Anders Blanck about his 17 years at Lif: “The industry is enjoying greater public trust now"

The announcement came as a surprise to those around him, but according to the protagonist himself, the timing was excellent. Anders Blanck is now leaving Lif – a decision that has been growing for some time. “I have been pretty much married to my mission. However, I will turn 56 this autumn, and if I’m going to do something else in my professional life, now is the time,” he says.

Genes from Neanderthals can affect the correct drug dosage

A fifth of all Europeans carry gene variants inherited from Neanderthals, which cause certain drugs to break down more slowly. This may have implications for the drug doses they should take.

Anna Törner: Kalashnikovs in a new guise

Thanks to resisting European regulatory authorities, Europe has been spared the opioid epidemic. In the 1960s, the situation was the opposite as the American pharmaceutical authority, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), refused to approve thalidomide (Neurosedyn), writes Anna Törner in a column.

Lucy Robertshaw: Did you know Stockholm wants to be in top 5 in the world for Life Sciences?

Karolinska Institutet Solna Campus has certainly become the next “Kendall Square”, writes Lucy Robertshaw in a column.

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.

Newly discovered gene variant linked to protection against abdominal obesity

American researchers believe they have identified a rare gene mutation that protects against abdominal obesity and metabolic syndrome. The ambition is that the discovery will lead to new treatments that can help reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease.

Amorphous materials take centre stage when Orexo develops new formulations

Swift resolution but with maintained stability. Orexo’s new drug delivery platform tackles the problem of amorphous materials. “Our technology has the positive properties of the material, and it also cracks some of the problems,” says the company’s Research and Development Manager Robert Rönn.

EQT lägger bud på Karo Pharma

Gel av spindeltrådsprotein utvecklas för biomedicinsk användning

Spindeltrådens märkliga egenskaper kommer till användning när svenska forskare undersöker nya, potentiella metoder för bland annat regenerativ medicin och läkemedelsformulering.

BioVentureHub CEO: “Companies with a high degree of interaction achieve greater success”

For the first time since its inception, AstraZeneca’s BioVentureHub can now recruit new companies, as some of its tenants have grown significantly and are leaving the hub. This is the message from the biohub’s CEO Magnus Björsne in an interview, in which he also highlights a study that points out that companies with a high degree of interaction with other companies achieve greater success.

Ny biosimilar för ögonbehandling har godkänts i USA

Den första biosimilaren för alla fem indikationerna av Roches storsäljare Lucentis har godkänts av den amerikanska läkemedelsmyndigheten FDA.

Tablet treatment for hair loss approved in the USA

The US Drug Administration has given a thumbs up for the first tablet treatment for spotty hair loss.

Collaboration for a simpler production of gene therapies launched

A collaboration between universities and companies aims at providing better production methods for the development of gene therapies. The initiative is led by Johan Rockberg, Professor at KTH.

Study: Our behaviour may have been guided by wishful thinking during the pandemic

A new study suggests that we systematically underestimate health risks if and when it suits us. This was especially true during the pandemic, as our risk assessments may have been guided by wishful thinking rather than a rational perception of the risks.

Oncorena rekryterar vd internt

Det blir en av grundarna till Oncorena som nu kliver in som vd för företaget.

Björn Arvidsson: “We need robust and recognized ecosystems for continued competitiveness”

“We have idea carriers and excellent innovation opportunities, and now we must invest in creating ecosystems that provide them with even better growth opportunities,” Björn Arvidsson writes in a column.

Göran Stiernstedt: “We are the world’s worst at continuity”

Failed investments in primary care, an unreasonable system with online doctors and a public failure at coordinating the healthcare IT system. Göran Stiernstedt does not mind his language when describing the shortcomings of today’s healthcare system. “It makes me extremely frustrated,” he says.

Marie Gårdmark: New incentives for orphan products on its way

"Let’s hope that the learnings from development of new therapies for rare diseases will spill over to more common conditions, orphan products paving the wave for drug development in a broader context", writes Marie Gårdmark in a column.

A growing industry in Denmark: “One new life science company a week”

The life science sector in eastern Denmark continues to grow in the number of employees, as well as the number of companies. An emerging problem is the shortage of labour, a new report reveals.

IVI’s Director General on establishing in Sweden: Will need up to 40 employees

The International Vaccine Institute, IVI, hopes to have its first staff on-site in Stockholm within a couple of months, says the institute’s Director General Jerome Kim in an interview with Life Science Sweden.

Växande bransch i Danmark – "Ett nytt life science-företag i veckan"

Life science-sektorn i östra Danmark fortsätter att växa, både i antal anställda och antal företag. Ett uppseglande problem är bristen på arbetskraft, enligt en ny rapport.

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.

Sobi och Sanofi får genombrottsstatus för behandling mot blödarsjuka

En behandling mot hemofili A, utvecklad av svenska Sobi tillsammans med Sanofi, har tilldelats genombrottsstatus i USA. Det är den första faktor VIII-behandling som ges sådan status.

Now it’s settled: The International Vaccine Institute will be located in Stockholm

The International Vaccine Institute, IVI, is establishing itself outside South Korea for the first time. Last week, the Swedish Parliament ratified the agreement, which means that a branch of the institute will be located in Stockholm.