Nordic Life Science 1
62 Q&A Milla Koistinaho PARTNER, INNOVESTOR LIFE
SCIENCE – HELSINKI, FINLAND Milla Koistinaho and her colleagues at Innovestor’s life science fund focus their investments on Nordic and Baltic-based startups that work on either transformative therapeutic opportunities addressing significant unmet medical needs, or digital solutions to inefficiencies in healthcare and providing better care and treatment. W HAT DO YOU predict will be the dominant market trend within life sciences this year? “After a slower 2023, investor appetite rebounded in 2024. We believe that the resurgence of larger financing rounds will be a significant market trend in life sciences in the Nordics this year. This mirrors a broader trend seen in the US, where companies in therapeutics have been raising increasingly large rounds, albeit that in Europe this happens on a smaller scale.” How would you describe the current venture funding landscape in the Nordics? “The life science specialist venture-capital fund teams are extremely knowledgeable, well networked, and have close relationships with each other. However, most of the funds are emerging funds and fairly small in size, which limits their possibilities in follow-on funding rounds. We need to work hard to secure the continuity and development of a healthy VC market and funding landscape in the Nordics.” From your perspective, how has the life science sector developed since the COVID-19 pandemic? “The sector has undergone significant transformation, especially in terms of growing recognition and interest in advanced therapies including mRNA and gene therapies, and widespread adoption of digital solutions, such as tele-health and remote patient monitoring.” INVESTMENT OUTLOOK // Q&A