Nordic Life Science 1
photochemical internalization (PCI) technology, a
n intracellular delivery method, comes in. Norwegian biopharmaceutical company PCI Biotech AS in Oslo is refining three different applications for this technology that could make differences in cancer treatments and vaccine effectiveness. “We are on the cusp of a revolution right now; the merger of information technology and biotechnology,” according to Dr. Per Walday, PhD, PCI Biotech’s CEO. “When you get the combination of the two, it is going to open up so many new possibilities that it is difficult to imagine the consequences.” BEEN IN THE INDUSTRY IN DIFFERENT WAYS Per Walday, 58, joined PCI Biotech in 2008, bringing with him more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology field. Prior to joining PCI Biotech, Walday served as the Global Head of project management at GE Healthcare and in management positions at Nycomed Imaging/ Amersham Health. Early in his career he worked for the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment, researching potential treatments against nerve gas poisoning. A celebrity marine explorer and conservationist and scuba diving were Walday’s primary inspirations to study biology. An avid scuba diver and admirer of wellknown French marine expert Jacques Cousteau, Walday moved from his native Sweden to study biology at the University of Oslo. There he decided the most compelling aspect of the field was the workings of the human body and focused on physiology, in which he earned a doctorate. Walday also studied toxins and how they enter and effect cells. “I’ve been in the industry in different ways since then.” APPLICATIONS FOR THE PCI TECHNOLOGY Now PCI Biotech is working on three applications for the PCI technology, which was invented at Oslo University Hospital; using it to increase the effectiveness of chemotherapy for certain cancers; enhancing the effectiveness of vaccines by improving cellular immune responses and in collaborations with companies interested in using the intracellular delivery method. PCI technology to treat bile duct cancer have been promising, Walday noted. “My goal is to make this company succeed and make sure we can deliver what we said we would.” In the coming years, Walday expects to see PCI technology in use across different disciplines. “It will be more like precision medicine, more than just a drug delivered for one indication.” 93 THE CHALLENGE OF RECRUITING Among the challenges of starting a biotech company in Norway is having a small number of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies with whom to work, because the main focus has been on other industries such as fishing and