Nordic Life Science 1
e believes emerging adjuvant technologies, like A
djuTec’s, will become important products in combination with marketed antibiotics. “Market research shows that these technologies are more attractive to investors than traditional new antibiotics,” he says. The global antibiotic market is estimated to reach USD 62.06 billion in 2026, with the largest market in North America but the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific. Pål Rongved is not new to the start-up process. He has 22 years of previous researcher/leading positions in R&D/IPR at Nycomed Imaging/GE HealthCare and as advisor in Birkeland Innovation (now Inven2) in Oslo. “As an entrepreneur, access to funding is a necessity, as well as mentorship when it comes to rigging a company and establishing a team to commercialize your lead. It was essential to get external competence from TTO/incubators, including patenting and identifying investors, management and board,” he says. “In addition, to reduce the risk of beginner mistakes and to point out the best direction of development, early advice from key opinion leaders (KOL) is very important. Also, be sure to have negotiated an unlimited freedom to handle your IP to attract investors.” orway has a flourishing life science community with available public grants for projects and start-ups, according to Rongved. “During the last 30 years, Norwegian investors, traditionally coming from shipping, petroleum and fish farming, have seen the opportunity in healthcare that benefits an increasing number of start-ups.” He also says that antimicrobial resistance is an area of priority in the new Life Science Campus being built by UiO and Oslo University Hospital, as part of a larger plan for developing Oslo Science City. As for future plans, Pål and his colleagues, both at AdjuTec and in the research group SYNFAS, are committed to continuing their development of AMR products based on their novel technologies. “We are creating pipeline innovations based on Interaction of MRSA (green bacteria) with a human white cell. The bacteria shown is strain MRSA252, a leading cause of hospital-associated infections in the United States and United Kingdom. resistance-breaker thinking, rather than classic broadspectrum oral antibiotics. That era is now diminishing. We will attract funding to develop our products to clinical proof-of-concept or to registration, when partnering with international specialty pharma for distribution,” he concludes. NLS 48 NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG CREDIT NIAID