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.

“Conducting research at universities is becoming more and more like working at a research hotel”

The government wants Swedish research to focus on excellence and innovation, but can the two be combined? Life Science Sweden talks to Anna Falk, a professor at Lund University, about research policy, the constant hunt for funding in academia and what constitutes ‘fine research’.

Assignment: Facilitate the retention of foreign researchers

A newly appointed public inquiry is to develop measures to make attracting and retaining foreign doctoral students and researchers in Sweden easier.

”We need compatibility“

Penilla Gunther, founder of Fokus Patient and chair of the European Patient Safety Foundation, hopes that the forthcoming life science strategy will focus on efficient and secure management of patient data and equal access to medicines.

”Information security must become part of the Swedish life science strategy”

Sweden needs knowledge security to stand strong in the global competition, writes Björn Ursing in an opinion article.

Major investment in women’s health – for a more equal healthcare system

”The regional differences need to decrease and the long-term supply of midwives and other professions needs to be secured,” write Acko Ankarberg Johansson and Désirée Pethrus (both Christian Democrats), in an opinion article.

The Swedish innovation model: “There is a paradox”

It is often said that Sweden is strong when it comes to innovation, but how well are we turning that innovation into actual medicines?

Nygammal vd åter på Hamlet Biopharma

Hamlet Biopharma har utsett Martin Erixon till tillförordnad verkställande direktör.

Marie Gårdmark: ”The situation is not satisfactory”

”The legislative tool-box is limited, but carrots in the form of longer exclusivity has already proven successful, this has for example increased registration of new products in rare diseases. But will it also work to increase access for all EU patients?” writes Marie Gårdmark in a column.

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.

Ny vd för AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals

AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals har utsett Sofia Opitz till ny vd. Hon kommer närmast från en tjänst som Country Manager för Sverige, Norge och Danmark på företaget Biocodex.

“Unfortunately, we are not strong when it comes to conducting clinical trials”

The number of company-initiated clinical trials conducted in Sweden has been declining in recent years. In mid-March, a government inquiry was presented that aimed to find answers and solutions to this downward trend. One of the proposals was a stable, sustainable and funded model for collaboration.

Fetmaläkemedlet Wegovy minskade risk för hjärt-kärlsjukdom i stor studie

Enligt resultat från en studie med över 17 000 patienter medförde användning av det omtalade fetmaläkemedlet Wegovy en signifikant minskad risk för hjärt-kärlsjukdom. Resultaten gör att Novo Nordisk nu är ett av världens högst värderade företag.

Astra Zeneca får ny Nordenchef

AstraZeneca moves to brewery quarters in central Copenhagen

AstraZeneca in Denmark is moving its business into central Copenhagen and the old brewery quarters in Carlsberg Byen.

This is the future location of the new national innovation cluster

Mölndal and Goco Health Innovation City will be the site of a new national innovation cluster for advanced therapies. The business community and the Swedish government are splitting the costs of the project, which is expected to produce new treatments for common diseases such as cancer and diabetes.

Swedish and Ukrainian Medical Product Agencies sign an agreement

The Directors-General of the Swedish and Ukrainian Medical Products Agencies have signed a cooperation agreement.

A new malaria vaccine offers hope but much more research is still needed

There has long been no vaccine against malaria, but there have been breakthroughs in recent years. However, it is still unclear how we become immune to the malaria parasite, and this is a vital piece of the puzzle for creating effective vaccines, says malaria researcher Kristina Persson.

Han blir ny nordisk chef på Becton Dickinson

Det amerikanska medicinteknikbolaget Becton Dickinson and Company (BD) har anställt en ny nordisk chef, Hans Braunstein.

Conference on Alzheimer’s reveals several advances in the field

In Gothenburg, Sweden, researchers and pharmaceutical companies from all over the world gathered to discuss one specific issue – neurological diseases. Life Science Sweden has talked to some of those that attended the conference.

Sobis giktläkemedel nådde primära mål i fas III

Svenska Sobi och amerikanska partnern Selecta rapporterar övergripande resultat från fas III-studier med giktläkemedlet SEL-212.

“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.

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.

"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.