KI’s new President: “We need to work closer together”

A closer link between research and education and a stronger “we-feeling” are aims that Annika Östman Wernerson sets out to achieve as the new President of Karolinska Institutet. She will not give up her research entirely though. “I think it’s crucial to maintain a close presence in the business,” she says.

Vinnova is going to establish a new innovation cluster

Vinnova, the Swedish Agency for Innovation Systems, has been commissioned by the government to establish a national innovation cluster for advanced medicines.

“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.

Column: ”Cheating with pea flowers and does it matter whether you are right?”

Is it possible to forgive shortcuts or outright cheating in science - if it turns out that the researcher was ultimately right? Anna Törner discuss this topic in a column.

Healthcap: ”Rätt mycket torrt krut kvar”

Riskkapitalbolaget Healthcap, med inriktning mot life science, investerar för närvarande i bolagets åttonde fond. Hittills har investeringar skett i 13 olika bolag i fonden.

The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare rejects prioritising andrology as a speciality

Male infertility can be linked to a shorter lifespan and several severe diseases, but when couples who want children are examined, the focus is on the woman. Experts in the field claim that andrology needs to become a speciality in Sweden to increase awareness and knowledge. But the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare says that it is not a priority.

“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.

How critical are the “Spermageddon” reports? – Researchers call for action

A much talked about meta-study indicates that sperm concentration in men’s seminal fluid has halved in 40 years. Experts in andrology that Life Science Sweden speaks to believe that the results must be taken seriously, and call for action from the Swedish authorities.

Editorial: ”AI that both impresses and frightens”

”In the past, I've rarely been particularly impressed by something that was produced by AI. But this is something completely different”, Samuel Lagercrantz writes in an editorial.

Claims of life science companies fleeing abroad is a myth according to survey

The claim that life science companies are moving abroad is exaggerated. In fact, only a tiny percentage is leaving the country, according to a survey.

Column: ”We need to exploit the benefits of the regulations“

You don’t need to search long on the Internet to find lists of the most innovative countries with Sweden ranking at the top. Sweden generally offers good conditions for growing new solutions, but it is also becoming increasingly clear that we are challenged in one area – regulations, writes Björn Arvidsson in a column.

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.

"Unclear proposal from the EU Commission on how to solve the MDR challenges"

Even before the EU regulation on medical devices (MDR) came into force, medical technology companies and doctors were concerned that it would endanger the availability of medical devices in the EU. Unfortunately, the fears have come true.

Nanexa ingår avtal med Novo Nordisk om 46 miljoner

Novo Nordisk expanderar – miljardsatsning på huvudkontoret

Novo Nordisk investerar 5,4 miljarder danska kronor, motsvarande 7,9 miljarder kronor, för att utöka den kliniska API-kapaciteten vid anläggningen vid huvudkontoret i Bagsværd.

ALS – When the body has given up, but the brain persists

The nerve disease ALS gradually deprives the patient of control over the muscles and, eventually, also of speech. The eyes continue to function, though, and with the help of, among other things, a Swedish-developed invention, communication with the outside world can continue. “It’s their window to the world,” says ALS researcher Caroline Ingre.

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 records.

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.

A green nursery for biotech rooted in the Scanian soil

Red Glead has established itself as one of Lund’s largest companies in pharmaceutical development. Life Science Sweden went to Skåne and met two of the founders, Johan Evenäs and Martina Kvist Reimer.

Läkemedelsjättar i gemensam kraftsamling för miljön

Sju av världens största läkemedelsbolag, bland dem Astra Zeneca, går ihop om gemensamma åtgärder för att reducera utsläppen av växthusgaser.

The pandemic caused a reshuffle among the world’s vaccine giants – here is the new top list

Fuelled by the pandemic, the power balance in the global vaccine market has completely changed in recent years, a survey from Fierce Pharma shows

De är mest attraktiva som arbetsgivare inom life science

Vilka arbetsgivare föredrar unga i karriären? Undersökningen Young Professionals Attraction Index listar för åttonde året i rad 100 företag som lockar unga och i år har flera life science-företag letat sig in för första gången.

Ny vd hos Index Pharmaceuticals

I januari 2023 får Index Pharmaceuticals en ny vd. Jenny Sundqvist efterträder Johan Giléus som varit tillförordnad vd sedan april i år.

“We need to keep investing in research and innovation”

Jenni Nordborg has worked for just over four years to highlight life science in Sweden. Her mandate as national coordinator ends in December 2022. ““Life sciences has been a long-term priority of governments since many years and I have no doubt that the ambitions will be strong going forward”, says Jenni Nordborg.