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Nordic Life Science Days 2016
14-15 september 2016
Waterfront, Stockholm, Sweden
© 2022 Bionordic. All Rights Reserved
Nordic Life Science Days 2016
14-15 september 2016
Waterfront, Stockholm, Sweden
© 2022 Bionordic. All Rights Reserved
Photo by Andreas Nordström
Hosted by:
Invest in Skåne
Medicon Valley Alliance
Copenhagen Capacity
Greater Copenhagen
Interreg-Oresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak
Medicon Valley Microbiome Pitch Day is a unique event to showcase research projects and startups in the microbiome field looking for collaboration or investment — with regional, national or international partners. It will be in-person at the Malmömässan event centre in Malmö and feature a number of exciting presentations across five hours with plenty of time for breaks and networking.
Medicon Valley Microbiome Pitch Day is a prime opportunity to attract capital or funding, meet potential partners, and tap into early-stage startups.
Opening session hosted by SwedenBIO, the Swedish Life Science Industry Organization
Moderator(s): Ms. Helena Strigård - CEO, SwedenBIO
Speaker(s):
Mr. Olivier Duchamp - Managing Director, NLSDays - VP International BD & Promotion, SwedenBIO
Ms. Helena Strigård - CEO, SwedenBIO
Dr. Karin Conde-Knape - Senior Vice President Global Drug Discovery, Novo Nordisk
Ms. Sana Alajmovic - Co-Founder & CEO, Sigrid Therapeutics
Ms. Maarit Merla - Head of Business Development, Forendo Pharma
Ms. Maria Bech - CEO, EpiEndo Pharmaceuticals
Recent years have proven that the life sciences are a great use-case for advanced technologies, from bioelectronics, bioinformatics, biomarker tools, improved diagnostics, and digitalization across the entire value-chain – to name a few. The coalescence of life science and technology has also created a host of vocabulary terms that, 10 years ago, didn’t exist, words like artificial intelligence, robotics, quantum computing, and blockchain. However, as we move beyond the confusion of buzzwords, we can already see concrete examples of how these concepts are driving our industry forward.
Enter today’s term: Deep Tech. The phrase itself may be new, but what it refers to is not. Deep tech is technology that is based on the combined breakthroughs of both scientists and engineers who are tackling society’s biggest problems together. As one would expect, health, life sciences, and environmental issues are the key areas of impact for Deep tech. And the term itself functions as the umbrella under which all the previously listed buzzwords fall.
The Nordics, as we know, are leaders in both technology and life sciences, so it comes as no surprise that we are a growing hub for Deep tech as well. Finland is already considered one of Europe’s most deep tech-focused ecosystems, launching the Nordics’ first Deep tech-dedicated fund in 2019 with Voima Ventures. In fact, between Finland and Norway, 40% of venture capital is going into deep tech start-ups.
In this session, we will look at the investors who are driving forward Deep tech sectors, the start-ups who are grabbing the attention (and money) of investors, and the larger companies who have integrated Deep tech solutions to optimize both their science & business.
Moderator(s): Dr. Patrik Sobocki - Investment Director DeepTech and Life Sciences, Industrifonden
Speaker(s):
Dr. Patrik Sobocki - Investment Director DeepTech and Life Sciences, Industrifonden
Dr. Clemens Utschig-Utschig - Head of IT Technology Strategy and CTO, Boehringer Ingelheim
Dr. Armend G. Håti - CEO & Co-founder, ClexBio
The further science and technology advance acrossdifferent sectors, the closer those sectors come to one another – a strange paradox. In drug development, the abundant need to measure detailed biological data in patients receiving drug candidates has led to the development of the fields we now call precision medicine and diagnostics. In other technology explorations, the automotive industry is exploring the ability to measure the vital signs of drivers in order to avoid accidents. The need to push the frontiers of diagnostics is all-encompassing, and suddenly, industries never-before-aligned are merging and looking at the same problems. And they can help each other to solve it.
Sector convergence can be a strategic choice, as is the case with our speakers from AstraZeneca and Volvo Cars, two giants in their respective fields looking to innovate together. Sector convergence can also arise from individuals, often those with cross-disciplinary backgrounds, as they stumble across real world challenges that simply cannot be overcome without making use of the experience, tools, and techniques of different sectors. The story of the health tech / gaming company, Mindforce Game Lab,and the journey of their CEO, professor Emma Lundberg, is an exquisite example of how dedication to solve a problem for patients brought gaming and health care together.
During this session, we will also hear from pioneers within bio-convergence, showing how recent breakthroughs in combining fields has led to nothing less than a revolution in genomics, enabling DNA-sequencing to be done at a much lower cost and much higher pace than before, along with the mindblowing possibilities opening up when connecting AI and Big Data to how we pursue diagnostics, develop new therapies etc.
Moderator(s): Dr. João Ribas - Senior Associate, Novo Holdings
Speaker(s):
Dr. João Ribas - Senior Associate, Novo Holdings
Dr. Anders Persson - Executive Director Ecosystem Strategy & Innovation, AstraZeneca
Prof. Emma Lundberg - Founder & Chairman, MindForce GameLab
Ms. Anya Eldan - Vice-President, Israel Innovation Authority
Immune links between cancer and infectious diseases have long been evident, and have created the foundation for preventive, treatment-based, and tumor-specific cancer vaccines using technology originally positioned for infectious diseases. Likewise, since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies globally have pivoted and reassigned their R&D and, as a result, we now have numerous breakthroughs, technology applications, and success stories of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines originating from the oncology space.
The ability for our industry to rapidly come together during a pandemic, across sectors, indications, and stages has shown that, big or small, the mutual need for one another exists. How do we continue to build a future of mutually stimulating approaches to infectious disease, immunology, oncology, and technology? We do this by connecting experts, by working to jointly to increase overall understanding of immune modulation and response, and by using technology such as ML / AI to identify and prioritize the selection antigenic determinants. We do this through collaboration.
Norway has proven to be leader in oncology, immunology – and in both answering today’s pandemic needs, as well as working towards the possible pandemics of tomorrow. In this session, our Norwegian partners will lead the discussion on where this road is headed: what can we expect, what do we need, and how can we collaborate for the best possible outcomes?
Many are aware that “-omics” is derived from -ome, meaning “whole,” giving us one of our favorite focuses in life science: genomics. However, genomics is a single variable and is somewhat of a static snapshot of our biological status.
Multi-omics is a dynamic and pivotal step in delivering modern, personalised, precision medicine, and encompasses many foci: proteomics, epigenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, microbiomics, and, of course, genomics. Each –omic provides valuable information about and differences associated with an individual or disease state. However, the analysis of only one data type has its limitations. Multi-omics is the layered measurement and integration of these various foci of information to better understand mechanisms of disease, discover new druggable targets, and create more targeted medical interventions.
As life sciences gravitate towards personalised treatments and precision medicines, the “one size fits all” approaches of classic drug development no longer apply. The –omics field has been driven largely by technological advances that allow for cost-efficient, high-throughput analysis of biologic molecules at grand scale, thus enabling the discovery of new biomarkers and biological pathways, as well as better understanding of disease progression and drug resistance. However, big challenges exist in –omics with regards to large-scale data analytics requiring not only skilled manpower, but also substantial and difficult-to-find investments.
This session will be led by Iceland, a country with deep roots in –omics, from science to commercialization. In it, we will investigate the current explorations of Multi-omics in academic and business settings across the Nordics, and we will discuss the ways in which –omics plays a role in life sciences today vs. what the future holds in both funding and success.
Moderator(s): Dr. Lisa Melton - Senior News Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Speaker(s):
Dr. Lisa Melton - Senior News Editor, Nature Biotechnology
Prof. Kári Stefánsson - Founder & CEO, deCODE genetics
Dr. Victor Neduva - Senior Director Discovery Research, MSD
Prof. Margrét Þorsteinsdóttir - Professor Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Iceland
Dr. Andrea Ballagi - VP Sales and Marketing, Olink Proteomics
Women make up 49.6% of the global population, yet biological sex is unequally represented across the life science ecosystem, from inception to market. Though numerous genetic and biological differences are well-known between the sexes for a multitude of chronic conditions and diseases, disparities exist: in basic research, with the use of predominantly male animal testing; in clinical research, where trials don’t always include equal representation; and in fewer investments made in female-led and female-oriented companies, despite the fact that that the femtech / women’s health market holds massive potential with an expected growth to $60B by 2027. In addition, terminologies like femtech (coined by Denmark’s own women’s health start-up founder, Ida Tin) and women’s health are niched, seen as representing only reproductive science and technologies. In actuality, these terms represent all conditions that are unique to, disproportionately impact, or impact the female sex differently and include drugs, devices, consumer products, softwares, and apps. This session is the challenge to our industry, innovators, and investors: let’s treat women’s health as more than a niche category and put equal time, resources, and money where half our population exists. It’s time we reproduce our efforts for the other 50%, for the benefit of all 100.
Moderator(s): Dr. Christina Östberg Lloyd - CEO, Pharmiva
Speaker(s):
Dr. Christina Östberg Lloyd - CEO, Pharmiva
Dr. Per Falk - President, Ferring Pharmaceuticals
Ms. Masha Strømme - Co-Chair, PAACS Invest
Dr. Kelle Moley - Deputy Director of Reproductive Health Technologies, Global Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Moderator(s): Ms. Anne Margrethe M. Platou - ESG Analyst, DNB Markets
Speaker(s):
Ms. Anne Margrethe M. Platou - ESG Analyst, DNB Markets
Ms. Alice Mattsson - Founder, Pharmista Technologies
