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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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Glad sommar! – och chefredaktörens lästips
Life Science Swedens chefredaktör sammanfattar året hittills och ger lästips inför sommaren.
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Lucy Robertshaw: Artificial intelligence – is this really going to transform a patient’s life?
In a column Lucy Robertshaw reflects on how AI and new regulations will affect healthcare, innovation and the lives of future patients.
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Anna Törner: The minute between life and death
“I have never told anyone about this day that happened more than 20 years ago. But I sometimes reflect on what happened, on what might have happened. When I try to understand why I haven’t told anyone, I find the answer: a feeling of shame. There is no forgiveness for something like this, even though it is very human to be distracted for a moment,” Anna Törner writes in a column.
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He got inside the head of Sweden’s vaccine hunter
The hunt for the COVID-19 vaccine is the theme of the new book Vaccinjägaren (The Vaccine Hunter). It tells the story of Richard Bergström’s mission as Sweden’s national vaccine coordinator and the scheming that went on behind the scenes in Europe
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Elypta awarded one million USD from the Star Trek creator’s foundation
Swedish company Elypta, which develops methods for early cancer detection, has been awarded one million USD from an unexpected source: a foundation set up in memory of the creator of Star Trek.
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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.
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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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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.
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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.
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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.
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Hello Jenni Nordborg!
Life Science Sweden would like to know more about Jenni Nordborg and asks her about her new job, why she became a chemical engineer and who her role model is.
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Column: ”Authentic leadership and clear mandates pave the way for more female CEOs”
”I believe that the aspect of having clear mandates and titles on the one hand and women progressing into top positions must be explored further”, Helena Strigård writes in a column.
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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.
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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 records.
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"Are we doing business the wrong way around in the Life Science Sector?"
For the past 50 years we have created solutions for problems that we thought would solve the problems. Pharmaceuticals have created big block buster drugs which were great for that time but now we realise that these drugs were in fact only tested in white men and certainly not for patients who are older who are taking a number of medications.
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“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.
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Biosimilars bring price pressure, but are they sufficiently used?
When biosimilars were introduced just over 16 years ago, hopes were raised that they would give many more patients access to effective but otherwise extremely expensive treatments with biological drugs. So, how well has Swedish healthcare used biosimilars? The answer partly depends on whom you ask.
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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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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
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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.
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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.
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Redaktionens sommartips – böcker, poddar och tv-serier
Nu stundar sommar, semester och äntligen en chans att läsa den där boken, lyssna på den där podden eller se den där filmen som inte hanns med tidigare. Här tipsar Life Science Swedens redaktion om lämpligt tidsfördriv eller förkovran under årets mest avkopplande dagar.
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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.