a great CEO in Janine Erler,” said Christgau. NLS 28 | NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG VOICES FROM NLSDAYS "It’s been wonderful! Copenhagen is a nice city, the Nordics offer a lively and vibrant community and I’ve made new friends and good business contacts. For me, it’s been a little like going to a new city and getting on a tour bus and riding around and seeing all the key sites, exploring what interested me the most. I’ve already made plans to follow up with several companies and I hope to come back to visit very soon. I am actually visiting Stockholm for more meetings before returning home, and I will most probably be back at next year’s Nordic Life Science Days.” – Bob Shufflebarger, CEO, TriAltus Bioscience, Birmingham, Alabama, USA “I’ve found that the Nordics, if I may put them together, are becoming a more and more important region in Europe for Dutch companies wanting to do business. That’s why we are here, and we will surely be back next year again. It’s easy to operate here compared to other regions of Europe or abroad due to our common ground when it comes to collaboration and doing business.” – Judith van de Bovenkamp, East Netherlands Regional Development Agency. This year’s NLSDays attracted the biggest delegation yet from the Netherlands. “This is the second time that we have an Icelandic booth. We think it adds visibility and enables people to come and meet us and our companies can have discussions between their partnering meetings. A major reason for coming back year by year is to connect with other Nordic partners. Even more collaboration across the Nordics would be beneficial for us.” – Erna Björnsdottir, Head of Innovation & Technology, Business Iceland EVENT HIGHLIGHTS // NLSDAYS