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Several departures at the top at Nykode
Members of both the management and the board are leaving the Norwegian biotech company Nykode.
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A tiny animal with great importance
From the mythical Ganges River to the less sacred, but considerably cleaner waters in KI's aquariums in Solna. The little zebrafish has made an unconscious career – as an increasingly important model organism in medical research.
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Security flaw in Swedish breast cancer screening software – woman passed away
A lack of safeguard in Sectra's software led to a woman with breast cancer receiving an incorrect diagnosis. She later passed away. The software is used in 20 out of 21 regions in Sweden. It is also used in neighbouring Nordic countries. “Extremely serious,” says the Sectra CEO to Medtech Magazine.
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Life science trends 2025 – Neurology
New Alzheimer's drugs are beginning to be used in Sweden, more deals in the neuro sector are expected, and tools for deliver active substances across the blood-brain barrier are being developed. In addition, a new type of drug for MS is making its debut. This part of trend insights on life science 2025 is about neurology.
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Orbán's extended arm becomes health commissioner in the EU
Hungarian Olivér Várhelyi may soon become the most influential official for the healthcare and pharmaceutical industry in the EU. Várhelyi, who is close to Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, is seen as a controversial figure due to his opposition
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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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Thumbs down for lecanemab in the EU – “Very surprised”
The Azheimer's drug lecanemab has received a negative assessment from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), according to an announcement made by the Agency last week. Bioarctic’s CEO Gunilla Osswald describes the reactions after the announcement as a surprise and disappointment.
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Carl Borrebaeck – professor and serial entrepreneur with a taste for speed
Award-winning cancer researcher, the founder of many listed companies, and constantly in the academic and commercial spotlight for decades. However, Carl Borrebaeck, Professor of Immunotechnology at Lund, is not yet satisfied. “We have a new, potentially super exciting project in the pipeline,” he says.
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From Valneva to the CEO position at NorthX – “I saw it as a great opportunity”
A new cell therapy for leukaemia, a vaccine in tablet form against cholera, and a proprietary mRNA line with the potential capacity to supply the entire Nordic region with vaccines during a future pandemic. These are some of the projects underway at NorthX Biologics – under the direction of new CEO Janet Hoogstraate.
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Marie Gårdmark: ”Interchangeable biological medicines – soon in a pharmacy near you?”
”Generic competition is an effective way to push down drug prices, but it has not worked equally well for biosimilars. Biosimilars require more time to gain market share compared to generics, and new biosimilars do not always lead to lower prices” writes Marie Gårdmark in a column.
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The Swedish Research Council gets go-ahead for more long-term funding
Following a government decision, the Swedish Research Council will soon be able to approve ten-year grant periods for funding research infrastructure, which may affect the giant Max IV project, among others.
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Founder of Bioarctic, Lars Lannfelt, is honoured: “I want to create something for the future”
It´s like a scientist’s dream: to be the world’s first with a drug that genuinely affects one of our major diseases. Lars Lannfelt and his company Bioarctic have achieved just that, and they are thus making a significant contribution to the history of Swedish medicine. He is now being awarded the Research!Sweden Award 2023.
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The physician at the tech giant: “Observations in the emergency room made my mind up”
When Nasim Farrokhnia was in third grade at school in Tehran, the capital of Iran, her father gave her a book about Marie Curie, which soon became her favourite book. Perhaps her interest in science was born there and then, as science and new technology
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Life Science Sweden heads to the Oresund region! ‒ Hello there Michael Linnell
Life Science Sweden’s The Future of Swedish Danish Life Science and New Updates in Drug Formulation & Bioavailability meetings are coming up soon. We asked Michael Linnell, project manager for Life Science Sweden’s event portfolio, a few short questions.
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“I am driven by the desire to develop a product that can be sold worldwide”
Ranked number one in the world by the WHO in diarrhoea research and soon in phase III studies for its vaccine candidate – Scandinavian Biopharma is rushing forward in the pursuit of the world’s first ETEC vaccine. Meet the company’s CEO Björn Sjöstrand.
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“An entire industry is about to be wiped out”
According to Jennie Ekbeck, CEO of Umeå Biotech Incubators, Sweden risks not having any small diagnostic companies left in five years.
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He saved lives with his theories – was ostracised and ended up in a mental hospital
Hungarian doctor Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865) undoubtedly possessed plenty of persistence, diligence and sound reasoning skills – but he was hardly blessed with luck and timing.
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She creates pharmaceuticals on a 3D printer
The correct dosage for each individual, regardless of whether the pharmaceutical is for a seriously ill child or a frail elderly person, is the mission of a well-advanced project with 3D-printed drugs at Uppsala University. “It will soon be available
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The stomach medication that became the biggest blockbuster of the 1990s
The omeprazole molecule was synthesised as early as 1979, but it took many years before the then Astra had an approved pharmaceutical. Once this happened, a tablet was available that was soon to help millions of people worldwide and break all sales
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Neanderthal genes and Nobel Prize in a popular lecture at Bioscience
An inherited gene variant from our ”evolutionary cousins” – the extinct Neanderthals – may affect how our bodies break down certain drugs. “It’s only a matter of time before we actively start screening for it,” said KI researcher Hugo Zeberg when describing the study at Bioscience 2022.
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The TFS family is growing
TFS HealthScience is a European based CRO company with broad expertise and experiences in the biotech and pharmaceutical sector. The company is growing and the TFS family welcomes new members.
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Bought a tablet factory – and built his own empire
In 1995, Thomas Eldered was CEO of one of Pharmacia’s factories in the Stockholm area when the Swedish pharmaceutical giant, after a takeover, decided to move its production abroad. 34-year-old Thomas was facing an imminent risk of losing his job. However, instead, it actually turned out to be the starting point for one of the biggest success stories in Swedish life science.
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Sweden is heavily criticised for not ordering Covid vaccine
Valneva and the EU Commission have entered into an agreement for 1.25 million doses of the company’s Covid vaccine, but Sweden has not placed an order.
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The first vaccine derived from cowpox
The British rural doctor could not forget the words of the peasant girl. Could that really be true? A couple of decades later, on 14 May 1796, he performed the world’s first smallpox vaccination, and a medical breakthrough had occurred.