Nordic Life Science 1
to believe that the life science industry is some
how exempt from the economic consequences of the pandemic. “You are in the middle of everything,” both private and professional contacts keep telling me. And, yes, we are. We might be in the middle and working hard to develop solutions to the various health challenges caused by this virus (as well as the many other health conditions), but that does not mean we are protected from feeling the impact of a downturned economic situation. In some ways, our industry has been particularly hard-hit. The pause in clinical trials imposed as the health care sector was – and still is, in many places in the world – under extreme pressure, is one example. Even still, the requirements still exist for company milestones to be met. And the challenges to find funding for the next step of development of a life science product or service have not diminished. We need air. The life science industry has to be able to let go of the breath we have been holding for so long now. For that to happen, political measures are required. There are solutions within range including, for example, facilitating investments in R&D. In the months to come, launching programs targeting life sciences and working together to attract international VC from serious actors should be on the utmost agenda of the (Teams-) meetings of the Nordic Council of Ministers, as well as their instrument, Nordic Innovation. Their focus on life sciences, so far, has been peculiarly low, in spite of this industry being the common denominator for all five Nordic countries innovation scenes. urthermore, Nordic decision makers should aim to facilitate clinical trials to be conducted locally, with patient populations spanning our neighboring countries, through the launch of a joint agency, which has been on the life science industry wish-list for some time. Certain measures like tax incentives also naturally lie within the competence of our individual national governments. Ultimately, the better aligned the policies of the Nordic region and the more we work as a single business region, the larger the impact of 98 NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG