Hello Angelica Loskog!

Life Science Sweden would like to know more about Angelica Loskog and interviews her about her life as a researcher.

Noxious parasite forms hybrids and deceives the immune system

The small parasite Trypanosoma cruzi has a nasty ability to cause serious illness. Researchers at the Karolinska Institutet have now mapped its ability to deceive the immune system by forming new variants that are mixtures of different strains.

Investments worth 40 billion in the Öresund region – “A huge investment wave”

A new report reveals that medical companies in the Oresund region are investing like never before.

New rules for diagnostic products, but who will certify them? “An extreme shortage area”

In less than two weeks, new and stricter EU rules will enter into force for thousands of products used in important diagnoses of, among other things, cancer and Covid-19. However, not one single institute in the entire Nordic region is able to certify the diagnostics companies’ products according to the new regulations. “In the end, it risks affecting patients,” says Anna Lefèvre Skjöldebrand, CEO of Swedish Medtech.

Anna Törner: To kill your darlings

Förhoppningarna var höga när Anna Törner och hennes kollega startade en studie om ett kosttillskott som verkade vara overkligt bra. "Entusiastiskt drömde vi om spännande resultat och kanske en publikation i en högimpakttidskrift", skriver Anna Törner.

Biogens motgångar stjälper över på svenska alzheimersföretag

Det amerikanska läkemedelsbolaget Biogens högprofilerade behandling mot Alzheimer, Aduhelm, spåddes bli en ny vår för såväl forskningsområdet som bolaget. Succén har dock uteblivit och nu avbryts praktiskt taget satsningen, samtidigt som vd Michael Vounatsos får gå.

Tougher competition as the Novo Nordisk Foundation broadens its programme

Søren Nedergaard has worked with innovation at the Danish Government Offices and the University of Copenhagen. Today, he is COO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, which has recently broadened its programme for leading innovators in medical research to apply to the entire Nordic region.

Paolo Macchiarini in court – “The sole intent was to cure”

Paolo Macchiarini’s surgical procedure was illegal, life-threatening and caused severe and prolonged suffering to patients the prosecution claimed when the trial against the Italian surgeon began on Wednesday last week.

We will now publish more news in English – and offer yet another newsletter

Starting next week, Life Science Sweden will begin offering a newsletter entirely in English.

When carelessness, forgetfulness and coincidence become the researcher’s best friend

Forgetfulness, coincidence and a stroke of luck hardly make up a fruitful method of serious research. Or do they? Actually, a number of important medical advances have come about thanks to completely random incidents and the open-mindedness of scientists who were ready to think outside the box.

Lif: Så ska vi få fram nya antibiotika

Det måste bli mer lönsamt att utveckla nya antibiotika. Det menar Lif - de forskande läkemedelsföretagen, som har tagit fram en handlingsplan mot ett av de allra största hoten mot folkhälsan: antibiotikaresistensen.

Søren Bregenholt omvald som ordförande i MVA

Under Medicon Valley Alliance årsstämma fick styrelsen förnyat förtroende och valdes om.

Lucy Robertshaw: Are we in the perfect storm?

“Is there a perfect storm on the horizon again as elective surgeries were cancelled due to patients being admitted with Covid-19? We now have a long backlog of people who are presenting with chronic diseases that need to access healthcare again”, writes Lucy Robertshaw in a column.

This is how Anette Steenberg will put Medicon Valley on the world map

Anette Steenberg has been CEO of the Swedish-Danish life science cluster Medicon Valley Alliance since 1 November last year. Life Science Sweden called her to ask about her visions and the challenges of merging the worlds of Swedish and Danish life science.

Kriget i Ukraina angår oss alla – Här läser du hela vår bevakning

Elicera develops CAR-T against solid tumours – may become the first in the world

Today, there are five EU-approved CAR-T therapies, all focused on different types of blood cancer, but no one has yet succeeded in making the method work against solid tumours. At Gothenburg-based Elicera, they are working relentlessly to succeed in that field as well. “It is the largest field, and the potential is enormous,” says the company’s CEO Jamal El-Mosleh.

”Vår strategi är att få cancern att döda sig själv”

Lundabaserade Asgard Therapeutics har publicerat resultat i Science Immunology om sin immunterapi baserad på omprogrammering av cancerceller. – Det här är ett stort genombrott, säger bolagets medgrundare och forskningschef Fábio Rosa till Life Science Sweden.

CAR-T therapies give continued hope: “Almost half of the patients have become disease-free”

When the first CAR-T therapies appeared, hopes were raised for the effective treatment for critically ill cancer patients. After a somewhat sluggish start, about 90 patients in Sweden have now been treated with this method. “Almost half of them have become disease-free, at least of those treated with Yescarta, which are the ones I know best,” says Gunilla Enblad, Chairman of the national working group for CAR-T treatment.

Stor enkät: Så agerar universiteten på Putins krig mot Ukraina

Svenska lärosäten avslutar nu samarbeten med ryska och belarusiska statliga institutioner. Life Science Sweden har talat med samtliga svenska universitet med medicinska fakulteter. "Forskning är i sin natur internationell, men det är ingen tvekan om att här går stödet för de demokratiska principerna före”, är en av kommentarerna.

Samuel Lagercrantz: Immunotherapy against cancer is still in its early stages

For more than 100 years, researchers have tried to target the body’s own immune system to fight cancer cells. They have occasionally been laughed at and ridiculed by the medical establishment. However, from our perspective today, we can sum it up with the saying: He who laughs last laughs best, writes Samuel Lagercrantz in an editorial.

Universitet erbjuder platser till ukrainska forskare

Forskningslaboratorier världen över öppnar sina dörrar för forskare från Ukraina. Vid Stockholms universitet står nu flera kemilabb beredda att ta emot ukrainska kollegor.

Björn Arvidsson: ”We need to change perspective”

If you say “life science” to a person on the street and ask them to explain what it is, you will probably get no good answer. The same question to your network will generate as many versions as the people you ask. Most likely, we will miss many opportunities with our lack of communication, writes Björn Arvidsson in a column.

A new international stem cell research centre has been created in Copenhagen

A new centre for stem cell research opened to the public in January. The Novo Nordisk Foundation backs the initiative with the ambition that the centre will advance new medical technology and new stem cell therapies.

Hårda kritiken från Coronakommissionen: "Bristande mental beredskap hos beslutsfattare"

Regeringen får svidande kritik för svagt ledarskap i Coronakommissionens slutrapport.