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.

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.

Björn Ursing: Physicians new role in AI driven healthcare

”AI could be the key we need for tomorrow’s healthcare, but it is not a stand-alone tool”, writes Björn Ursing in a column about how the role for physicians changes in the era of AI.

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.

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

“Together Stockholm-Uppsala and Medicon Valley can make Scandinavia a leading life science region”

“Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland all have national life science strategies, but the Swedish strategy is the only one explicitly emphasizing the Nordic dimension. But what if the leading life science nations, Denmark and Sweden, joined forces, took

The route to vaccines for everyone: “We did not just sit around and wait”

The pandemic was in full swing, and no one knew when or even if a vaccine would come. At that point, the Swedish Minister of Social Affairs called with a proposal, and Richard Bergström did not hesitate. “I already had a notion that this would work,” he says in an interview with Life Science Sweden.

Anna Törner: Success requires bold decisions!

“Doing things right is fine, but doing the right things as soon as possible is even better”, writes Anna Törner in a column.

Giulia Gaudenzi: Innovation for good

"I challenge the innovator landscape to take a mental leap. Relying on innovation-solely to end inequality is not enough, therefore consciously and purposively – we need to engage bravely with the politics of poverty and scarcity. Even in life sciences", writes Giulia Gaudenzi in a column.

Årets mest lästa krönikor och opinionsartiklar

Branschspaningar och reflektioner är och har alltid varit en viktig del av Life Science Swedens redaktionella innehåll. När 2021 nu snart är till ända har vi samlat de mest lästa krönikorna i Life Science Sweden från året som gått.

Axlade tunga uppdraget – nu prisas vaccinkändisen Richard Bergström

Pandemin var i full gång, och ingen visste när eller ens om ett vaccin skulle komma. I det läget ringde socialministern med ett förslag – och Richard Bergström tvekade inte. – Jag hade redan en bild av att det här kommer att gå, säger han till Life Science Sweden.

Uppsving för Pandemifonden: ”Förut ville ingen lyssna”

Virologiprofessorn Niklas Arnberg pratar om smittspridning, punk och vaccinskepticism med Life Science Sweden, men framförallt om Pandemifonden som ska få Sverige att förstå vikten av att forska fram läkemedel mot virus för att klara nästa pandemi, och helt vanliga förkylningar.

De är Sveriges högst rankade forskare

På en lista med över 6 600 framstående forskare finns nära 50 forskare från svenska institutioner med.

Sweden and Denmark – this is how they choose their strategies

Scandinavia’s two major powers in pharmaceutical research have developed strategies for growth in life science, and both countries aim to become world leaders.

Anna Törner: You won’t find this many Concorde projects anywhere else

"Suddenly Concorde projects seem reasonable in life science because it´s about life and death", writes Anna Törner in a column.

Så rankas forskarna i covid-debatten

Forskarkritiken mot Sveriges agerande under covid-19-pandemin har ibland avfärdats med argumentet att den inte kommer från ledande forskare inom fältet. Men den kritiken är felaktig, enligt en stor kartläggning i Expressen.

Norway finds its path in life science

The life science sector in Norway is on the rise.

Column: Why there cannot be a complete cure for cancer – but there is certainly another way!

"Is there a new way we need to be thinking about how to prevent cancer?" Lucy Robertshaw reflects upon which is the smartest way to beat cancer.

Column: Repurposing as a golden ticket to approval

"Hopefully, in the end, patients will be winners by receiving on-label treatments for which benefit-risk has been properly assessed." In a column Marie Gårdmark, CEO at RegSmart Life Science, reflects on drug repurposing.

Samuel Lagercrantz: Collaboration and joint efforts are the key to success

Although many questions about Covid-19 remain unanswered, the development of drugs and vaccines has been incredibly rapid, writes Samuel Lagercrantz, Life Science Sweden´s Editor-in-Chief, in an editorial.

Column: "Are we already living in the new normal?"

2020 felt like the year that we were building the house around us whilst moving into it at the same time.

New diagnostic test soon ready for the market

Lucy Robertshaw: There is a bio revolution happening right now

Lucy Robertshaw is both proud and excited to be taking the baton of moderating this year’s Pharma Outsourcing event.