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Karolinska ska bli ett europeiskt powerhouse för ATMP
Karolinska ATMP-centrum har ett enkelt men ambitiöst syfte: korta vägen mellan akademisk upptäckt och klinisk tillämpning. ”Vi önskar att Karolinska i framtiden ska bli ett European Centre of Excellence Hub för cell- och genterapier”, säger centrets föreståndare Knut Steffensen i en intervju med Life Science Sweden.
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Swedish team tests Alzheimer antibody for brain imaging
Recent breakthroughs in Alzheimer’s treatment have increased the need for precise diagnostics in the field. Researchers in Uppsala are working to develop improved methods for both identifying suitable patients and ensuring they receive the right therapy.
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Phase III win for Hansa Biopharma: “We Are Thrilled”
Swedish biotech Hansa Biopharma’s transplant drug imlifidase has met the primary efficacy endpoint in a registration-enabling Phase III study in the United States.
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Novo Nordisk appoints Mike Doustdar as new CEO
The Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk has appointed Mike Doustdar as its new CEO. At the same time, the company announced it was lowering its forecasts – which caused the stock to drop sharply on Wednesday.
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Vaccine skeptic David Geier to lead study on link to autism
The American government is to launch a study on whether vaccines cause autism – and has appointed a well-known vaccine skeptic to lead the analysis.
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The art of successful licensing – “A lot has to align”
Sharp research, strong data and a high level of innovation are all very good, but more than that is required to achieve the goal of many biotechnology companies: to succeed with a licensing deal.
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Health politician Lina Nordquist: ”I find it hard to be idle”
She is the pharmacist and researcher who grew tired of the breakthroughs that never materialised and knowledge that never seemed to reach patients, so she decided to make a change from within. Life Science Sweden meets Lina Nordquist, Member of Parliament for the Liberals and their spokesperson on healthcare policy, to have a conversation about reality, politics, and the need for writing.
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First preterm infants study – a vital step for Neola
After years of developing an advanced lung monitoring system, Neola Medical has received some delightful news: permission to start its first clinical study on preterm born infants.
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The business coach: “We need to learn from our mistakes”
The past year has been challenging for many biotech companies, with several comapanies facing financial stress and bankruptcy. To understand how entrepreneurs can navigate these tough times, Life Science Sweden spoke to Pia Keyser, a business coach at Umeå Biotech Incubator, who has worked with many companies in the industry.
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New cell therapy raises hope for curing type 1 diabetes – "Never succeeded before"
For the first time, a patient with type 1 diabetes has undergone an islet transplantation using genetically modified insulin-producing cells that do not require immunosuppressive drugs. "A major immunological breakthrough," says Professor Per-Ola Carlsson, who leads the clinical study, to Life Science Sweden.
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Partial court victory for entrepreneur who lost his company
Swedish life science entrepreneur Mikael Kubista has won the first round against a law firm that he, along with other co-owners, sued for negligent advice in connection with losing his company, Tataa Biocenter.
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”The importance of stratification in a statistician’s August kitchen”
Ingrid Lönnstedt writes about an experiment of her own at home and about what lessons can be learned from it, in a science column.
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Studie: Hjärtbox gav färre komplikationer än kylväska vid transplantation
En svenskutvecklad metod för att förvara donerade hjärtan inför transplantation minskar risken för patienten att drabbas av tidig hjärtsvikt, enligt en ny studie från bland annat Göteborgs universitet.
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Ranking: Top 10 highest-paid CEOs in pharma
It's nice to hear that things go well for others, right? Some of those who have done really well – at least financially – are listed here in the ranking of the best paid CEOs in Big Pharma 2023.
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Nobel Prize winner Torsten Wiesel turns 100: “Old men like me should use their experience to help the young”
In 1955, a young Torsten Wiesel jumped on a boat to the US and embarked on a fabulous career as a neuroscientist, crowned with a Nobel Prize for his work. Now 100 years old, he looks back on an intense life and his upbringing in Stockholm, Sweden, which shaped his desire to help the vulnerable in society.
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KI’s freezer fiasco investigated: A chain of failures
A chain of combined technical and organisational shortcomings caused the freezer breakdown at the Karolinska Institute during the Christmas holidays, destroying more than 47,000 samples. This was the conclusion of an internal investigation.
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Nocebo – the evil twin that makes you feel worse
The placebo effect is well known in healthcare, but not so its opposite: nocebo. “The effect is small, but it can have major repercussions,” says Uppsala researcher Charlotte Blease, co-author of a book on the phenomenon.
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Radioactive tracer to measure effect of drug towards Crohn’s disease
A radioactive tracer developed by Astra Zeneca and the Karolinska Institutet may play a major role for patients with Crohn's disease. That is the belief of Maria Belvisi at AstraZeneca.
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Venom from the deathstalker carries radiopharmaceuticals to the brain
In order to target cancerous brain tumours with radionuclides, the problematic blood-brain barrier must first be crossed. Life Science Sweden has visited a KI researcher who is trialling an unusual approach ‒ using scorpion venom.
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Anna Törner: The clinical trial – Periscope to reality
What happens to the patients in the clinical trial is not very interesting, writes Anna Törner in a column.
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The art of building a biologic drug
The first biosimilar from Xbrane Biopharma was launched earlier this year, and several more are under development at the company’s facility in Solna, Sweden. “We do everything in-house ‒ from DNA fragments to a final process,” says David Vikström, Chief Technology Officer at the company.
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The Swedish Academy of Sciences: “We have too many researchers”
Sweden does not need more researchers, but it does need better ones. According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, funding should be distributed to favour excellence.
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Astra Zeneca’s Sweden CEO: “We have great faith in our portfolio”
It all started with a summer job as an operator at Astra’s chemical factory in Snäckviken, just outside Södertälje. More than three decades and countless different assignments later, Per Alfredsson, born and raised in Södertälje, is CEO of Astra Zeneca Sweden, which employs 7800 people in Södertälje, Stockholm and Gothenburg. “It was a very special feeling to be in charge of the entire organisation,” he says in an interview about his career and potential future blockbusters.
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From the sea of Åland to a self-test for lithium
Four years ago, a meeting on the sea of Åland resulted in the development of a self-test for lithium levels in the blood. The hopes are that the test will be available for individuals with bipolar disorder in the future.