lifesciences insight no 2 - 2011

No

2 - 2

011

18: Lone Frank: The Chinese are coming strong

42: Swedish and Danish register research

50: Medicon Valley has to run a diff erent race

LifeSciencesInsight

The Magazine about Life and Science in Medicon Valley

8: THE WORLD´S HAPPIEST SCIENTISTS WORK IN MEDICON VALLEY

ContentsThe column – In ten years time your boss 3 will be called Li, Xi og Deng

Research highlights in Medicon Valley 5The world’s happiest scientists work in Medicon Valley 8Danish scientists are the happiest and researchers in Sweden are almost as satisfied

Danish researchers crack the migraine code 14Study answers the question and paves the way for new effective medication

True friends 18The Chinese are coming strong. The code word is cooperation

Danish and Chinese biotech hold hands 24DANSK BIOTEK concluded an agreement. Visit from their new partner

Three Nobel Laureates to speak in Copenhagen 30International Symposium on Protein Chemistry

Life Science conference in Tel Aviv with great potential 32 The 10th ILSI-BioMed Conference

Life Science Investment Day 33Sweden BIO’s premium event in Stockholm sets course for Skåne

Opportunity to present technology at Cancer event 34Medicon Valley Alliance has teamed up with European Cancer Cluster Partnering Event in Toulouse, France

Medicon Valley Alliance Online 36How to find information about potential business partners in the region

The Baton - The Swedish Minister of Education Jan Björklund 40Investment in first-class research environment

Swedish and Danish register research 42Health documentation is world class in the Medicon Valley Region

Now or never for Medicon Valley 44The Danish-Swedish life science cluster is at a crossroads

Medicon Valley has to run a different race 48One of the key messages at a workshop dealing with the future of Medicon Valley

Better branding needed for Medicon Valley The Swedish Minister for Trade, Eva Björling, 50believes in improving branding of the region

A great opportunity 52Asger Aamund, Chairman of Bavarian Nordic, on the opportunities for life science in Medicon Valley

Latest members of Medicon Valley Alliance 53Events by Medicon Valley Alliance

Upcoming International Life Science Event 54

LifeSciences Insight no. 2 - 2011

LifeSciences Insight is distributed in Denmark and

Sweden to:

• Nameddecision-makersinthelifescienceindustry

• Investors

• Scienceparks

• Hospitals

• Universities

• Lifesciencemedia

• RelevantMPsinScandinavia

• MediconValleyAlliance’smembersand

collaborationpartners

Inaddition,themagazineisavailableatallrelevant

exhibitionsandfairsinEurope,NorthAmericaand

Asia.

Publisher:

RASKMediaApS

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Denmark

+4533269520

[email protected]

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Partners:

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www.mva.org

EBDGROUP

www.ebdgroup.com

Editor in chief: Carsten Elgstrøm

Editor: Susanne Bergstrøm

Editorial team:MartinAndersson,

Marianne Barfod, Susanne Bergstrøm,

JorunChristophersen,ClausClausen,

LoneFrank,FredrikHedlund,

CharlotteStrøm,BirgitteAabo.

Advertising:

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Cover photo: ChristianHjorthØhlenschlæger

Lars-Ole Gerlach, PhD and Head of Research at

EpiTheapeutics, with children

Photographer:ChristianHjorthØhlenschlæger

www.hjorth-photo.dk

Layout and print: Zeuner Grafisk as

Next issue:August2011

ISSN: 1904-4755

Within the next ten years, China could be the world leader in bio-technologyandlifescience.HowwillthisaffectthepharmaceuticalsindustryandtheprerequisitesforcompaniesinMediconValley?Thisisaquestionwhichmorepeopleshouldbeasking.China,whichisnowthe second largest economy in the world,isquietlyswitchingfrommassproductionofcheapplastictoystoinnovativemanufacturingwithahighvalue-addedfactor.BiotechnologyandnewpharmaceuticalsareakeyareaintheChinaofthefuture.

Executed for corruptionMaybe you feel that it is silly to im-agine that a country that just a few years ago executed, the head of its statepharmaceuticalagency,ZhengXiaoyo,forcorruptionandthemajorheparinscandalshouldbeonthewaytotakingovertheworld.Butthis death sentence also indicates theimportanceChina’sleadersat-tachtothepharmaceuticalsarea.They did not hesitate to sacrifice a senior official who had caused incal-

In ten years time your boss will be called Li, Xi or Deng

FACTS

FredrikHedlund

• isaSwedishmedical journalistwith15yearsofexperience.HehasadegreeinpharmacyfromtheFacultyofPhar-macyatUppsalaUniversity

•hasadegreein journalismfromTheInstituteofJournal-ism,MediasandCommunicationatStockholmUniversity.

•hasbeenchiefeditorofSweden’sleadinghealthandmedi-calmagazineLäkesmedelsvärldenandmedicalreporteratSweden’smajordailynewspaperDagensNyheter.

culableharmtoChina’sreputationinthepharmaceuticalcontext.Whilemostpeopleinthepharma-

ceuticals industry are fascinated bytheenormouspotentialoftheChinese market, which is forecast to be the second largest in the world by2015,asilentexpertiserevolutionisunderwayinChina.

In recent years, China has in-vestedheavilyintheeducationsector.Sincethemillennium,100universitieshavebeenestablishedeveryyearinChina.Thismeansthathundreds of thousands and maybe millions of new graduates are begin-ningtotaketheirdegreeseveryyear, many of them in the technol-ogyandlife-sciencefields.

Western-trained PhDsMore than 80,000 western-trained PhDsinthelife-sciencesectorhavealreadymovedbacktoChinatobuildupthenewChinesebiotechindus-tryorteachatthenewuniversi-ties.AndtheChinesegovernmentiscontinuingtotemptwell-educatedkeypersonneltomovebacktoChina

byofferingthemamillionRenminbi(RMB,theofficialcurrencyinthePeople’sRepublic),correspondingtoSEK1millionorDKK775,000.Accordingtoamajorsurvey

conductedbyMonitor,anAmericanmarket analyst, as many as two-thirds of the Chinese life-science professionalsintheUnitedStatesare considering a return to China, either for good or for an extended period.

But the enormous increase in the number of well-educated and skilled expertsisnottheonlyfactorinChina’sexpansioninthelife-sciencefield.Clinicaltestinginwesterncountries is being increasingly out-sourced to China, and the number ofContractResearchOrganizations(CROs)hasgrowndramatically.TheChinesearerapidlylearninghowwesternpharmaceuticaldevelop-mentworks,andwhatisrequired.

Science parks with government supportTheChinesearealsodevelopingalargenumberofscienceparks

By: Fredrik Hedlund

Translation: CLS Communication A/S

33

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withgovernmentsupportand,atthesametime,inviewofitssize,Chinahasanenormouspotentialtochangetheprerequisitesformedi-calresearch.Since2009,ChinahasinvestedtheequivalentofSEK800billion,orDKK650billion,toestab-lish about 4,000 new health centres andhospitalsthroughoutthecoun-try,dueforcompletionin2012.Andallthehospitalshavea jointdigitalmedical casebook system – a dream foranyepidemiologist.Theventurecapitalistshavenot

failedtonotedevelopmentsinChina,andlastyearinvestmentsinChineselife science increased by more than 300percent.Themagicalthresholdof an annual one billion dollars of investmentwaspassedforthefirsttime,andforeigncapitalwasthemajorfactorinthisincrease.IntheUnitedStates,however,therewasnoincreaseininvestment,whichwasatthesamelevelasin2009.

Initsnewfive-yearplanfor2011-2015,theChinesegovernmentidentifiedbiotechnologyandphar-maceuticalsasoneoffivekeyareasforinvestment.

The Monitor market analysis companypredictsthatChinawillbeoneoftheforemostplayersinthelife-sciencefieldby2020–perhapsthemostimportant.

Vitamin injection or greater competition?HowdoesthisscenarioaffectcompaniesinMediconValley?Itmaymeanabeneficialvitamininjectionthroughout the industry, with totally newalliancesandcollaboration.Chinesecompaniesmay,ofcourse,becomeexcellentpartnersinanincreasinglyglobalizedbiotechworld.

But, at the same time, an increas-ingnumberofpeoplefeelthattheChineseareadoptinganincreasinglycocksureattitude.Itisbynomeans

certain that they are interested in working with Swedish or Danish companies.Whyshouldthey,iftheycan get the same results in their home country at half the cost and withnoculturalclashes.No,themostlikelyoutcomein

the next ten years will be greater competitioninthebiotechworld–increasedcompetitionforventurecapital,forpersonnelresourcesandforsellingconceptsorparticipatingin jointventuresforphaseIIIstud-ies.Chinesecompanieswillincreas-ingly be the winners in this battle and, in the near future, your boss maybecalledLi,XiorDeng.

The column is input to a topical debate and does not necessarily refl ect the magazine’s opinion.

4

Photo: ScandinavianStockPhoto

By Susanne Bergstrøm

Cells on a skewerResearchersfromtheNano-ScienceCenterandNielsBohrInstituteattheUniversityofCopenhagen,Den-mark,havedevelopedabedofnano-threadsonwhichthecellsliterallyrestonpins.Thelaboratoryver-sionofabedofnailscomprisesculturedcellswhichdonotbecomepuncturedorstressedbytheplace-ment,butrathercontinuetheiractivityunchanged.The nano-threads act like little electrodes, allowing the researcherstomonitorthecells.Thismakesitpossi-ble,incontrasttopreviously,tokeeptabsonthecell’sdevelopmentwithouthavingtocutitopenordisruptthebiologicalprocesses.Theultimategoalistoadaptthenano-threadstoopticaldetectiontomakeitpossibleto see colour changes in the cell and thereby determine whetherapotentialdrughasaneffect.Thiswouldspeeduptheprocessofdeterminingtheeffectivenessofdrugssignificantly.Theindustrialpotentialsarecurrentlybeingstudiedundertheauspicesofthenewlyestab-lishedcompanyinXellbionics.

Infl ammatory diseases in alcoholResearchersattheBartholinInstitute,CopenhagenUni-versityHospital–Rigshospitalet,havediscoveredthatmoderateconsumptionofalcoholhasapreventiveef-fecton,amongotherthings,diabetes.Small,dailydosesofalcoholimpedetheprocessthatresultsininflamma-torydiseases.Researchersemphasise,however,thatalcoholconsumptionmustnotexceedthelevelsrecom-mendedbytheDanishNationalHealthBoard.

ElectrochemotherapyforcancercellsCopenhagenUniversityHospital–Rigshospitalet,HerlevHospital,GlostrupHospitalandtheelectronicscompany

Sonionhavedevelopedanalternativetreatmentforbrainmetastaseswhichmakesthecancercellsresponsivetochemotherapy.Withelectrochemotherapy,electrodesgivethecancercellsanelectricpulse,makingitpossibleforthechemotherapytopenetratethecancercellsandhaveapowerfuleffectonthemandcausethemtodie.Aftersuccessfultestsonanimals,thetechnologywillnowbetestedonhumans.Thescientistsbehindthediscoveryhopethatthetechnologycanbeusedasaplatformforelectrochemotherapyelsewhereinthebodyaswell.

DanishvaccinetattlestotheimmunesystemTheresearchteamExperimentalVirologyGroupattheUniversityofCopenhagenhasdevelopedanewvaccinetechnologythatrevealstheinnerworkingsofthehepa-titisCvirustotheimmunesystem.Theoutcome,whichhasshownpromisingeffectivenessonmice,willprovidemedicalprotectionagainstthetypeofinflammationoftheliverthatcausescirrhosisandlivercancer.Thevaccineenablesthebodytorecognisethevirusassoonasitentersthesystem.Thebodycanthenimmediatelybeginfightingthevirusby,amongotherthings,callinginspecialisedkillercells.TheUniversityofCopenhagennowplanstosellthetechnology,whichcouldalsobeeffec-tiveincombatingHIV.TheDanishCouncilforIndepend-entResearch|MedicalScienceshasthereforegrantedfundingfortestingthetechnologywithinthiscontext.

Smoke your way to a coronaryStudiesshowthat9outof10strokesufferersundertheageof50havesmokedorhavebeensubjectedtopassivesmokingforyears.ResearchersattheScienceParkatGlostrupHospitalinDenmarkhavenowshed

Research

highlights from

Medicon Valley


5

Sources: CopenhagenUniversity LundUniversity

TechnicalUniversityofDenmark

www.videnskab.dk

www.vetenskap.se

www.pol.dk

www.netdoktor.dk

light on the biological mechanism behind why smoking increasestheriskofbloodclotsintheheartandbrain.Thefat-solubleparticlesincigarettesmokepenetratethe arteries and areas where infl ammation and constric-tionarealreadypresent.Theparticlesacceleratetheconstrictionprocesssothatthearterieseasilybecomeblocked.Thisdiscoverycouldresultinthedevelopmentofachemicalsubstanceforpreventionandtreatment.

SleeplessnessmaybeanearlysignofParkinson’sdiseaseTheCenterforHealthyAgingattheUniversityofCopenhagenhasdemonstratedthatearlystagesofParkinson’sdiseasecanbedetectedinsleeppatterns.InconnectionwithRBD(SleepBehaviouralDisorder),themusculoskeletalsystemremainsuncommonlyactive,causingthesleepertotwitchinthearmsandlegs,cryoutandstrikeout.ScientistsbelievethattheearlieststagesofParkinson’sdiseasecanbedetectedin,amongotherthings,suchsleepingdisorders.Accordingtotheresearchers,thepossibilitiesforearlyinterventionwillbeanimportanttoolforimprovingqualityoflifeandsurvivalrates.

HopeforearlydiagnosisofovariancancerTheDepartmentofBiology,UniversityofCopenhagen,hasdiscoveredthat90%ofovariancancercasesarecaused by a lack of communication between the cells andthesurroundingenvironment.Thecellsoftheova-rieshaveakindof“antenna”ontheirsurfacecalledcilia.Whentheyaredefective,thecellisunabletocommuni-catewiththesurroundingenvironment.Thisappearstoplayakeyroleinthedevelopmentofthetypeofovariancancerthatcomprises90%ofallcases.Itisalsopos-siblethatdefectiveciliamaycontributeto,amongotherthings,diabetes,obesityandskindiseases.Researchersare now focusing on studying how cilia work and how theycommunicatewiththeirsurroundingsinthehopeofbeingable,inthenearfuture,todiagnoseovariancancermuchearlier.

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By Birgitte Aabo


Job satisfaction has reached new heights among Danish andSwedishresearchers.TheDanesaresocontentwitheverydaylifeatworkthattheyhaverecentlybeendeclaredthehappiestscientistsintheworld,whiletheirSwedishcolleaguesarehappyenoughabouttheirworktotakethirdplaceinthislarge-scalesurvey.

The science journal, Nature, asked more than 10,500 scientists in 16 countries around the world how satis-fiedtheyarewiththeirworkingconditions.Thecountries

were selected based on, amongst other things, their commitment to research and their ability to attract researchersfromothercountries.DenmarkandSweden,whocooperateinMediconValley,aretheonlytwoNordicrepresentativesinthesurvey.Theindividualscientistswereaskedtoassesseightdif-

ferentparametersonworkingconditionsandsalarycondi-tions.Combined,theirrepliesprovideanoverallimpressionofresearchers’satisfactionintheindividualcountries.

The world’s happiest scientists work in Medicon Valley

Danishscientistsarethehappiestintheworld, while researchers in Sweden are almost as satisfied with theirworkinglife.Thisistheconclusionofalarge-scale surveycomparingtheconditionsformorethan10,000

scientistsin16countries.

”I am very pleased with my working conditions”, says Gert Bolwig, PhD in Molecular Microbiology, Contractor and Consultant in Denmark

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At the topScientistsinbothDenmarkandSwedenreportedbackthattheywerequitecontentwitheverything.Betweenthetwocountries,Dutchresearchersoccupysecondplacein jobsatisfactionor‘contentment’.Danishscientistsareaboveaverageintheirassess-

mentofalleightparameters.ConsequentlyNature, a widely recognised scientific journal, concludes that Denmarkoffersthebestopportunitiesforprovidingre-searcherswithan“excellentall-aroundresearchexperi-ence”.Naturally,thismessagehasbeenwell-receivedbythe

DanishMinisterforScience,TechnologyandInnovation,CharlotteSahl-Madsen(Conservatives).SheregardsthesurveyasastrongtestimonialforDanishresearch,stressingthatitshows“broad-based”satisfactionamongresearchers.Inthesurvey,thescientistswereaskedtoassesstheir

salary,holidayentitlement,maternity/paternityleaveschemes,healthcareschemes,pension,lengthofthe

workingweek,degreeoffreedomandindependenceintheirwork,aswellasthementoringandguidanceavail-abletothem.

The Danish and Swedish researchers are both most

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“The desire to work should be the product of exciting and challeng-ing tasks, successes and social interaction with other colleagues”, Lars-Ole Gerlach, MSc in Biochemistry, PhD and Head of Research at EpiTheapeutics in Denmark

Education:-MScinBiochemistry;PhD

Occupation:-HeadofResearch,EpiTherapeu-tics)

Vue on research opportunities and work place:-MycolleaguesandIallhaveaveryclear goal with our research and weallknowtheobjectiveandourownspecificroleintheplan.Withinthatframework,wehavethefree-dom to contribute with new ideas thatcanimprovetheprojectsandthecompany’sbusinessopportuni-ties.Incontrastwithmanyothernationalities,IbelievethatScan-dinavianresearchinstitutionsandcompaniesarelessauthoritarian–everythingthemanagersaysisnotnecessarilyalwaysright.Attheuniversity,athesisstudentisfreetobecriticalabouttheprofessor’sideas,andwithinthecompany,thebossisalways(usually)pleasedwhentheemployeesreflectonandquestionthegoalsandpossiblesolutions.It’sagoodculturethatpromotesbetterresearchbecause

theknowledgeeachemployeepos-sessescanbeharvestedforthebenefitofeveryone.Asanaddedbonus,Ialsobelievethatitcontrib-utestotheworkingenvironment,because a critical attitude gener-atesfeedbackinbothdirections.Theenvironmentandatmosphereintheworkplaceisveryimportant.The desire to work should be the productofexcitingandchalleng-ing tasks, successes and social interactionwithothercolleagues.Ienjoy going to work in the morning – greeting the others, hearing the latestresults.

Vue on Danish infrastructure with regard to child care:Asinotherplacesintheworld,there is good access to child care inDenmark.Butincontrasttomany other countries, child care isn’tveryexpensiveinDenmark.Thismakesitpossibleforyoungresearcherstohavechildrenearli-erintheirlivesbecauseyoudonotneed a high income and the mother doesn’thavetostayhomeinordertobalanceworkandprivatelife.Iwas26whenIhadmyfirstchild.

GErt BOLwIG about:

Education:-PhDinMolecularMicrobiology

Occupation:-Contractor, Management-for-hire and Consultant

Vue on research opportunities and work place:First,thecorporatecultureisresults-oriented rather than fo-cused on the number of hours you arephysicallyatwork.Second,theytrust you to act reasonably and in accordance with the agreement you haveenteredinto.Inreturn,youareexpectedtobeabletoworkonceinawhileoutsidenormalofficehours.Ihaveaverygoodandopennetworkwhereweoftencomparenotesandexperiences.Thisgivesmeplentyofopportunityforsparring.

Vue on Danish infrastructure with regard to child care:Iamverypositiveaboutthepos-sibilities for child care in Denmark –andsoismywife.Theonlythingproblematicaboutitisthegrow-ing number of closure days in the institutions.

LArS-OLE GErLACh about:

9

satisfiedwiththematernity/pa-ternityleaveschemesavailabletothem,ifandwhentheneedarises.Scientists in both countries are also in full agreement on their holiday entitlement being good enough to deservethesecond-highestpointtotal.Theyarealsoonaparregard-ingthethirdandfourthplaceontheir list of satisfaction: degree of independenceintheirresearch,fol-lowedbyhealthcareschemes.Fromtherethenationsdiverge

– with the Danish scientists being more content with their salaries and pensionsthanwiththelengthoftheir working week and the mentor-ingandguidancetheyreceive,whilethe Swedish researchers share the oppositeviewpoints.

Strong purchasing powerAsmentioned,theDanesareslightlymorepositiveabouttheirworkingconditions in general – which is in tunewiththeoverallattitudeoftheDanishpublicingeneralbasedonsurveyswhichhaveshownthattheDanesarethehappiestpeopleintheworld.However,Swedishre-searchers, as well, are far too con-tenttocomeclosetothe0.5markwhichsignifiesaneutralattitude.InJapan–withthelowestscorer

inthesurvey–weseealesscheer-fulpicture.TheJapanesescientistsareonlyabletoreportsatisfactionabovetheneutralin justtwopa-rameters– health care scheme and degreeofindependence–allotherparametersareassessedasdirectlynegative.Americanscientistsaresomewhat

moresatisfied;howevertheydonotfeelthesamedegreeofindepend-ence in their work as researchers in DenmarkandSweden.Furthermore,theAmericansarenotparticu-larlyhappyabouttheirsalary,eventhough it offers the second-best purchasingpoweramongallthecountriesinthesurvey–onlythepurchasingpowerofSouthKoreanscientistsisstronger.AlthoughDanishresearcherscan

buy less for their salaries, they are themostsatisfied,and,comparedwiththeirEuropeancolleagues,they

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

Salary

Holiday entitlement

Health care schemes

Pension

Lenght of working week

Degree of independence

Mentoring and guidance

Maternity/Paternity

leave schemes

Denmark:Total average score: 0,777

Sweden:Total average score: 0,711

USA:Total average score: 0,628

Japan:Total average score: 0,458

0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

Salary

Holiday entitlement

Health care schemes

Pension




Maternity/Paternity

leave schemes





0,2

0,4

0,6

0,8

1,0

Salary

Holiday entitlement

Health care schemes

Pension




Maternity/Paternity

leave schemes





the researchers’ satisfactionScientists in a number of countries which are either leading research countries or are as-sessed to have the potential to become so were asked to rank their satisfaction with eight parameters about salary and career. 1.0 is completely satisfied, 0.5 neutral and 0 dissatisfied. The Danish researchers voted Denmark into first place, while Sweden reached third place. In comparison, the USA ranked low in the middle field while Japan came in at the bottom.

Source: Nature

Gert Bolwig and his son: “I am very positive about the possibilities for child care in Denmark”

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aredoingnicely–withmorepur-chasingpowerthantheirSwedishandGermancolleagues.

Most frequently quoted in the worldBoth Danish and Swedish scien-

tistshaveotherreasonsforfeelingcontentment than those included inthesurvey,forinstance,theyareamongthemostquotedscientistsintheworld.

This is due to the fact that they areextremelyproductive–ac-

10

cording to the international magazine Times Higher Education,overafive-yearperiod(2005-2009)Danishresearchershavepublishedmorethan50,000scientificarticlesinrecognised journalsandmorethan74%ofthemhavebeenquotedbyotherresearchers–thehigh-estnumbermeasuredworldwideand17%aboveaverage.Swedishscientistswithmorethan90,000scientific

articlespublishedinthesameperiodareactuallyevenmoreactive–notonlyintermsofabsolutenumberofarticlesbutalsowithaslightlyhigherpercapitapublish-ingrate.However,inpercentagetermsthearticlesfromSwe-

denwerequoted justalittleless,i.e. justunder73%–placingSwedenfourthamongresearch-activecountries.

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The Danish and Swedish researchers are both most satisfied with

the maternity/paternity leave schemes available to them, if and

when the need arises Pictured: Lars-Ole Gerlach and the woman in

his life Katrine..

SwitzerlandandtheNetherlandsplacedsecondandthird,respectively.

CooperationThe fact that Denmark has one of the most interna-tionalresearchenvironmentsintheworldisalsodemon-stratedbytheso-calledResearchBarometer,publishedannually by the Ministry of Science, Technology and In-novation,whichsurveysthequality,positionsofstrengthandnicheswithinDanishresearch.

The 2010 Barometer shows that more than half of all DanishandSwedishscientificarticlespublishedinrecentyearshavebeenpublishedincooperationwithforeignresearchers.Twentyfiveyearsago, justunderaquarterof all scientific articles from Denmark and Sweden had foreignco-authors.TheBarometeralsoshowsthatresearchinvarious

countries becomes globalised at different rates and that bothcountriesareattheforefront.Inthe1980s,Den-mark was ranked the 10th most internationalised country, measuredintermsofresearchcooperation.Todaythecountryhasmovedupto5thplace.Similarly,Swedenhasadvancedfrom13thplacetoberankedasnumber9.

Among the chosen onesAnotherindicationthatSwedishandDanishscientistsdowellinternationallyistheirrankingsontheAmericanNationalScienceFoundation’s(NSF)listsofgrantsandcontracts.TheNSFisafederalresearchfundingagencyaimed

atsupportingbasicresearchbroadlywithintechnical-scientificareas.In2010theNSFhadabudgetofnearlyUSD7billion,equivalenttoapproximatelyone-fifthofallfederallyfundedbasicresearchatAmericanuniversities.Onanannualbasis,approximately200,000scientists,

studentsandlecturersinboththeUSandothercoun-triesbenefitfromthismoneysource.In2010bothSwe-den and Denmark were on the list of the 13 countries outsidetheUSAtoreceiveNSFgrantsorcontractsforresearchers,companiesandorganisations.Intermsofsizeofpopulation,Swedenhasachieved

thefourth-largestsupportfromNSFandDenmarkisrankedfifth.

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By Charlotte Strøm, MD, PhD, Journalist

WorkinDenmarkconnectspeoplefromallovertheglobewithDanishemployers–freeofcharge.Theorganisationwas granted funding in 2008 by the Danish Labour Market AuthoritywiththeaimofincreasingtheworkforcesupplyforDanishcompanies.Thebiotechandpharmaceuticalcompaniesareinparticularfocus,andMarianneHansen,DirectoratWorkinDenmarkEast,explainswhy:“Thelifescienceindustryhastraditionallyhadan

internationaloutlookintheirbusinessprofiles.Thisincludesrecruitment,asmanycompaniesconsiderin-ternationalcandidatesfortheirvacancies.Still,itcanbequitedifficulttoreachthewholeworldwithyour jobads,andforsmallercompaniesthetaskofrecruitingtalent-

ProfessionalmatchmakingAreyoulookingfortalent?Ordoyouhavetalentandarelookingfora jobin

Denmark?WorkinDenmarkisdedicatedtobringingpeopletogetheracross

borders.

edemployeesinternationallycanbeevenmoredifficulttoovercome,”sheexplains.

In 2010 Work in Denmark East introduced 1,600 in-ternationalcandidatestodifferentcompanies,with150candidatesinthelifesciencesalone.

45,000 unique hits a monthWorkindenmark.dkhas45,000uniquehitseverymonth,which means that any job ad on the site has a broad exposure.Thedatabasealsoreadilystoresprofilesofpeoplelookingfora jobinDenmark.“Furthermore,wepresentthe jobsatinternational

jobfairswhereWorkinDenmarkparticipates,”MarianneHansensays.

One-stop shop for authority contactOncetherightcandidatehasbeenfound,agreatmanypracticalitieshavetofallintoplace.InordertoeasethisprocessWorkinDenmarkcollaborateswiththeDanishImmigrationServices,theregionalStateAdministration,theDanishtaxauthoritiesandthelocalmunicipalityonaone-stopshop–calledInternationalCitizenService.Hereall practicalitiesarehandledatthesametime.SofartheservicehasbeensuccessfulandWorkinDen-markhasreceivedverypositivefeedbackfromitsusers.“Employers,foreigners,theirfamiliesandrelocationagen-

ciesareunanimouslyexcitedaboutthepossibilityofgettingallthepaperworkdoneinonego.Itsavestimeand,insomecases,alsofrustration,”saysMarianneHansen.

Supporting spousesSurveysshowthatin80%ofcaseswhereinternationalcitizens go home before their contract runs out, it is be-causethespousewantstoleave.WorkinDenmarkpaysspecialattentiontothisissueandhasthereforebuiltupanetworkofcompanieswithinternationalemployeesinordertofind jobsforspouses.ThisnetworkiscalledPartnerLink.MarianneHansenelaborates:“Weknow–andthecompaniesknow–thatakeyfac-

tor for success in international recruitment is that the spousecanalsopursuehisorhercareer.Weareproac-tivelyaddressingthisbyseekingout jobopportunitiesinthenetworkofcompaniesthathavesignedupforourPartnerLink.Wealsosupportspousesbyoffering jobsearchingcoursesandindividualguidance.”

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ThethreeWorkinDenmarkcentreshaveatotalof30EURES(EURopeanEmploymentServices)AdvisorswhoarespeciallytrainedundertheEUtoassistpeopletak-ingtheirprofessionalchancesinanewcountry.Theyaretrainedtodomorethanmatchmaking.“Culturaldifferencesmayraiseminorormajorissues

fortheemployeeaswellasforcolleagues.Weoffertovisittheworkplaceandguideemployeestoeasetheprocess,talkingwiththemaboutthekindsofissuesthatcancomeup–andgivingthemtipsonhowtohandlethem,”explainsMarianneHansen,DirectoratWorkinDenmark East, concluding:“Inordertosucceedininternationalrecruitment,it’s

importantthatyoucanmakepeoplefeelathomeawayfromhome”.

Facts about Work in Denmark• Workindenmark.dkisDenmark’sofficialwebsiteforinternationalrecruitmentand jobseeking.• WorkinDenmarkhasofficesinthreemajorcitiesinDenmark:Copenhagen,AarhusandOdense.• Asanemployer,youcancreate jobvacancies,searchforforeignmanpowerintheCVdatabaseandfindrelevantinformationaboutrecruitingandretainingemployeesfromabroad.

• TheservicesofWorkinDenmarkarefreeofchargefortheemployeraswellasfortheemployee.

Initially,SohailAsgharwasnotcertainthathewantedtospendyearsstudyingthetopichisPhDadvisorassignedtohimfiveyearsago.

“Ididn’treallyseethepointofstudyingtheconnection between dilation of the arteries inthebrainandmigraines.Therearetra-ditionally two basic beliefs within migraine research – some consider arteries to be themostimportantfactorwhileothersbelievethatnerveshavethegreatestinfluence.Personally,Iwasoftheopinionthatnervecellsplayedamoreimportantrolethanthearteriesinthebrain,”admitsSohailAsghar,DoctorandPhDStudent.Butashisresearchprogressed,heandhis

colleagues on the research team at the Danish HeadacheCenteratGlostrupHospitalandtheUniversityofCopenhagenwereforcedtorevise

their attitudes and admit that arteries do playacrucialrole.AndSohailAsgharbecamesoinvolvedinthepro-

ject,thatforseveralyearshedevotednearlyallhisweekends to it – because the weekends where the only timeitwaspossibletobookGlostrupHospital’sbusyMRIscannertoexaminevolunteerssufferingfrommigraines.

Biomarker foundHistimeturnedouttobewell-spent,becausetodaysci-entistsnowhavetheanswertoaquestionthathasbeenanassumptionamongheadacheresearchersforages.Ithasnowbeenproventhatmigrainepainislinkedtodilationofspecificarteriesthatsupplythecerebralmembranesandtheactualcerebraltissue.Further-more,ithasalsobeenproventhatspecialarteries

Danish researcherscrack the migraine code

Fordecades,headacheresearchershavedebatedwhetherthere is a correlation between dilation of arteries in the brain

andmigraineheadaches.ADanishstudyanswersthisquestionandpavesthewayfornewopportunitiestodevelop

effectivemedication.

Initially,SohailAsgharwasnotcertainthathewantedtospendyearsstudyingthetopichisPhDadvisorassignedtohimfiveyearsago.

“Ididn’treallyseethepointofstudyingtheconnection between dilation of the arteries inthebrainandmigraines.Therearetra-ditionally two basic beliefs within migraine research – some consider arteries to be themostimportantfactorwhileothersbelievethatnerveshavethegreatestinfluence.Personally,Iwasoftheopinionthatnervecellsplayedamoreimportantrolethanthearteriesinthebrain,”admitsSohailAsghar,DoctorandPhDStudent.Butashisresearchprogressed,heandhis

colleagues on the research team at the Danish HeadacheCenteratGlostrupHospitalandtheUniversityofCopenhagenwereforcedtorevise

their attitudes and admit that arteriescrucialrole.AndSohailAsgharbecamesoinvolvedinthepro-

ject,thatforseveralyearshedevotednearlyallhisweekends to it – because the weekends where the only timeitwaspossibletobookGlostrupHospital’sbusyMRIscannertoexaminevolunteerssufferingfrommigraines.

Biomarker foundHistimeturnedouttobewell-spent,becausetodaysci-entistsnowhavetheanswertoaquestionthathasbeenanassumptionamongheadacheresearchersforages.Ithasnowbeenproventhatmigrainepainislinkedtodilationofspecificarteriesthatsupplythecerebralmembranesandtheactualcerebraltissue.Further-more,ithasalsobeenproventhatspecialarteries

andmigraineheadaches.ADanishstudyanswersthisquestionandpavesthewayfornewopportunitiestodevelop

Until now, migraines have just been a series of symptoms described by the patients themselves.

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By Birgitte AaboTranslation: CLS Communication A/S

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tothecerebralmembranesarecriticalforrelievingmigrainepain.Thisdiscoverycanbeusedinthedevelop-ment of new medicines to treat the serious headaches thataffectmorethanoneintenpeopleintheWesternworld.“Untilnow,migraineshave justbeenaseriesofsymp-

tomsdescribedbythepatientsthemselves.Wehaveneverhadanywayofmeasuringandweighingmigraines,butwedonow.Wehaveidentifiedabiomarkerformigraineswhichwillmakeitpossibletotargetfuturedrugs.Wehavepointedoutexactlywherethedrugsneedtohaveaneffect,”explainsSohailAsghar.Attheinterview,the33-year-oldsatnexttohis

45-year-oldPhDadvisorDr.MessoudAshina,HospitalConsultant,anditwasclearbythewaythetwosupple-mentedeachother’sstatementsthattheyhavespentagreatmanyhoursineachother’scompany:“Wehavespokentogethernearlyeverysingledayfor

thepastfiveyears,soweknoweachotherreallywellbynow,”saysSohailAsghar,whoiscurrentlyputtingthefi-naltouchesonhisPhDdissertation.However,heandtheresearchteamhavealreadypublishedthearteriesstudyin the recognised scientific journal Annals of Neurology.

Painful examinationTherearetwotypesofmigraine–thosewithoutauraandthosewithaura.Anauraisavisualproblem,usually

FA

CTS DanishHeadacheCenter

The Center was established in 2001 as the firstofitskindinScandinaviawithaninter-disciplinaryapproachtobothdiagnosisandtreatment.TheCentreispartofDenmark’slarg-

estneurologicaldepartmentlocatedatGlostrupHospital,whichtreatsapproxi-mately8,000patientsfromalloverDen-markeveryyear.TheCenterworkscloselywiththeUniver-

sityofCopenhagenandthepharmaceuticalindustry.

intheformofblurredvisionorsensorydisruptions justbeforeanattack.Thegroupwithoutauraisthelargest,comprisingaroundtwo-thirdsofthepatients,andtheywerethefocusofSohailAsghar’swork.However,migrainesaredifficultorimpossibleto

predict.Onlyinaveryfewinstances,andneversystem-atically,wasitactuallypossibletoscanapersonwhiletheywerehavingagenuinemigraineattack.Soinorder

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todoMRIscansofpatientsexperiencingattacks,theresearchershadtoprovokethem.

To do this, they used a substance called Calcitonin Gene-RelatedPeptide(CGRP),whichwidensthearteries.Peoplewithmigrainesgenerallyhaveanaturallyhigherlevelofthesubstanceintheirbloodcomparedtoothers.Andwhenthesubstanceisadministeredbyinjection,7-8hours later a migraine is triggered that resembles the kindsofheadachesthesubjectsusuallyexperience.“Ihadtofindvolunteerswhofeltfineanddidnothave

a headache on the day of the scan, get them to the hospital,wheretheyweregiventheinjectionandthenwaitforhoursuntiltheattackstarted.Andthen,whiletheyfeltreallylousy,theyhadtogointotheMRIscan-ner,whichisclaustrophobicandverynoisy.Goingintothatmachineisahugechallengeformanypeopleandthenoisemakesthemigraineevenworse,”SohailAsgharexplains.Itisnotthemostenjoyableexperiencetoattractvol-

unteersfor.Still,itwasrelativelyeasyforSohailAsghar:“Mynetworkwasahugehelp.Forinstance,nurses

almostalwaysknowsomeoneintheirdepartmentwhosuffersfrommigraines,andmanypeopleinthehospital

anduniversityenvironmentarewillingtoparticipateforthesakeofresearch.Buttherewerealsomorepersonalreasons.Forexample,Iexaminedafemalemigrainesuf-fererwhosedaughteralsosufferedfrommigraines.Themotherhopedthatshemightbeabletohelpbringaboutmoreeffectivedrugsthatcouldhelpherdaughterorhergrandchildren.”Thestudycoveredatotalof24people,ofwhich15

werescannedduringanattack.Someofthembecamesoillaftertheinjectionthattheywereunabletocom-pletetheexperiment–theysufferedfromvomitingorwereunabletoliestillenoughtocarryoutthescan.“IknowexactlywhatIhavedemandedofthesevol-

unteers.It’snothingthatIhaven’ttriedmyself,”saysSohailAsgharwho,likehissupervisor,alsosuffersfrommigraines.

Constricted arteriesTheresultsoftheMRIstudywereclear.Theprovokedmigrainescausedwideningofthearteriesthatsupplyboth the cerebral membranes and the actual cerebral tissue.Andwhentheattackwasconcentratedononeside of the brain, only the arteries on that side were dilated.Theresearchersfounditequallyinterestingthatwhen

thepatientsweregiventhedrugSumatriptan,whichis used to treat migraines, the arteries in the cerebral membranescontract,reducingtheseverityoftheat-tack.Thisisanimportantdiscovery,accordingtoSohai’sPhDadvisor,becauseitmeansthatitisonlynecessary

FA

CT

S Migraines – anexpensiveillness

Upto15%oftheadultpopulationintheWestsufferfrommigraines–correspondingto80millionpeopleinEuropeandtheUSA.

Migraineattacksoccurduringtheproduc-tiveyearsfrom25to55yearsofageandcostsocietyuptoEUR27billionayear.

The diagnostic criteria for migraines are that the headaches are not caused by an-otherillnessandthatthepatienthashadatleastfiveheadacheslasting4-72hours.

Atthesametime,sufferersalsoexperienceatleasttwoofthefollowingsymptoms:Headacheononlyonesideofthebrain,throbbing,moderatetoseverepain,madeworsebyroutinephysicalactivity,nausea,vomitingorsensitivitytolightandsounds.

Source: Research team’s scientific article.

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toconcentratethedrugsonthearteriesthatsupplythecerebralmembranes.Thisisahugeadvantage,becausethesearteriesare

easier to target with medicine than the arteries located deeperinthebrainthatareprotectedbytheblood-brain barrier, which makes it difficult for infections and wasteproductstopenetratethebrain,butwhichalsomakesitverydifficulttogeteffectivemedicinesinsidethebrain.

Smart drugSohailAsgharisnowveryhopefulthatthepharmaceuti-calindustrywillusethisnewknowledgeactively.Becauseeventhoughtherearedrugscurrentlyonthemarketthatworkforsomepatients,theydonotrelievethepainforeveryone.Around60%canexperiencereducedpainandonlyhalfasmanycanactuallybepainfree.Furthermore,thedrugshavesideeffects,whichSohail

hasexperiencedhimself:“Beforeanattack,I’musuallyextremelytiredinthe

morning.ButIcanneverknowwhetheritisthestartofamigraine,andthesideeffectsaresoseverethatIpostponetakingthemedicineaslongaspossible.Itgivesmethecoldsweats,itfeelslikemyoesophagusistwist-ingintoaknotandIhavetroublespeaking.Nowthatwehavefoundabiomarker,it’spossiblewithmedicinetoproduceasmartbombthatcanbeaimeddirectlyatthetarget.”SohailAsgharrecentlyreceivedtheMogensFogAward

forhisclinicalresearchinmigraines.MessoudAshinawasalsograntedDKK2.5millionfromtheNovoNord-isk Foundation to continue his work studying migraine patients.AtAalborgUniversityanotherresearcherhasalso

recentlyreceivedamillion-kronergrantformigrainere-search.Therecipientis36-year-oldParisaGazeranifromthe Faculty of Medicine, who is working to shed light on theroleglialcellsplayinmigraines.Therearethreetypes

ofglialcells,andoneofthemconstitutesthepreviouslymentionedhurdle,theblood-brainbarrier.

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Dr Sohail Asghar, MD, MSc and PhD student, in the middle, with his supervisor Dr Messoud Ashina, MD, PhD and Hospital Consultant, on the left. On the right, Adam Espe Hansen, MRI Physicist, Glostrup Hospital, who was also a member of the research team.

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By Lone FrankTranslation: CLS Communication A/S

true friendsTheChinesearecoming.Andtheyarecominginstrong.Butthecodewordfor

thenewglobalresearchagendaiscooperation,andDenmarkisinakeyposition

whiletheUSAisbeingsupplantedastheworld’sleadingresearchnation.

SHENZHEN–LUORuibanglooksaround at his colleagues and shakeshisheadindisbelief.“IworkhereandIknowthespiritoftheplace,butevenIsometimeshaveahardtimekeepingup.Everythinggoessofast.Justayearago,thisplacewasashoefactory,andnowit’sacentreformoderngeneticresearch–theworld’slargest.”BGI – formerly known as the Beijing Genomics Institute – may be sur-roundedbygarages,smallshops

andwhatlookslikeadump,buthidden within its walls is a world of hightechnology.Theheartoftheentireoperation

isondisplaybehindglass,asthoughinanincubator.Fromtheoutside,you can see the large neon-lit and dust-free interior and admire rows uponrowsofmachinesthatcloselyresemblecompactrefrigerators.Luo calls attention to the little sign on each one which reads: Illumina Higseq2000.Theyrepresentthe

18

China is quickly moving up the value chain, as it is called. Shoe factories and unskilled workers are being replaced by genome centres and university-trained researchers


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mostadvancedtechnologywithinDNAsequencing,witheachma-chine costing about half a milliondollars.“Atthemomentwe

have128ofthem,”informs Luo, who goes ontoexplainthatwhen the entire lot are runningatfullcapac-ity, they can analyse and mapwhatcorrespondstotheentireDNAof10,000peopleoveraperiodofoneyear.“That’salotofDNA,”hesays,smiling.TheAmericanscientistDavid

Wheeler from Baylor College in Houstonrecentlyquantifieditindiff erent terms in Nature: the equipmentatBGIalonesurpassesthetotalcapacityforgenomesequencingintheUnitedStatesasawhole.Toprocesstheoverwhelming

amountsofdata,theyhavesomeoftheworld’sfastestcom-

puters–amultitudeofserverslocated in their own cooled facility withregularinspections.However,interpretingallthisgeneticinfor-mation and transforming it into usableknowledgestillrequiresahumantouch.Wheretherewerejust 1,500 researchers and techni-cians a year ago, there are now nearly4,000.Someworkinlabo-

ratorieswheretheyplaywitheverythingfromhumanstemcellstogeneticallymodifiedbalsawood.Othersworkatcomputermoni-

torsintheconvertedfactoryhallswhoselabyrinthsofpartitionsresembletheinsidesofabeehive.Most of the workers look like theybelonginuppersecondaryschool.


mostadvancedtechnologywithinDNAsequencing,witheachma-chine costing about half a

mapwhatcorrespondstotheentireDNAof10,000peopleoveraperiodofoneyear.“That’salot

“No,no,”assuresLuo,“Theaverageageisuparound26.”

Headquarters in Copenhagen AvisittoBGIinShenzhenisaneye-openingexperience.Almostshocking.Notonlyforpeopleinterestedin

geneticresearch,but justasmuchbecausetheprivateresearchorganisationalsosymbolisesthenewChina’sprogressandambitionsforthefuture.Thehugedevel-opingcountryforceditswaybackontotheglobalstagebyinundatingtheentireworldwithmassesofcheapconsumergoods.Buttheyhavenointentionofcontinuingonthat

course.Chinaisquicklymovingupthevaluechain,asitis

called.Shoefactoriesandunskilledworkersarebe-ingreplacedbygenomecentresanduniversity-trainedresearchers because they want to contribute to or perhapsevenleadwhatwecalltheknowledgeeconomy.“It’sembarrassingforus,”admitsYuXuan.“Forcenturies,Chinawasaleadingcivilisation,but

thenwehadanunfortunateperiodofregressionwhiletheWestdevelopedquicklyduringandaftertheindustrialrevolution.ManyChinesehaveadeep-seatedbeliefthatwehavetoworkharderthaneveryoneelse,becausewemustregainlostground.That’swhyweworksohard.”Theyoungplantresearcher,whostudiedintheUK,willbedoingsomeofthishardworkinCo-penhagen,whereBGIquietlyestablisheditsEuropeanheadquartersaboutayearago.ButwhatstartedoutasahumbleofficeinanoldbuildingattheUniversityofCopenhagenwill,inthenextfewmonths,becomeagenomicscentrewithtencovetedIlluminamachinesandaninitialscientificstaffof50.“Inthelongterm,morewill joinus,”saysYu.BGIis

investingDKK60millionintheproject,andlastweektheDanishNationalAdvancedTechnologyFoundationannouncedagrantofDKK86millionforaseriesofprojectstotakeplaceascollaborationsbetweenDan-ishresearchersandBGI.OnesuchprojectistheDanishpan-genome,whichseekstomapthevariationinthecollectivegenomeoftheDanes.Thisknowledgewillbeusedtoimproveourunderstandingofhowindividualsdevelopdiseasesintheinterfacebetweengeneticsandlifestyle.“WhydidwechooseDenmark?”Yuasks.Andthe

answeris justasconcise:“BGIhasspecialconnectionstoDenmark.”TheprojectisaverygoodexampleoftheimportanceoftheChineseconceptofguanxi – networks ormutualpersonalrelationships.OuractivitiesinDen-markarenottheresultofasuddenimpulseoraspeedycost-benefitanalysis.Theyaretheresultofaquarterofacentury’suninterruptedconnectionbetweenoneofBGI’stwofounders,YangHuanming,andProfessorLarsBolundatAarhusUniversity.Asayoungresearcher,YangcametoAarhusUniversityinthe1970swhereheworkedwiththeDanishgeneticist.BolundlaterbecamedeeplyinvolvedinestablishingBGIin1999,whichwasapolitical-lyunpopularprojectwithnofunding.Now,thesituationisradicallydifferent,andheisasenioradvisortoBGI,livinghalftheyearinShenzhen.“IbelievetherearesimilaritiesbetweentheDanish

andChinesecultures.Forexample,friendshipisconsid-eredimportant,bothinlifeandintheworldassuch,”saysYangHuanming.Thelittlegentlemenwiththegreyingtemplessmiles

widelyandthenmovesontoamoreserioustopic:thebioeconomy he is staking his entire career on and which heiseagertokick-startinChina.“Whenwestartedout,neitherourcolleaguesnor

If you give young people the freedom to work on something they really enjoy they mature surprinsingly quickly.

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ourChinesepartnerscouldseehowgeneticswouldbeuseful.Thoughgeneticdataarenotintrinsicallyinter-esting,youhavetothinkofbiologyasakindofinfor-mationscience.Wearetalkingaboutdigitisationofthelivingworld.DNAsequencesarecomparabletoothertypesofdigitaldata.Thevalueliesinwhatwegainfromanalysing,interpreting,handlingand,especially,commu-nicatingthisinformation.”AprimeexampleofpreciselythisaspectisthefactthatthemajorplayersintheglobalITsectorbecameinvolvedinthefieldlongago.Google,IBMandMicrosofthaveallinvestedingenom-

ics, which is the umbrella term for all modern genetic research.AndinJanuary,Forbes Magazine estimated that within the next ten years, the genomics industry willtotalUSD100billion.Thesituationisverysimilartotheearlydaysofthe

Internetwheneveryonehadaclearsensethatitwouldbehugeandchangeourlives,butnoonefullyunder-stoodhow.Similarly,noonecouldpredictwhatwouldbecomekillerapps.Winningproducts,“that’swhywe’reexpanding,”says

Yang,pointingtoastuffedsucklingpigsittingawk-wardlyinadisplaycaseonapatchofartificialgrass.ThiswasthefirstclonedpigcreatedbyBGI’sscientistswhich“wasunfortunatelysmotheredbyitsmothershortlyafterbirth.”Whereaswell-knowngenomicscen-tressuchastheBroadInstituteinBoston,USA,and

theSangerCenterintheUKtypicallyfocusnarrowlyon genetics in relation to human health and disease, BGIalsostudiesmicrobesaswellasanimalsandplantsfromagriculture.

Last year, BGI even mapped the DNA of the panda“It’scute,”saysYang.“Geneticinformationisthefoun-dationforunderstandingalltypesoforganismsandthusthekeytomanyindustrialsectors,”heexplains.Overthenexttwoyears,BGI’sresearcherswillmap

tensofthousandsofbacteria,fungiandviruseswithaviewtodevelopingbetterbiotechproductionmeth-ods, biofuels and anything else where microbes can be beneficial.AndthelargeagriculturaldepartmentwillbestudyingtheplantsandanimalsthatareimportanttoChina’sfoodproduction.Withthehelpofgenetechnology,thecropsofthe

futurewillbeencouragedtogrowinpoorsoilandwith-standdroughtandfreezingtemperatures.“Wearebeingcompelledtocreateanewgreenrevo-

lution,”YangHuanmingdrylystates.BehindhimonthewallisafrontpageofSciencewhichannouncedseveralyearsagothatBGIhadmappedthegenomeofthericeplant.OneoftheonlyprojectsBGIhascarriedoutentirelyalone.“Allourprojectsarecollaborations,andthat’sinten-

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Many Chinese have a deep seated belief that we have to work harder than everyone else.

tional.Ibelievethatbiologicalandmedical research in general should replacethemodelweknowfromtheworldofphysics.Weneedtojoin forces across national bounda-riesbecausetoday’sprojectsaresobigthattheyrequiremoretypesofexpertisethananysingleorgani-sationcanhouseunderoneroof.”

Denmark is overtaking the USA The exact same notion is be-ingvoicedalmostsimultaneouslyon the other side of the world in Washington,DC,wheretheAmeri-canAssociationfortheAdvance-mentofScienceholdsitsimpres-siveannualmeeting.Atthatmeeting,CarolineWagner,

researchanalystandprofessoratPennsylvaniaStateUniversity,causeduproarwithanarticlesheisworkingon.Thearticledem-onstratesthattheUSAisbeingsupplantedastheworld’sleading

research nation and that they can dolittleaboutit.“Weareexperiencingatransition

toanewglobalresearchagenda,”saysWagneronthephonefromtheothersideoftheworld.Sheisnotinamoment’sdoubtthattheleadingpositiontheAmericanshaveheld for the last half century or so willbetakenoverbytheChinesequitesoon.ResearchersinChinaalreadyproducemorescientificpublicationswithinengineeringandnaturalsciences.Andprojec-tions suggest that they will be the leadersineveryfieldofresearchby2015.“Thisthoughtgenerallymakes

politiciansintheUSAandtheWestcrossthemselvesandsoundthealarm,”Wagnersaysinacalmvoice.“Butit’sactuallyawin-winsitu-ationfromaglobalpointofview.Eventheresearchcommunityadmits that more knowledge is a positivething.Thecakeasawhole

willincreaseinsize,andeveryonewillultimatelybenefit.”Ifanationorregionistoprofitfromthisdevelopment,theyneedtogeartheirsystemstobeableto‘source’knowledgeandexpertisefromtheoutside.Thisdoesnotmeanattempt-

ingtobeinvolvedonallfronts,but rather concentrating their resourcesonareasthatareveryadvancedinternationally.

The USA has a huge, rigid system with no policy for international collaborationWewanttokeepeverythingin-house.Butthosedaysareover,”declaresWagner,emphasisingthatit will be small, fl exible countries suchastheNetherlands,Singaporeand Denmark who emerge as the winnersinthefuture.Assheputsit:“Youalreadyhaveatraditionforcollaboration,andyouhavealreadyovertakentheUSAwhenitcomes

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22

toqualityparametersinresearch.”This means that a research article byaDanishteamwill,onaverage,bepublishedinbetter journalsandquotedmorethananaverageAmericanarticle.

“I justhopethatWesternsocietycanavoidseeingAsia’sandChina’sprogressasathreat.Itrepresentsagreatopportunity,especiallyformakingthesecountriesmoreopen.Andifyouaskme,thereareseveralareas where the West could actu-allybeinspiredby,amongothers,theChinese.”

Darned good In the old shoe factory in Shenz-hen,twothingsinparticularclearlystandout.Theirenormouspassionfor their work and their hunger toexcel.Theywanttobegood–darnedgood–atwhattheydo.“Ofcourse,”saysLiYingrui,“what

doyouexpect?Thefunisinbe-ingabletouseyourpotentialtothefullest.”Theyoungmanwith

a crew-cut and wry smile is the 24-year-old head of the bioinfor-maticsdepartmentandits600computerexpertsandbiologists.Li felt that he was wasting his time studyingatPekingUniversity–oneof the best in the country – and so hecametoBGIwherehecouldputallhiscompetencestouse.Hehasworkedinparticularondevelop-ingtheworld’sleadingsoftwarethatcanassemblethehugeDNAjigsawafteritisrunthroughthesequencingmachine.“Peoplefromtheoutsidehave

laughed at how young we are here atBGI,sayingthatitwillneverwork.Ofcourse,wecouldusesomeexpe-rienced colleagues, like the biologists IworkwithinDenmark.Butifyougiveyoungpeoplethefreedomtowork on something they really enjoy aswellasresponsibilityformakingit work and making a contribution, theymaturesurprisinglyquickly.”AgoodexampleisZhaoBowen.Thisyoung man is 18 years old and head

ofhisownproject.Acoupleofyearsago,hewasapupilataneliteschoolinBeijingbutwaspermittedtopar-ticipateinasummerprojectatBGI,wherehe joinedLi’steam.Theygavehimanassignment,expectingittobesolvedwithinacoupleofweeks.However,Zhaofinisheditin justhalfaday,andsotheyofferedhima job.“MyparentssaiditwasOKas

IaslongasIcompletedschoolat the same time so I can go to theuniversitylater,”hesays.ButfirstZhaoishopingtoidentifythegeneticfactorsbehindahighIQ.Heisintheprocessofcontactingthousands of fellow citizens with an IQofabove145inordertocomparetheirDNAwiththousandsofpeopleofaverageintelligence.Thisprojecthasalsoattractedinterestedpart-nersinboththeUSAandtheUK.“Whataboutme?Oh,I’mnotthat

special,”saysZhaomodestly,push-inghisglassesup.“ThereareotherpeopleherewhoaremuchmoreintelligentthanIam.”

Mediafarm is your creative partner - specialised in visual communication We understand user needs and communicate using the latest technology, innovative concepts and designs. We are able to deliver effective, inspiring and easily understood solutions for our clients and their customers.

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Selected clients:

Nycomed, Pfizer, Lundbeck, Chr. Hansen,Novo, ISS, GN Resound, Carlsberg, Cowi

Illustrations and graphics help you simplify complex matter Animation and film bring your presentations to life Website, social media and mobile app development giveyour communication endless possibilities

By Birgitte Aabo Translation: CLS Communication A/S

EightimpeccablydressedChinesebusinesspeoplearesittinginahorseshoelisteningattentivelytoatalkontheCopenhagensciencepark,COBIS,whichtheyarecurrentlyvisiting.Theyareaskingquestionsandtakingnotesand,yes,thevisitorswouldliketohavetheentire

slideshowonthescienceparksenttothembecausetherearesomeinterestingpointstheywouldliketosharewiththeirmembers.Theirmembersaremorethan200companiesorgan-

isedintheShanghaiBiopharmaceuticsIndustryAsso-

Danish and Chinese biotech hold hands

China’sgrowthisattractinghopefulbusinesspeoplefromallovertheworld.

Whilemanyareunsuccessful,DANSKBIOTEKconcluded

anagreementlastautumnandreceivedavisitfromtheirnewpartnerinMarch.

Mr Chen Shaoxiong, Vice Chairman and Secretary General, Shanghai Biopharmaceutics Industry Association (SBIA) and Ruth Klyver, Head of Secretariat of the trade organisation DANSK BIOTEK, signing the partnership agreement.

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ciation(SBIA),whichisthetradeorganisationthathasenteredintoapartnershipwithDANSKBIOTEK.Thedel-egationfromSBIAisvisitingDenmarkforthefirsttimeandhasatightscheduleplannedbytheirnewpartners–togetherwiththeirco-hostsCopenhagenCapacityandInvestinDenmark,whicharetheofficialorganisa-tionsforpromotinginvestmentundertheauspicesoftheCapitalRegionofDenmarkandtheDanishMinistryofForeignAffairs,respectively.“Denmarkisagoodplaceforbiotechnology,soweare

happytobehere.WeknowthatDenmark,andespe-ciallyCopenhagen,doesalottopromoteitsdevelop-mentglobally,”saysChenShaoxiong,ViceChairmanandSecretaryGeneralofSBIA,duringabriefbreakintheprogramme.Heconcludes:“ThepartnershipwithDANSKBIOTEKgivesusbet-

teropportunitiestoexchangeinformationandhelpourmembercompaniestocollaboratewithDanishcompa-nies.”TheChinesebusinesspeoplehadtheopportunityto

visitacoupleofDanishbiotechcompaniesduringthecourseoftheday.AndwhileRuthKlyver,HeadofSec-retariatofDANSKBIOTEKandBusinessDevelopmentManagerforCopenhagenCapacity,willnotdivulgewhichcompanieshadthehonourforreasonsofconfidential-ity,shedoesexplainthattheChineseareinterestedin, among other things, gathering knowledge about the entrepreneurialspiritthatprevailsintheDanishbiotechsector with its many small businesses:“Thiskindofenvironmentdoesn’texistinChina,where

thecompanieshavemorecentralisedmanagementandalsohaveallformerlybeenstate-owned,withthead-vantagesanddisadvantagesthatthisentailed.Sotheydon’thavethelayerofsmall,newbiotechcompaniesthatwehavehereinDenmark.”

Everyone stands by their wordRuthKlyverheldthepenwhentheDanishandChinesebiotechorganisationssignedthepartnershipagreementinShanghailastautumn.Inthetwo-yearagreement,they mutually agree to facilitate global collaboration in thebiotechindustry–forthebenefitofbothparties.“Asignedpartnershipagreementmeansthatboth

partiesareseriousaboutthis,andstandbytheirword.Thatiswhytheagreementisimportant,eventhoughwealreadyhadgoodrelationswithChina,”explainsRuthKlyver.Inpractice,theagreementmeansthattheorganisa-

tions,togetherwithCopenhagenCapacityandInvestinDenmark,willhelpeachotherestablishcontactsintheir

“The Chinese and the Danish biotech industries are very different. That is one reason why both parties can benefit greatly from work-ing together,” says Ruth Klyver, Head of Secretariat of the trade organisation DANSK BIOTEK.

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respectivecountries,organisemeetingsandobtaintheinformationthattheindividualplayersinthesectorneedinanygivensituation–e.g.priortoandinconnectionwiththeChinaPartneringForum2011inBeijinginMay.

It is one of the first major international life science eventsinChinaandtheorganisersexpecttheparticipa-tionofapproximately550industryrepresentativesfrom300companiesin23differentcountries–companiesfromMediconValleyarealsoexpectedtobewell-rep-resented, although it is as yet uncertain how many will makethe journey.RuthKlyverhastravelledtoChinaherselfseveral

timesinrecentyears,andhasobservedfirst-handthemajorchangestakingplaceinthecountry:“Fiveorsixyearsago,whenIwasinChinaforthefirst

time,wehadtouseinterpretersbecausethepeopletheregenerallydidn’tspeakEnglish.Sincethen,manyhaveworkedandstudiedabroadwithinthefieldofbio-tech–especiallyintheUSAandEurope–andarenowreturning to China in large numbers, lured by the tre-mendousgrowththeircountryisexperiencing,whiletheindustry in other countries has suffered from stagnation andpessimism.ThemanyreturningbiotechexpertshavegiventheindustryaboostandhelpedcreateabrandnewandcompletelydifferentenvironmentinChinainthe

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spaceof justafewyearsago,withlotsofyoung,highlyeducatedpeoplewhospeakEnglish.”

Also in the interests of SwedenIn recent years, China has attracted enthusiastic busi-nessinterestfromallovertheworldwithitsenormouspopulationandeconomicgrowth.“Everyonehasprobablyheard,readandappreciated

thatalotisgoingoninChina.TheChinesearebuildingupanentireinfrastructure,andboththewillingnesstogrowandthefinancialresourcesarehuge.AtDANSKBIOTEK,wearetargetingoureffortsatgettingtoknowtheChinesecompanies.Thereareplentyofthem,butwearegraduallylearningtonavigatebetweenthem,map-pingtheirneedsandworkingtoestablishcollaborationswithDanishcompanies.”Inthisprocess,itisveryhelpfultohaveapartnerin

China.TherearenumerousbiotechorganisationstochoosefrominChina,butShanghaiBiopharmaceuticsIndustryAssociationistheoldestaswellasoneofthetwolargest,andisveryawareoftheopportunitiesin-herentininternationalcollaboration.Thefirstmeetingbetweentherepresentativesfrom

theorganisationandDANSKBIOTEKwasorganisedbyInvestinDenmarklastyear,andtheyquicklyreachedapartnershipagreement,whichwassignedattheConsu-lateGeneralofDenmarkinShanghai,wheregiftswerealsoexchangedasperAsiantradition–RuthKlyverbroughtaDanishdesignporcelainvase,andreceivedasilkscarffromherChinesecounterparts.“TheagreementwassignedinOctober,andanofficial

visittoDenmarkhadbeenheldbyMarch,whichshowsthattheChineseareinterested,”accordingtoRuthKlyver,whoalsobelievesthattheSwedishcompaniesinMedicon Valley will benefit from the agreement between DenmarkandChina.“WhileDANSKBIOTEKsafeguardsDanishinterests,the

collaborationbetweenCopenhagenandSkåneinMediconValleywillpavethewayforcompaniesinSkånetoalsoprofitfromtheagreementwithChina,”sheconcludes.

The Chinese are hereDuringtheirvisittoDenmarkinMarch,therepresenta-tivesoftheChinesebiotechorganisationvisitedoneoftheworld’slargestcompanieswithinpreclinicalresearch,theChineseShanghaiChemPartner,whichestablisheditsEuropeanheadquartersintheScionscienceparkinHørsholm,northofCopenhagen,lastyear.Thecompanyemploysascientificstaffofmorethan

2,000,andtheDanishorganisation,ChemPartnerEurope,manages,amongotherthings,researchprojectsfromtheEuropeanbiotechindustry,whichareexecutedoncontractbytheparentcompanyinChina.Thecompanyhaspreviouslyexplainedthatitchose

Copenhagenbecausetheregionalreadyhasanestab-lishedbiotechindustryinMediconValley,withpharma-ceuticalcompaniesandafertilebaseofsmallenter-prises.Furthermore,theChineseappreciatetheDanish

efficiency,findingiteasytoestablishacompanyinDenmark–withassistancefromCopenhagenCapacityandInvestinDenmark.RuthKlyverbelievesthatinfuturemorecompanieswill

outsourceprojectstocompaniesinAsiaviaEuropeansatelliteoffices.ThecarrotforDenmarkisthatmoreChi-nesecompanieswillbeencouragedtosetupinDenmark.“Weare,ofcourse,eachthinkingaboutourownbest

interests,andapartnershipmusthavesomethingtoof-ferbothparties,”explainsRuthKlyver.

Major grantAnothermajorprojecttakingplaceonDanishsoilwithChineseparticipationistheDanishPlatformforLarge-scaleSequencingandBioinformaticsresearchcentre,whichwillbeopeningthissummeratCOBIS.TheresearchcentreisbackedbyfourDanishuniver-

sitiesincollaborationwiththreecompanies,includingBeijingGenomicsInstituteEurope.Together,theyhavereceivedthelargestgranteverawardedbytheDanishNationalAdvancedTechnologyFoundation–afive-yeargrantofDKK86million.Theuniversitiesandcompaniesareco-financingthecentrewithanadditionalDKK84million,makingthecentre’stotalbudgetDKK170million.ThecentrewillputDenmarkontheworldmapwithin

researchintothehumangenome.Oneofthefirstgoalsofthecentre’sresearchistopreventcancerbydevel-opingvaccines.“BeijingGenomicsInstituteEuropeopenedofficesin

Denmark last year, and we are ready to welcome more ChinesecompanieswhoarelookingtogainafootholdinEurope.Whyshouldtheychooseus?Weareknownforourcompetence,wehavebeendoingresearchintheindustryfornearly100years,wehavegoodwillandweworkhardtopromoteourselvesoutthere,”concludesRuthKlyver.

DANSKBIOTEK

SectororganisationforDanishcompanieswhosecorefocusareaisbiotechnologyap-pliedwithdrugdevelopmentandindustrialbiotechnology.

Workstopromoteknowledgeofmodernbiotechnologyinthepublicsphere,toinflu-encethepoliticalagendainthearea,toensurethebestpossibleconditionsfortheresearchanddevelopmentactivitiesofitsmembersandtopromoteitsmembers´interest in general, both nationally and inter-nationally.

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Business Profile

Facilitating biotechnologicalinnovationInthebiotechnologicalinnovationenvironmenteveryoneislookingforthe

shortestandcleverestwaytothemarket.

Outsourcingtoacompetentpartnerwillshortenthe journeyconsiderably.

By Charlotte Strøm, MD, PhD, Journalist

Bioneerisdedicatedtofacilitateinnovation. It is a research-basedbiomedicalandbiotechnologicalserviceproviderlocatedatScionDTUScienceParkinHørs-holm,Denmark.Fiftypeople–predominantlybiomedicalresearchersandtechnicians–playaratheruniqueroleasthepartnerofbothacademiaandthebiopharma-ceuticalindustry.“Bioneerplaystheroleofan‘innovationmidwife’so

tospeak.Weassisttheprocessofbringingbiotechno-logical ideas into the world and enable their commer-cialisation,”saysNielsSkjærbæk,BusinessDevelopmentManager,Bioneer.

Accelerating new ideasBioneeroperatesatthecrossroadsbetweenbiotech,academicresearchersandpharmaceuticalcompanies,

Bioneer´s network branches out widely in Danish and European academia.P

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providingarangeofdifferentcompetencesaswellasinsightintopreclinicaldrugdevelopment.“Veryfewsmallbiotechcompaniesoracademic

researchteamshavetheset-uptotestanewideaorinnovationforproductionoptimisationortotestimmu-nomodulatingeffects,”NielsSkjærbæksays,referringtoBioneer’sbacterialandmammaliancellproductiontechnologyandthewiderangeofinvitroimmunologicalmodelsdevelopedbyBioneer.Bioneeralsoassistsestablishedpharmaceutical

companieswithdevelopmentprojectsandfeasibilitystudiesforproduction.“ThecollaborationwithBioneeraddsvaluetoour

projectsthroughtheirhighlyqualifiedinputthatbringsoutnewaspects.Furthermore,thecloseinteractionand dialogue with our researchers and technicians

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basedonideasthathaveemergedfrompreviousandongoingprojects.Bioneer’snetworkbranchesoutwidelyinDanishand

Europeanacademiaanditishelpfulknowingwhichaca-demicexpertstoturntoforsecondopinions,collabo-rationsetc.Thesamegoesforfunding.“ThepeopleatBioneerhaveanin-depthknowledge

andoverviewoffundingpossibilitiesforearlyprojects.Thatprovedveryhelpfulforus,”saysAndersMørke-bergHinsby,CEO,Orphazyme.

Transparency Bioneer:FARMAisabusinessunitofBioneerwithindrugformulationanddelivery.ItisbasedattheFacultyofPharmaceuticalSciencesattheUniversityofCopen-hagen.Eightdedicatedexpertsworkcloselywiththeircustomerskeepingthelinesofcommunicationopenforoptimisedandrapidresults.“Ourownexpertsareinclosecontactanddialogue

regardingtheactivitiesoutsourcedtoBioneer:FARMAandtheycanseetheprogressforthemselvesratherthan justreadingthereport.Thatishighlyappreci-atedbyourspecialists,”saysLarsLindgaardHansen,AssociateDirector,BiopharmaceuticalDevelopmentatNycomed.Bioneerhascompetenceswithinarangeofbiotech-

nologicalareas:proteinproduction,pharmaceuticalanalysis and formulation, immunologic models, biomark-ersandstemcelltechnology.“Wecanhelpcommercialiseanexistingtechnologyor

doproductdevelopmentfromtheverybeginning.Theyareatoppositeendsofthegame,butourstrengthisthat we match both of them with cutting-edge tech-nologyandsolutions,”NielsSkjærbækends.

•Bioneer A/S is a subsidiary of the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and is approved by the Danish Ministry of Science and Technology as an authorised provider of technological services - a GTS entity.

• Thecompanywasstarted25yearsago.

• Bioneerhasstate-of-the-artfacilitiesintheScion-DTU Science Park in Copenhagen.

speeduptheprocesssignificantly,”saysKåreHvalsøeMeno, SeniorProjectManager, GlobalInnovationMan-agement,ALK.

Innovation budding and networkingThistypeofcollaborationfostersevenmoreinnovation.

“Typically,theproblem-solvingthattakesplaceduringaprojectbringsoutnewideasandnewmodelstoworkwith,”NielsSkjærbæksays.Asaresult,Bioneerhasasignificantpatentportfolio

Bioneer is dedicated to facilitate innovation

Photo: Bioneer AS

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By Charlotte Strøm, MD, PhD, Journalist English language revision: CLS Communication A/S

Aninternationalfacultyofspeak-ers will cast light on the mysteries ofproteinchemistryandapplica-tions to combat diseases at a symposiumentitled‘Proteins,fromcreation to destruction – and what liesinbetween’.Asaspecialtreatto the delegates of the meeting, theOrganisingCommitteeproudlypresentsnolessthanthreeNobelLaureatesamongthespeakers.“Thisisanoutstandingopportu-

nity for researchers working with proteins,proteinstructuresandtechnologyinprivateandpublic

Three Nobel Laureates to speak in Copenhagen

IndulgeyourinnerscientistandmeetthreeNobelLaureatesinchemistry.

ProfessorsAdaYonath,AaronCiechanoverandAvramHershkowillbespeaking

attheInternationalSymposiumonProteinChemistryon23-25May2011

attheUniversityofCopenhagen.

organisations to hear some of the greatestresearcherswithinproteinchemistryspeak,”saysBoSkaaningJensen,PhD,HeadofAllianceMan-agement,NeurosearchandmemberoftheOrganisingCommittee.

Internationally recognised researchersTheNobelLaureatesareProfessorAdaYonathfromtheWeizmannIn-stituteofScience,Israel,ProfessorAaronCiechanoverandProfessorAvramHershko,bothfromTech-nion-Israel Institute of Technol-

4 conference rooms and a restaurant for up to 150 people

kosmopol.nu

Kosmopol Fiolstræde 44 DK-1171 København K Tel. +45 3342 6608 [email protected] kosmopol.nu

A stunning backdrop for meetings and conferences – in the very heart of Copenhagen

ogy.In2009ProfessorYonathwasawardedtheNobelPrizeinchem-istry together with Venkatraman RamakrishnanandThomasA.Steitzfor her studies in the structure and functionoftheribosome.Sheisthefirst woman in 45 years to win the NobelPrizeinchemistry.Herworkalsocomprisesprojectsfocusingon identifying how bacteria become resistanttoantibiotics.In2004ProfessorsCiechanover

andHershkowereawardedtheNo-belPrizeinchemistrytogetherwithIrvinRosefortheirdiscoveryof

ubiquitin-mediatedproteindegrada-tion.Theubiquitin-proteasomepath-wayplaysacriticalrole in maintaining the homeostasis of cellsandisbelievedtobeinvolvedinthedevelopmentandprogressionofdiseases such as cancer, muscular and neurological diseases and im-mune and inflam-matoryresponses.Thesymposium

is the result of the joint effort and initiativebytheDanish Weizmann Society, Danish

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WHAT:InternationalSymposiumonProteinChemistry–ApplicationstoCombatDiseases,Copenhagen

WHEN: 23-25 May 2011

WHERE:UniversityofCopenhagen,LundbeckFoundationAuditorium,OleMaaløes Vej 5, DK-2200Copenhagen,Denmark

HOW: Onlineregistrationatbiopeople.dk(mandatory).Participationinthesym-posiumisfreeofchargeexceptforanadministrationfeeofDKK200(EUR27)

FriendsoftheUniversityofHaifaandtheUniversityofCopenhagen.SeveralmembersoftheOrganisingCommitteehavestrongprofessionalnetworksattheresearchinstitutionswheretheNobelLaureatesarecurrentlyconductingresearch.

Professional networkingInadditiontothekeynotelecturesgivenbytheNobelLaureates,thesymposiumfeaturesalonglistofdistin-guishedspeakersfromtheUSA,GermanyandDenmark.Andtheprogrammealsoallowstimefornetworking.BoSkaaningJensen,fromtheOrganisingCommittee,thinksofitasakindofwell-organisedprofessionalspeeddating:“TherewillbeanopportunitytomeettheNobel

From the left : Professor Avram Hershko, Professor Aaron Ciechanover and Professor Ada Yonath.

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Laureatesinperson,discussresearchprojectsandpotentialopportunitiesforcollaborations.Ifyouareworkinginproteinchemistry–youshouldnotmissthis,”heconcludes.

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By Charlotte Strøm, MD, PhD, JournalistEnglish language revision: CLS Communication A/S

TheBioMed2011lifescienceconferencetakingplaceinTelAviv,Israelon23-25MaycouldbethenextstopforcompanieslocatedinMediconValleylookingfortherightpartnerforresearchprojectsorcommercialisationofexistingproducts.JensPeterVittrup,SpecialAdvisorattheDanishAgencyforScience,TechnologyandInnova-tion(DASTI)isexcitedaboutthepotentialforDanishlifesciencecompaniesattheconference.Heexplainswhy:“ThereisagrowinglifescienceindustryinIsrael,par-

ticularlythesmallandmid-sizedknowledgecompaniesareinrapidgrowth.Inmanywaysthebiotechenviron-ment in Denmark and the whole Medicon Valley region is similar to that in Israel – and this is a good basis for establishingcollaborationsandpartnerships.”

Intense competitionIsraelisgrowingintoanimportantbiotechclusterandhasmanagedtopositionthecountryassuchinafieldofintensecompetition.ThefactthatIsraelhasthehighestpercapitanumberofNobelLaureatesreflectstheresourcesthattheIsraeligovernmenthasputintoresearchanddevelopment.Lifescience-relatedtech-nologieshaveparticularfocus.TheBioMedconferencefocusesonprojectsandtechnologieswithinpharma,biotechnologyandmedicaldevices.“Danishcompanieshavespecialcompetencesinthese

areas,andthusitmakesperfectsensetolookforcol-

laborationsatthisconference,”JensPeterVittrupsays.Congress delegates can book one-on-one meetings

withcompaniestheyfindattractiveforcollaboration.During the week of the conference, 15-20 meetings are likelytotakeplace,makingitaveryefficientmethodofmatchmaking.

Facilitating research collaborationDASTI,incooperationwithCopenhagenCapacityandtheDanishEmbassyinTelAviv,issupportingparticipantsinthe Danish delegation with free access to the confer-ence, a fully staffed Danish booth, matchmaking and networking,PRetc.“Incaseswherecompaniesmanagetofindtheper-

fectmatchforaresearchordevelopmentproject,wefurtherassistinguidingthepartnersthroughpotentialfundingopportunities,e.g.Eurostars,EUFrameworkpro-grammesorrelevantnationalprogrammes,”saysJensPeterVittrup,andcontinues:“Especiallythesmallcompanieswithonly10-15em-

ployeesbenefitfromthissupportanditmaymakeadifferencetowardsbringingthemclosertovariouscol-laborations.”Since2009aDanishboothhasbeenpresentatthe

BioMedconference,andasinpreviousyearsitishostedbyemployeesfromDASTI,theEmbassy,CopenhagenCapacity,BioPeopleandBioneer.

Life science conference in Tel Aviv with great potential

On23-25May,6,000delegatesfromallovertheworldwillgatherinTelAvivfor

the10thILSI-BioMedconferenceonbiopharmaceuticalsandmedicaldevices.

Theconferenceholdsgreatpotentialforestablishingpartnershipsand

collaborationsforcompanieslocatedinMediconValley

WHAT: ILSIBioMed2011–The10thNational

Life Science and Technology Week

WHEN: 23-25 May 2011

WHERE: TelAviv,Israel

Join the Danish Delegation: http://www.ambtelaviv.um.dk/da/menu/OmOs/Nyheder/Biomed2011.htm

The Danish delegation at Biomed 2010. Jens Peter Vittrup, Special Advisor at the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innova-tion (DASTI) sits far left of bottom row.

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By Maria Kaaman, Communications Manager, SwedenBio

SwedenBioimplementedaLifeScienceInvestmentDayScandinaviainMarchforthesixthyearinsuccession.Itwasverypleasingtonotethatthiswasan“alltimehigh”intermsofthenumberofdelegates,corporatepres-entations,presentationsbyinternationalinvestorsandpartnershipmeetings.Nearly300delegatesparticipatedand220partnershipmeetingstookplaceduringthedayinStockholm.Twelveinternationalinvestorspresentedtheircompaniesonthemainstage,andtheirclearin-tentionwastoestablishcontactwithothercompaniesattendingthemeeting.Wehopethatsomeofthelargenumberofpartnershipmeetingswillresultinconcretebusinessopportunities.LifeScienceInvestmentDayScandinaviaisSwedenBio’skeyeventforestablishingbusinesscontactsforourmembers.Wearelookingfor-wardtoincreasedparticipationinMarchnextyear,whenwewillbebasingLifeScienceInvestmentDayScandina-viainSkåne,SouthernSweden,forthefirsttime.

Need for long-term measuresInthefinalpaneldiscussion,wediscussedthemeltdownofthetraditionalventurecapitalmodelinourindustry.Thereweremixedopinionsaboutthis,butweagreedthatLifeScienceisaveryspecialbusinessareaintermsofinvestmentandthattheneedforlong-termmeas-uresisoftheutmostimportance.Thedebateconcludedthatmorerealisticbusinessmodelsmustbedevelopedforbiotechcompanies.Anotherkeyfactornotedwasthat more than half the current consolidations and buy-outsarecarriedoutbypartiesotherthanBigPharma.Itwasalsonotedthatwemusthavetheexpertisetokeeppacewithincreasedregulatoryrequirementsandplanfortheconcreteachievementofrevenues.JeremyHaigh,R&DAmgen’sInternationalChiefOper-

atingOfficer,madeahighlyfruitfulandinspiringpresen-tation.HedescribedAmgen’sdevelopmentfromaverysmalloperationtothemajorinternationalcompanyitistoday.Hestressedthatmanyfactors–regulatory,fi-nancial,etc.–aremuchmorecomplexthanwhenAmgenwassetupinthe1980s.JeremyHaighconsideredthatitwouldprobablynotbefeasibletoestablishanewAmgen.Thisisachallengethatwecanaccept.

High time to change the taxationAtourhomemarketinSweden, we are getting a bet-terresponsetocrucialquestionsthatinvolveourindustry.InanarticleinDagensIndustrion18March,

JanBjörklundobservedthatitishightimetochangethetaxationrulesforkeypersonnelinourknowledge-intensivesociety.Asanexample,hesaidthattaxesforspecialistexpertsmustbesimplerandmoregeneroustoavoidabrain-drainofresearchersleavingthecountry,orforeignerswhodonotevenconsiderthepossibilityofmovingtoSweden.BjörklundfavourstaxdeductionsforresearchdonationsandtheintroductionofR&Ddeduc-tionsforcompaniesforwhichthereisalongroadfromtheoriginalconcepttosuccessfulmarketing.Hepointsoutthatsucharrangementsalreadyapplyinmostothercountries.ItispleasingtonotethatthequestionsraisedbySwedenBioovertheyearsarenowbeingactivelypur-suedanddiscussedbyamemberoftheCabinet.

Life Science Investment Day Scandinavia sets course for Skåne

Maria Kaaman, Communications Manager, SwedenBio: ”We are looking forward to increased participation in March next year, when we will be basing Life Science Investment Day Scandinavia in Skåne, Southern Sweden, for the first time.”

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TheEuropeanCancerClusterPartnering(ECCP)eventistheoncology-partneringmeetinginEuropeforbiotech,pharma,investors,cliniciansandacademia.ECCPoffersavitalnetworkingarenafortheoncologycommunityinEuropeandisthedirectresultoftheclosecollabora-tionbetweentwoofEurope’sstrongestcancerclusters,theFrenchCancer-Bio-SantéandtheNorwegianOsloCancerCluster.TheECCPeventssucceedingatheringtheentire

oncologyvaluechain:Biotech-,diagnostic-,medicaldevice-anddrugdelivery-companies,internationalbiop-harmaceuticalindustries,immunotherapy-andvaccinecompanies,universityhospitalsandcancercentres,ven-turecapital,publicinvestorsandinternationalclusterswillmeettopresentanddiscusstheirassetsandbuildnewpartnerships.AtECCP2011inToulouseMediconValleyAlliancewill

organize an oncology focused Technology Showcase with morethana100participantsinconjunctionwiththeECCP.AspartoftheABCEuropeinitiativethisshowcasewillallowallEuropeanuniversities,researchcentres,technologytransferofficesandSMEstopresentinno-vativetechnologieswithincancerresearchtoaninter-nationalbusinesscommunity.MarylandBiotechnologyCentrehasalsoteamedup

withECCP2011.TogetherwithUSbiotechcompaniesaswellasspeakersfromtheNCIandtheFDA,MarylandBiotechnologyCentrewill jointheeventtostrengthenthecollaborationbetweenEuropeandtheUSinoncol-ogybusinessdevelopment.

Inadditiontofocusedpartneringopportunities,theECCP2011willpresentabroadprogramwithaninter-nationalrangeofspeakersaddressingthekeyissuesintranslationaloncologythroughcompanypresentations,casestudiesandpaneldiscussions.TheeventinToulouseisthethirdofitskind.ECCP2009

andECCP2010attractedclinicians,researchers,SMEsandmajor(bio)pharmaceuticalcompaniesfrom22countries,whichresultedinmorethan1.000one-to-onemeetings.PleasefindmoreinformationontheECCP2011homepage:www.ecc-partnering.com.

Opportunity to presenttechnology at Cancer eventMediconValleyAlliance(MVA)hasteamedupwiththeEuropeanCancer

ClusterPartneringevent(ECCP)inToulouse,France,September14-16,2011.

MVAislookingforinnovativetechnologieswithincancerresearchthatcanbe

presentedtoaninternationalbusinesscommunity.

Pernille AasholmProjectManagerMediconValleyAllianceE-mail: [email protected]:(T)+4532878012(M)+4520131301

Peter NordströmSeniorProjectManager MediconValleyAllianceE-mail: [email protected]:(T)+4532878007(M)+4540104145

Pierre Montoriol, President at Cancer-Bio-Santé, opening last years European Cancer Cluster Partnering.

Pho

to:

EC

CP

FormoreinformationontheTechnologyShowcasefocusedonOncology,pleasecontact:

34

With around 200 companies and approx. 4,000 employees distributed across three locations in Hørsholm, Lyngby and the newly started biotech science park COBIS in Copenhagen, Scion DTU is an important player in Danish innovation and business development. The science park is like a nesting ground for tomorrow’s life science, IKT and cleantech companies, which are to be the focal point of the Danish business community. And many of the companies stem from large well-established compa-nies such as Chr. Hansen, Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck.

Shortcuts to the whole world “Customer value is our main focus. The knowledge-based companies located here experience an increase in value when they move in. In Scion DTU they have easier access to the latest knowledge, advice and capital and we can draw on our strong con-tacts in the best universities, hospitals and industries both in Denmark and abroad,”

underlines Business Development Manager Torben Orla Nielsen.

Likewise, small start-up companies can work in an environment where it is easier to break down the doors to the well-established companies and to the necessary venture ca-pital, where Scion DTU also assists via its subsidiary DTU Symbion Innovation.

Scion DTU will also host the annual, international science park conference in June 2011, where 700 delegates from the world’s science parks will be discussing the deve-lopment of tomorrow’s companies.

Heart of international research environmentScion DTU provides access to research fa-cilities, such as testing and specialist labora-tories worth over two billion Danish kroner, and the close collaboration with researchers and students of all nationalities from DTU generates an international and creative en-vironment.

“A number of companies have been star-ted by researchers or students, and just as many job applicants come from the univer-sity because of DTU’s world-class research environment. We are also members of the Medicon Valley Alliance and have a close relationship with the medico companies and their customers at the big hospitals.

We sponsor Medicon Valley’s ambassador scheme and many international delegations visit us to see how we organise our medico-cluster here in the Oresund region, as it is unrivalled in the rest of Europe” says Torben Orla Nielsen.

A springboard to the futureWith its 50th birthday approaching, science park Scion DTU is one of the oldest and most focused concentration of knowledge companies in the world.

FACTS: SCION DTUFounded in 1962 in Hørsholm. Owned by DTU – Technical University of Den-mark. Has facilities in Hørsholm, Lyngby and in COBIS, the Copenhagen-based science park that Scion DTU co-owns with Symbion. Scion DTU provides access to pre-mises, laboratories, capital, conference centres and advice for cleantech, life science and IKT companies. 30 employees service approx. 200 companies with around 4,000 employ-ees. With over 180,000 metres of floor space Scion DTU is Denmark’s largest science park.www.sciondtu.dk

Advertorial

OneofMediconValleyAllianceskeyobjectivesistodeliv-eranoverviewtothelifescienceindustryintheregion.ThisoverviewservesasapointofentryforbothregionalplayersbutalsoforinternationalplayerswhoarelookingforpartnersorareinterestedinplacingoneoftheirdepartmentsorEuropeanheadquarterinMediconValley.MediconValleyOnline(www.mediconvalleyonline.com)is

madeupofmodulesorsections,andplansaretoincor-poratenewsectionsovertime.Eachsectioncontainsalistofentitieswithatoolbarontop.Thetoolbarcanbeusedtofilterorsearchthelistforrelevantentriesinthesection.CurrentlyMediconValleyOnlineencompass-esfoursections;Organizations,DrugPipeline,ContractServicesandJobs.Thisarticledescribesthetypeofinformationyoucanfindineachsection.

OrganizationsTheorganizationssectionofMediconValleyOnlinegivesanoverviewoforganizationsandcompanieswith

www.mediconvalleyonline.com

YourguidetolifescienceinMediconValley

Withneworganizations,drugcompounds,contractservices, jobs,andevents

createddaily,MediconValleyisinaconstantstateofchange.Howdoyoustay

in-tunewiththesechangesandfindinformationaboutpotentialbusinesspart-

nersintheregion?MediconValleyAlliancehaslaunchedanonlineresourceto

helpyouwith justthat,itiscalledMediconValleyOnline.

Medicon Valley Online

By Martin AnderssonProject and Systems Manager, Medicon Valley Alliance

The frontpage of www.mediconvalley.com

focus on or related to health science or the biomedical industry.ListedorganisationsareeitherlocatedintheMedicon Valley region or are international members of MediconValleyAlliance.

The organizations are structured according to busi-nesscategorieslikeBiotechCompany,PharmaceuticalCompany,MedtechCompany,ContractResearchOr-ganisationandUniversitiesetc.Thesecategoriesareselectableasfiltersintheredtoolbaratthetopofthelistintheorganizationssection.Ifyouwant,youcanalsospecifysubbusinesscategoriesand/orthelocationtoget a list of all Biotech organizations working with Bio-logicalsinSwedenforinstance.

Each organization is listed with details like business category,locationandbasiccontactdetails.MembersofMediconValleyAlliancehoweverhavetheirownprofilepagewithauniqueURLlinkandfurtherinformationlikeadescription,availablecontacts,amapoftheirloca-tion,ascreenshotoftheirwebpageandtheirlogo.Iftheorganization has related entries in the other sections ofMediconValleyOnlinesuchascompoundsindrugde-velopmentoravailable jobsatthe jobsection,thesewillalsobelistedatthecompanyprofilepage.

Drug PipelineTheDrugpipelinesectionofMediconValleyOnlinelistsdrugcompoundsinclinicaldevelopmentbyBiotechandPharmaceuticalcompanieslocatedinMediconValley.Asthere are international organizations in Medicon Val-ley,onlycompoundsthathavetheirclinicaldevelopmentmanaged or administered from a site within Medicon Valleyarelistedinthesection.Thecompoundsinthesectionarestructuredaccord-

36

Each member of Medicon Valley Alliance has a profi le page with information on compounds, services and personnel.

In total almost 400 organisations are registered at Medicon Valley Online in 11 diff erent business segments.

The Drug Pipeline section of Medicon Valley Online provides an over-view on indications of compounds by biotech and pharmaceutical organizations in Medicon Valley.

ing to the disease area and indication of ongoing trials ofthatcompound.MediconValleyOnlineusesthesamestructureofdiseasesandindicationsasclinicaltrials.gov(ClinicalTrials.govisaregistryoffederallyandprivatelysupportedclinicaltrialsconductedintheUnitedStatesandaroundtheworld).Inthetoolbaryoucanalsofilterthelistonaspecificdrugdevelopmentphaseortypeofdevelopmentthecompoundisundergoing.ForexampleMediconValleyOnlinecangiveyouallcompoundswith

Support Structure Organisation

Public Organisation

Pharmaceutical Company

Medtech Company

Laboratory Services and Supplies

Investor and Business Developer

Contract Reserch Organisation

Contract Manufacturing Organisation

Business Service Provider

Biotech Company

Academic Institution

13

16

25

58

28

21

58

19

65

84

10

trialsinNutritionalandMetabolicDiseasesinphaseIIwherethedevelopingorganizationislookingforapart-nerforco-developmentofthatcompound.

Contract Services ThesectionofcontractservicesatMediconValleyOnlineshowsavailablecontractresearchandmanufacturingservicesbyorganizationsinMediconValley.Thissectionisintendedfordrugdevelopingorganizationsthatare

Typeoforganisations

3737

Sweden Denmark Europe North America

Cancers and Other Neoplasms

Immune System Diseases

Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases

Behaviors and Mental Disorders

Nervous System Diseases

Bacterial and Fungal Diseases

Heart and Blood Diseases

Gland and Hormone Related Diseases

Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Blood and Lymph Conditions

Viral Diseases

Symptoms and General Pathology

Diseases and Abnormalities at or before......

Digestive System Diseases

Respiratory Tract (Lung and Bronchial)...

Infuries, Poisonings, and Occupational...

Urinary Tract, Sexual Organs, and...

Muscle, Bone, and Cartilage Diseases

Eye Diseases

0 10 20 C0 40 50 60

Pre-clinical Phase I Phase II Phase III

22

14

6

6

6

16 1

1

1

3

1 5

6

3

1

1

1

2

2

4

4

1

112

3

1 13

2 1 1

4

4 1

1 6 2

7 2 4

4 46

7 2 4

3 9 2

5 6 4

10 6 5

12 18 7

Number of compound indications per disease area presently registered at Medicon Valley Online. Depicted compound indications are from both Biotech and Pharmaceutical organizations in Medicon Valley.

Indications in disease areas

The Organisations section gives an overview of life science related organizations in Medicon Valley.

lookingtooutsourcepartsofthedevelopment,clinicalresearchore.g.manufacturingofadrugcompound.Thecontractservicesarestructuredaccordingtothe

drugdevelopmentvaluechain.Eachserviceisapplicabletooneorseveralsectionsofthevaluechain.Withthehelpofthetoolbaryoucanfiltertheservicesdependingon your interest in any of the following main stages; Dis-covery,Pre-clinical,ChemicalManufacturingandControl,ClinicalandPostApproval.InthissectionofMediconVal-leyOnlineyoucanforinstancebrowseallpre-clinicalser-vicesapplicablewithinToxicologystudiesforyourproject.

JobsThe jobssectionofMediconValleyOnlineisdevelopedincollaboration with Monster which is one of the largest internationalcareernetworksintheworld.Thesectionprovidesalistofavailable jobswithinhealthscienceandthebiomedicalindustryintheregionofMediconValley.ThiscollaborationentitlesmembersofMediconValleyAl-liancetoadvertise jobpositionsatMonsterandMediconValleyOnlineforafractionoftheordinaryprice.EachpositionlistedatMediconValleyOnlinehasa

shortdescription,thetypeofposition(Permanent/tem-

3838

www.sam-int.com

SAMYour preferred partner -when your Life Science recruitments are crucial

ContactKjeld Birch, MDManaging partner+45 4054 2440

The Contract Services section of Medicon Valley Online is intended for drug developing organizations that are looking to outsource development, clinical research e.g. manufacturing.

The jobs section gives the user an overview of available jobs related to life science in the region of Medicon Valley.

Martin AnderssonProject and Systems ManagerMobile: +46 701 750053Direct: +45 3287 8006E-mail: [email protected]

poraryandFull-time/part-time)aswellasanexternallinktofurtherinformationabouttheposition.

Keep your profi le up-to-date at Medicon Valley Online Does your organization work within or focus on the life scienceindustry?Ifso,chancesarethatyouarealreadyregisteredatMediconValleyOnline.ButtomakethemostoutyouradvertisementspaceonMediconValleyOnlineweencourageyoutosigninandchecksothatyourprofileisup-to-date.

Forfurtherinformation,inputsonusabilityorfuturesectionsofMediconValleyOnlinepleasecontacttheprojectmanager:

One of the strongest research regions in Europe, and the prime lo-cation in the Nordic countries. that is what I think about when people refer to the Öresund region. According to Jan Björklund, the Swedish Minister of Education and holder of the Life Science relay baton in Medicon Valley, Medicon Valley is already a success-ful concept, but there is also poten-tial to become even better.

Withtwelveuniversitiesanduniver-sity colleges in the Öresund region –whichisarelativelylimitedgeo-graphicalarea–itishardlysurpris-ingthatthevolumeofresearchconductedisextremelyextensive.Some of the higher education insti-tutionsareworldclass,forexampletheCopenhagenandLunduniver-sities (incidentally both of them arealsothelargestuniversitiesinDenmarkandSweden,respec-tively).Asaresult,theÖresundregion and Medicon Valley are the primeresearchregionintheNordiccountries,andoneofthemostvitalcentresinaEuropeancontext.

It is not enough merely to offer auniversity,healthcareorbusinessoptionifwewanttoachievethepo-sitionacquiredbyMediconValleyinthelifesciencefield.Allthreecom-

ponentsareessentialforsuccess,andcooperationbetweenallthreeisalsonecessary.

ESS and Max IVOnaglobalscale,bothSwedenandDenmarkareinvestingthehighestproportionofpublicfundsinre-search.InourmostrecentResearchBill,presentedin2008,theannualallocationwasaugmentedbySEK5billion.Therehasneverbeforebeenanincreaseinresourcesonthisscale.Inaddition,wearerewardingqual-

ity to a greater extent than in the past–forexampleresearchfundingis allocated between higher educa-tion institutions on the basis of the highestqualityachievement.Anothernewapproachiswhatis

referredtoas“strategicareas”.Wehaveidentifiedanumberofsubjectareasor–inpointoffact–prob-lemsthatneedtobesolved,andweareinvestingadditionalfundsinfirst-classresearchenvironmentstotackletheseproblems.Anumberoftheseproblemareasareinthemedicalsector,forexamplediabetesandcancer.Boththesenewapproaches

favourMediconValley,whereLundUniversityisparticularlywellplaced.Inaddition,overthenextfewyearstheGovernmentwillbefundinginvestmentsofseveralbillionkronorin the research infrastructure, and two facilities are currently under constructioninSkåneinsouthernSweden.

Max IV, which is one of these initiatives,willbethemostpower-fulsynchrotronlightunitinEurope.Synchrotronlight–lightinaverynarrowwavelengthspectrum–enables us to study the structure ofmatterattheatomiclevel.Asaresult,MaxIVishighlyrelevantin

Investment in first-class research

environments

“ In many respects, better

cooperation between

universities, hospitals and

companies is required

for further development of

the region”

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of E

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structuralbiology,forexampletostudythewayinwhichaproteinfoldsitself,andMaxIV’spredeces-sor has been used for some time by bothDanishandSwedishpharma-ceuticalcompanies.

ESS–theEuropeanSpallationSource–istheothermajorfacility.ESSemploysneutronsinthestudyof the structure of materials and the waytheywork.Suchmaterialsmayrange from motors to archaeologi-caldiscoveries,butpharmaceuticalswillconstituteamajorproportionofthisactivity.ItisestimatedthatESSwillcostEUR1.5billionand,althoughseveralcountrieswillbemakingfinancial contributions, Sweden and Denmarkwilldefraythemajorpartofthecosts.Thisisthelargestresearchprojecteverbuiltinourvicinityanditwillbindourtwocountriescloser.MaxIVandESSwillsupple-

ment each other, and the region will become a centre for materials research,includingpharmaceuticals.These research facilities will rein-forceMediconValley’spositionand,in addition, will establish new meet-ingplacesforresearchersfromuniversitiesandthebusinessworld.

Better cooperationInmanyrespects,bettercoop-erationbetweentheuniversities,hospitalsandcompanieswillberequiredforfurtherdevelopmentof

The Baton

40

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BatonwithPointsofView

”TheBaton”isaPointofViewfeature about life science in MediconValley.Itiswrittenbybusinesspeople,researchers,politiciansandopinion-shaperswithapersonalandextensivecommitmenttoMediconValley.TheholderoftheBatonpassesitontoanewpersonalongwithoneormorequestionsre-lated to life science in Medicon Valley.

theregion.Thismaybeaquestionofphysicalmeetingplacestoestab-lish cross-border contacts and to ensuretheachievementofsynergyeffects that were not originally anticipated.Italsoinvolvesapositiveattitude

onthepartofhighereducationinstitutionstopersonswhohavebeenactiveoutsidetheuniversitiesatsomepointinthecourseoftheircareers – not merely the research resultsachievedwithinthefourwalls of the institution concerned butalsoexperienceacquiredinothercontexts.Ibelievethattheuniversities’previoussomewhatscepticalattitudetoindustryischanging,butwearenotthereyet.Butthedecisivefactorforthe

life-science sector is clearly clinical researchanditsprerequisites.Akeypieceofthepuzzleinthiscontextisopportunitiestoconductclini-cal tests in the healthcare sector, bothinthemajorhospitalsandinconjunctionwithsmallerprivateoperations.

To some extent, this is because reviewsconductedbycountycoun-cilsdonotfunctioninanoptimalmannertoday.Inprinciple,theonlymedicalpolicyobjectivesthathaveattracted attention in recent years involveaccessibilityandproduct-ivity.Thereisnoscopeforclinicalconsiderations if a doctor is solely assessed on the basis of how many patientsheorshetreatsperday.County councils may sometimes needtoadoptamorepositiveat-titude to research and, in the long term,thisisclearlyimportantfortheirownoperations.Itiseasytorefertovisionsand

what needs to be changed, but ulti-matelypracticalobstaclestendtopreventcross-bordercooperation.IfpublictransportacrosstheÖresundlink ceases to function and if social security and tax systems fail to take commuting into account, we cannot regard the Öresund region and Medi-conValleyasasingleentity.But,ifwecansolvethepracti-

calproblemsandtietheacademic

world, industry and healthcare ser-vicesmorecloselytogether,Medi-conValleywillhaveexcellentprere-quisitesinthefutureasaprominentresearchregion.

Jan Björklund would like to pass on his relay baton to Colin Carlile (the President of ESS AB) with the mes-sage “what will ESS mean for life science in the region?”

Diligent and thorough – that is how everypieceofinformationondiag-noses,hospitaladmissions,surger-ies and causes of death is collected prospectivelyaboutanypersonlivinginDenmarkandSweden.Datacollection is mandatory and com-pleteandcarriedoutonanationalor regional basis in both Denmark andSweden.EachinhabitantinDenmarkorSwedenhasauniquepersonalregistrationcode,thecen-tralpersonalregistrationnumber,whichcanbecoupledtoinformationonhealthstatus.Inmortalitystudies,datacomplete-

nessisacornerstone.Thisiswherethepatientandhealthcareregistriesplayaparticularlyvaluablerole.Miss-ingdatalowerthequality of the study – and weaken the conclu-sions.Thusprotectionfromdatalossisamajoradvantageinlarge-scaleoutcomestudieswherepatientsaretypicallyfolloweduntiltheymeetaso-calledhardendpoint,e.g.death.Oneexampleistheeffectofphar-

maceuticalintervention,e.g.statins,oncardiovascularevents,includingdeath.Astudyofthistypewillcovermorethanathousandpatients.Pa-tientsthatarelost-follow-upwithinthe context of the study resemble missingdata.Hencetheabilityoftracingpeopletocheckiftheyhavediedisasignificantadvantage.

Nordic culture on personal registrationTheregistrieshavealongtraditionandsomegobackmanyyears.In

1871 it became mandatory to com-pletedeathcertificatesinDenmarkandtheCauseofDeathRegisterwasstartedin1943.However,registeringpersonalin-

formationabouthealth,hospitalisa-tionsanddiseasesmayseemquiteradical.Somemayargueagainstit as this information is ultimately private.Secretregistrationofper-sonalinformationhastakenplaceinEuropeafterWorldWarII,andwhenthepracticehasbeenuncovered,thepopulationsaffectedbyithavehad a tendency to lose confidence intheauthoritiesandtakepositionsagainst automatic registration of personalinformation.“Inthispartoftheworld,in

Scandinavia,personalregistrationhas fortunately always been fairly undramatic.Thisisreflectedbythefactthatpeoplegenerallyhaveahighlevelofconfidenceintheauthorities,”saysDorteHansenTh-rige,HeadofDivisionattheDanishNationalBoardofHealth.TheNationalBoardofHealthis

thepublicinstitutionthatcollectsinformationfromeveryhospitalinDenmark on admissions, diagnoses, surgeries,causesofdeathsetc.

Data completenessHowisitensuredthatthedatare-portedarecomplete?DorteHansenThrige comments on that issue:“Wehavetwopathsfordatacol-

lection,mandatoryandvoluntary.The latter can be used when there isaspecificinterestinfocusingon

surveillanceofaparticulararea.However,thehospitalsaltogetherareinvolvedindeterminingthecom-positionofthedatacollection-thisalsoappliestothemandatorypart.”Shebelievesthattheearlyin-

volvementofclinicianscanhaveaninfluence on the data collection that canbeusefulinseveralsettingsand that this is the ideal model of governance.

Focus on researchThepurposeoftheregistriesanddata collection originates in the administrativeandeducationalneed to learn more about diseases andtheiroutcomes.Itisalsousedforhealthcareplanningandactiv-ityassessment.Moreover,itisthefoundation of a strong tradition for registryresearch.TheDanishNationalBoardof

Healthprovidesaspecialresearchservicewhichcanextractdatathatarerequestedbyresearchers.“Anyresearcherwithavalid

hypothesisandapprovalfromtheDanishDataProtectionAgencycanpurchasespecificdatasets,”saysDorteHansenThrige,describingtheresearchserviceprovidedbytheinstitution.Fivepeopleworkfulltimeto

providethisserviceandsinceitwaslaunched in 2000, it has become quitesuccessful.“Theinitiativewasbasedona

politicaldemandforincreasedopen-nessinthepublicadministrationand we see it as a success because

Swedish and Danish register research

HealthdocumentationisworldclassintheMVARegion.Prospectivecollection

ofhealthcaredatainSwedenandDenmarkoffersuniqueopportunitiesfor

conductinghigh-qualityclinicalandepidemiologicalresearchintheregion.

By Charlotte Strøm, MD, PhD, JournalistEnglish language revision: CLS Communication A/S

42

it has legitimised the research-ers’needsfordata,”shesays,adding:“Andwhyshouldn’titbeused

forresearchpurposes.Itmakesperfectlysense,becausetheinformation is readily there and available.”

Currently, the research serviceattheDanishNationalBoardofHealthdeliversmorethan500datasetsperyear.

Registries coupled to biobanks Similarinitiativesarebeingundertaken with the Swedish counterpartoftheMVARegion.InRegionSkånethehealthcareinformation on inhabitants is collected in a similar manner, systematically and consist-ently.Again,thereismoretoitthan justpoolingdata,because registry research has become a strategic re-searchareaatLund’sUniversity.Areflectionofthehighpriorityofthetopicisitsabilitytoattractcompetentresearcherstotheuniversity.DeanBoAhrénfromtheFacultyofMedicine,Lund

University,pointstoafurtheradvantageoftheSwedishregistries: “Someofourregistriesarecoupledtothebiobanks,

allowingformorein-depthquestionsandanswersinhu-manmedicine,”BoAhrénsays.Thehealthdocumentationprovidesinformationthat

can be used for clinical research as well as health care planningandclinicalqualityassessmentanddevelop-ment.AndersThulin,MDandMedicalDirectorinRegion

Skåne,isheadingagroupoffivephysicianswhoworkspecificallywithimplementingtheknowledgeandlearn-ingsfromtheSwedishregistries.“Youcouldcallitadaptedevidence-basedmedicine.

Thepointisthatthedataextractedfromtheregistriesisusedtoimprovepatientcareatthehospitals,”AndersThulinsays.Hegivesanexampleofhowtheregistrydatarevealed

quitequicklythataparticularhipprosthesisbeingusedattheorthopaedicdepartmentsintheregiontendedtocomelooseandfail.“Thistrendwasspottedrapidlybasedonthereported

registrydata,andservedasanexampleofhowthere-sultsofthequalityworkcanbeimplementedpromptly,”hesays.Anationalinvestigationhasrecentlyemphasisedthe

highvalueofthehealthregistriesinSwedenforcontin-ueddevelopmentofclinicalqualityanddevelopmentofpatientcareastheprimarypurposeoftheregistries.Secondarily,theanalysisrevealsthattheregistriesare

of great interest to the life science industry, and forthispurposedataprotectionishandledandensuredbytheRegionwhich is the owner of the registries.“Thequalityoftheregis-

trieshasproventobeveryusefulinourownqualitywork and assessments, but also in the fact that externalpartiessuchaspharmaceuticalcompaniesshow increasing interest inregistrydata,”AndersThulinsays.

The Swedish registry data can also be accessed byexternalparties.A

controlbodyforeachregistryevaluatestheresearchprojectandgrantstheapprovalfordataextraction.

Need for registry data post marketingRegulatoryauthoritiesincreasinglyandcontinuouslyrequestfollow-updatafrompharmaceuticalcompanieswhen marketing authorisations are granted for new me-dicinalproducts.Hence,theneedforpost-authorisationstudies,follow-upstudiesaswellassafetysurveillancestudiesincreasestheinterestfrompharmaceuticalcompaniesintheDanishandSwedishpatientregistries.Thevalidityandhighqualityoftheprospectivelyandsystematicallycollecteddataisacompetitiveadvantagecomparedtootherpartsoftheworld.“TheregistriesinSwedenandDenmarkcontaindata

ofveryhighqualityandcompleteness.Furthermore,theapprovalprocessisprofessional,whichmakesdataaccessrelativelyuncomplicated.Altogether,thisisanenormousbenefittoepidemiologistsandpharmaceuti-calcompaniesdoingregistryfollow-uporresearch,”saysMichaelBusch-Sørensen,MD,ResearchDirectorheadingNordicEpidemiologyandRegistriesatMSD.HehasworkedwithepidemiologicresearchatMSD

for15yearsandhehasobservedthatpharmaceuticalcompaniesincreasinglyunderstandthebenefitofthisinformation.Thelarge-scaleregistrystudiesonHPV(humanpapil-

lomavirus)vaccinepreventingcervicalcancerconductedbyMSDinclosecollaborationwithepidemiologistsintheNordiccountriesservesasanexampleofhowthereg-istriescanbeused.Around10,000femalesintheNordicCountriesvaccinatedwithHPVvaccinearebeingfollowed.“Thereisagreatdealofhighlyvaluableinformationin

the Danish and Swedish health care registries in general –andthecancerregistriesarereallystate-of-the-art,”MichaelBusch-Sørensenconcludes.


43

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By Marianne Barfod

WHENMEDICONVALLEY was defined asalifescienceclusterover10yearsago,optimisationandgrowthwere endemic within biotechnology, thepharmaceuticalcompaniesandresearch.TheDanishandSwedishbiotechnologycompanieshavesinceenteredaneverstrongerinterna-tionalcompetitiontoacquirecapital,and this in the wake of a financial crisis.Ifthenecessarynumbersarenot found, what was started but has yettobefinishedwillsimplytum-ble–andtheopportunitywillhavepassedby,nevertoreturnagain,believesStigJørgensen,CEOofMediconValleyAlliance.“Therearesomepositives,suchas

Symphogen’srecentlyraisedcapitalofDKK750million,butthefinanc-ing situation for many life science companiesintheregionremainsafundamentalissue.ThisisalsoasocietalproblemforbothDen-markandSweden.Thelifescienceindustry, which includes biotechno-logy,pharmaceuticalsandmedicaltechnology, is constantly highlighted astheverylocomotivethatwill

ensurefuturegrowth.Iftheneces-sarycapitalisnotraised,themanybillionsofkroneralreadyinvestedintheformofpublicandprivatere-searchfundswillsimplygodownthepan.ThisdoesnotmeanthepublicDenmark and Sweden has to finance themissingcapitalinthecompanies,butisratheracaseofoptimisingthe conditions for the life science industry, as well as becoming much better at marketing our skills in MediconValleyinternationally,”saysStigJørgensen.

Billions shortIftheresearchenvironmentdisap-pearsintotheundergrowthofsmallbiotechnological businesses in Medi-conValley,itwillposeasignificantproblemforthelarger,heavyweightresearch-basedcompanies.Theyaredependentontheundergrowthforsuppliersofcompetentresearch-orientedemployees.Thesmallerlifesciencecompanies

in Medicon Valley currently need a fig-ureinthebillionsinordertoprogresstheirprojectsoverthenextfourto

fiveyears.Developingmedicineisex-tremelycostlyandrequiresmassiveinvestmentsovermanyyears.ThisisillustratedbySymphogen’slatestcapitalinjectionofDKK750million.“Hereis justonecompanythathas

raisedcapitaltodrivetheirprojectforward,butmanyothercompaniesfacethesamechallenge.ManyoftheMediconValleycompanieshavecomeso far that their projectsareabouttoenterphase2,andnowneedtofindinvestorsthatbelieveintheiridea/projectenoughtoinvest.ItmaybeacaseofinvestmentsofthissizenotbeingavailableinDenmarkandSweden.CompaniesinMediconValleyaredependentonattractingforeigninvestment.”saysStigJørgensen.

Necessary tax incentivesThe key challenge is that Medicon Valleyisunderpressurefromaglobalperspective.Resourceshavebecome more mobile and the region hastocompeteforthesamemea-grecapitalandhumanresourcesas at least 250 other life science clustersallovertheworld.

Now or never for Medicon ValleyMedicon Valley is at a crossroads. The potential for growth is there, but if the region does not obtain the necessary capital and the right political support, development will cease and the down-ward spiral begin.

CEO of Medicon Valley Alliance, Stig Jørgensen, has two outlooks: Success and failure – and it could easily be either one.

44

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“WeneedgreatersupportfromthepoliticiansinDen-markandSweden.IfMediconValleyistocompetewithinternationalplayers,itisessentialthatwehavecompeti-tiveconditionsforthelifescienceindustry.Taxincentivesareequallyimportantforsmallresearch-basedcompa-nies.Thesecangivebiotechnologycompaniesamuch-neededbufferintheirbudgetswhiletheycompletetheirprojects,”saysStigJørgensen.Hepointstothefactthatinvestorslooktowardscoun-

triessuchastheUK,France,Holland,Canada,theUSandNorway,whereruleshavebeenintroducedthatallowsmallresearch-basedcompaniestohaveupto50%oftheirresearchcostsdirectlyrefundedbythestateasopposedtohavingthesamecostsdeductedthroughcorporatetaxlater.StigJørgensenalsoaddsthatpoliticiansontheDan-

ishandSwedishsideneedtocreateacommonvisionandstrategyforMediconValley.“WeneedtoagreeacrossØresundwhatthelongterm

goalofMediconValleyis.Wheredowewanttobeintenyears,whereareourpositionsofstrengthandwhatcanweexpectinthefuture?”

Common ground in the industryMeanwhilethelifescienceindustryitselfrequiresagreatercommongroundfortheMediconValleyproject.”ThepointoftheMediconValleyregionisofcourse

thatalllifesciencecompaniesarepartofanenviron-

MEDICON VALLEY’S GrEAtESt ChALLENGES

Pia Kinhult, Regional Commissioner, Skåne, Sweden

“Wehavewhatittakestobecomeastillstrongerglobalplayerinthefieldoflifescience.Butifthelifescienceindustryistobecapableofattractingtheworld’sattention,itsordersanditsmoney,thereisaneed,notleast,forbettercooperationbetweenthecountries in the region allied to a common branding – muchmorefar-reachingthanweseetoday”.“IamsorrytosaythatIthinkIhaveseenaninclina-

tionforpeople,bothinSwedenandinDenmark,figu-rativelytositintheirownroomstoworkthingsout.I am not sure what this is due to, but the reason for thistendencymaybethatthepennyisbeginningtodropthatwearefacingmajorchallengesintheformofglobalcompetition.Inthatsituationanaturalreflexmaybetosafeguardourowninterests.Butwhatwereallyneedtodoisexactlytheopposite,namelytoexpandcooperationbetweencountriesandtolistenmorecloselyatalllevels,notleastwherepublicsectorandpoliticalagenciesareconcerned.”

45

ment where they can attract interesting business partners,customersandqualifiedemployees,aswellasdevelopfruitfulrelationshipswiththeuniversitiesandhospitals.WemustcreatebetterconditionsforthelifescienceenvironmenttoworkacrosstheOresund.Cur-rently neither the Danish nor Swedish sides of Medicon Valley know enough aboutwhatishappeningwithinresearchanddevelopmentoneachother’sturf.Thisalsoappliestothemanyexploitedsynergyopportunitiesbe-tweenresearchclustersinSkåneandZealand.”

World-class beaconsOfsignificantstrengthforMediconValleyarethere-gion’sopportunitiestocultivatenewinnovativeareas.Twoimportantprojectsarealreadyinthepipeline.AtLundUniversityinSweden,completionofMAX-labIVisexpectedinthreeyears.EquallytheEuropeanresearchfacilityEuropeanSpallationSource(ESS),alsoatLund,is

expectedtoopenin2019.BothresearchfacilitieshavethepotentialtoboostthelocalresearchenvironmentinMedicon Valley signifi cantly and to attract a large num-berofresearchersfromabroad.MediconValleyAlliancehasalsostartedaprocessof

identifyingparticular“researchbeacons”intheregion.The idea is that Medicon Valley should stand out as a specialistwithinanumberofareas,“beacons”,wheretheregion becomes world-class and thereby demonstrates itspotential.“Inordertobereallycompetentonaninternational

scalewemustidentifyfourtofiveareasinwhichwecanbeworld-class,”saysStigJørgensen.Anexampleofaresearchbeaconcouldbetogather

allthemanycompetencesthattheregionhaswithintheadministrationofmedicine,especiallydrugdelivery.“IntheMediconValleywehavealargenumberofplay-

erswhohaveuniqueskillswhenitcomestodeveloping

HowcanMediconValleycontinuetobeattractivetoLifeSciencecompaniesinthefuture?

THEBESTSCIENCEFROMTWONATIONSMediconValleyhastheuniquenesstocombinethebest research and science from two nations and to packagethisundertheMediconValleyumbrella.AcontributingsuccesstoMediconValleyisthe

impressingabilitytofindproductivesolutionsandop-portunitiesbetweendifferentagendasamongna-tionalandlocalpoliticians,academicinstitutionsanduniversitiesandthelargelifescienceindustryintheregion.Thisuniquenessmakesitpossibletofacilitatethe diff erent interests between the stakeholders inaveryspeedyfashionthatwillbebeneficialinthelongrunforallparties.FurthermoretheLifeScienceAmbassadorProgrammealsoshowstheimportanceofMediconValleyinopeningupitsboarderstotheremaining global life science industry in order to fi nd opportunitiesandbestpracticesoutsidetheregionthatmostlikelyalsowillhaveapositiveimpactontheregionitself.

DANIEL SPASIC,CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER,TFS INTERNATIONAL

TORSTEN FRELTOFT, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MSC, PH.D., SOPHION

46

ASMALLLOCALINTERNATIONALCOMPANYAsasmall,localcompanywithheadquartersinBal-lerup,wearedependentonaccesstotalent,invest-mentandflexibleinfrastructure.MediconValley’snetworkofLifeSciencecompanieshelpstocreateafocusontheindustry.Studentsaretimeandtimeagainremindedoftheexcitingcareeropportuni-tiesavailablelocally.InvestorsbecomeinterestedinspecialisinginLifeScience,asitoffersawidechoiceofexcitingplayersandtheopportunityoflargere-turns.MediconValley’sphysicallocationiscombinedwith a well-functioning infrastructure that includes trainsandametrosystem,theOresundBridge,andofcourseKastrupInternationalairport.However,MediconValley’sperspectiveisnot justlocal.SophionBiosciencesispresentin10oftheworld’s12largestpharmaceuticalcompanies.OurkeycustomersarebasedintheUS,Europe,JapanandChina.AstrongMediconValleyintheOresundregion

therefore not only has a local resonance, but an internationalone.Withoutaccesstotheinternationaltalent,internationalinvestorsandstronginfrastruc-ture,wewouldpresumablynothavebeenvotedErnst&Young’sEntrepreneuroftheYearin2010.

47Biotech Companies 1 Denmark Sweden Norway Finland Germany

Looking for Exposure?RASK Media and Medicon Valley Alliance cooperate to publish the magazine LifeSciences Insight. LifeSciences Insight is the primary mouthpiece for the Medicon Valley region’s many companies and organisations within biotech, medtech and pharma as well as companies who have this segment as their customers or suppliers.

DISTRIBUTIONIn addition to interesting and updated articles about the conditions of the industry, LifeSciences Insight gives com-panies in the region a unique opportunity to brand themselves both nationally and internationally. With its thoroughly selected distribution network, LifeSciences Insight is the ultimate and optimum opportunity to present one’s company.

CONTACT/SALESWould you like to know more?

Please contact: RASK Media Sales Department · Phone: +45 2887 0776 · E-mail: [email protected]

LifeSciences Insight is distributed in Denmark and Sweden to:

www.RASKmedia.com

• Named decision-makers in the life sciences industry• Investors• Science parks• Hospitals• Universities

• Life science media

• Relevant MPs in Scandinavia• Medicon Valley Alliance’s members

and collaboration partners• Relevant national and international

trade fairs, conferences and exhibitionsin Europe, North America and Asia

Next edition: August 2011

devicesfortheadministrationofmedicine,suchasnewwaysofchangingthephysical-chemicalproperties–toguidethenewmedicineintothebodyandtothepartwhereitwillworkbestforpatients.Addthesetechnolo-giestotheopportunitiesthattheESSsystemprovidesfordevelopingcompletelynewmaterials–thenwehavesomethingwecanreallycallworld-class.Itcouldbeofenormousinteresttoinvestorsandtoalargenumberofspecialistfields.Thatiswhyweneedfourtofivebeaconsthatwecanfocuson”,saysStigJørgensen.

International branding SellingMediconValleytoforeigninvestorsandrecruitingthenecessaryforeignworkforcerequiresstronginter-nationalbrandingoftheregion.WiththisaimMediconValleyAlliancehasdevelopedtheLifeScienceAmbassa-dorProgramme.Theaimoftheprogrammeistoestab-lishpartnershipswithinnovativeandleadinglifescienceclustersinNorthAmerica,AsiaandEurope.MediconValleyAlliancepostsLifeScienceAmbassadorstofor-eignclustersforaperiodofthreeyears,andtheforeignclusterspostambassadorstoMediconValley.MediconValleyAlliancecurrentlyhasLifeScienceAmbassadorspostedinJapan,SouthKorea,theUSandCanadaandhostsaLifeScienceAmbassadorfromBritishColumbia,Canada.“Theambassadorscreateanetworkofcontactsand

relationshipsthatcanbeusedtohelpcompaniesanduniversitiesinMediconValleyestablishnewinternationalpartnerships.Weneedaninternationalcontributiontotheresearchenvironmentintheregion.Meanwhile,therestoftheworldneedstoknowabouttheopportunitiesavailableinMediconValley,”saysStigJørgensen.

The best are the fi rst to go“Wehavesomanyotherbenefitstooffer,soitseemsabsurd not to change the conditions – because that is somethingwecanactuponourselves.Butifwedon’tthenwecannotmoveforward.Andthenwewillseethemostcompetitivecompaniesleave,forexample,fortheUS,whereconditionswillmatchthechallenges.Biotech-nologycompaniesareeasytorelocate,andthatwillbethestartofadownwardspiral.Thebestoneswillbethefirsttogo.””Nowisthetimewehavethepowertochangethings.

Oncetheregionhasdeteriorated,itwillbeimpossibletochangecourse.Soweareupagainstthewallhere–andwillnotgetanotherchance.WehavereachedacriticalpointinanindustrythatwehavebeenproudofforalongtimebothinDenmarkandSweden.Nowisthetimetoactifwedon’twanttoseetheindustrysignificantlyreduced,ormaybeevendisappear”,concludesStigJør-gensen.

By Claus Clausen Photo: Steven Christensen

FuturechallengesweretopoftheagendawhenMediconValleyAlliancerecentlyheldaworkshopfocusingonthefutureofMediconValley.IftheMedicon Valley is to remain an attrac-tiveregionforlifescienceintheyearsto come, it is high time to become morefocusedandincreasecoopera-tionacrossØresund.Ifthisdoesnothappen,MediconValleywilllageven

furtherbehindincompetitionamongthewellover250otherLifeScienceclustersaroundtheworld.ThisisthechallengethatMediconValleyAlliance,CopenhagenBusinessSchool,andnu-merous other stakeholders from the ØresundRegionareaddressinginanewBeaconIniativeaimingtosharplyimprovetheinternationalattractive-ness of Medicon Valley

Fierce competitionProfessorDavedBarry,Copenha-genBusinessSchool,predictsthatcompetitionfortalent,ideasandcapitalwillbecomeeventougherinthefuture.–Thereareover250LifeSci-

enceClustersandmoretocome.Asregionslooktoinvestinclean,highmargin, high growth areas, Life Sci-

Medicon Valley has to run a different race

GlobalizationputsMediconValleyunderenormouspressure.

AnewBeaconInitiativefocusesonhowMediconValleycanbecomeoneofthe

world’smostattractiveregionsinthefuture.

“Itisnecessaryfortheregiontorunadifferentrace”,wasoneofthekey

messagesatarecentworkshopdealingwiththefutureofMediconValley.

Pia Kinhult, Regional Commissioner for the Skåne region, and Bertel Haarder, The Danish Minister of Health and Interior.

48

49

enceisahighlypreferredalternative.Newcomerregionswillvariouslyhavedeeppockets,lowercosts,andwillcom-peteonprice,wages,andregulatoryincentivestogainfootholds.Giventheirheavyinvestments,theywillhangondespitepoorreturns,DavedBarrysaidattheworkshop.Healsodrewattentiontothefactthatolderregions

makeunusualmoves;e.gthestrategicalliancesbetweenUK’sGoldenTriangle,Boston/MassBioandSanFrancis-co/BayBio.AccordingtoDavedBarryMediconValleywillhavedifficultiescompetingtobecomethebest.–Competingtobecomethebestisaboutassimilating,

attaining,andextendingbestpractice.Youhavetorunthesameracefaster.ThismightbedifficultforMediconValley.IthinkMediconValleymustinsteadcompeteonbeinguniqueandthisisaboutstrategicpositioning:Youchoosetorunadifferentrace.Butevenifyouchoosetorunadifferentrace,youstillhavetorunitverywell.Inthatwayyoudoindeedbecomethebest.

International significanceStigJørgensen,CEOofMediconValleyAlliance,pointedout that the Life Science organizations in Medicon Valley competeinaglobalmarketwhereoneofthemostim-portantfactorsforsuccessistheabilitytoattractandretainskilledlifescienceexperts.ThisiswhyMediconValleyAllianceisnowlaunchinganew“BeaconInitiative”,whichshallhelpMediconValley“runadifferentrace”.–Toattracttheworld’sbestscientistsandexperts,

ourlocaluniversitiesmustinteractwithprivatecom-paniestoprovidearesearchandteachingenvironmentthatisinternationallycompetitiveandsecuresoptimalindividualopportunitiesforforeigners.Forthisreason,thereisaneedforasharedapproachforMediconValleywiththeaimofidentifying,benchmarking,anddevelop-ing a number of distinct research and business areas or environmentsofinternationalsignificance;areaswhichcanalsobebrandedinternationally.Wecalltheseareas“beacons”,signpoststhatsay“wearehere,onstrongground”,StigJørgensensaid.

Openness and cooperationAttheworkshop,ErikvanSnippenberg,SVPandAreaDirector,NorthWestEurope,fromGlaxoSmithKline,gavehisviewonhowMediconValleycanbecomeamoreat-tractiveinvestmentobjectforBigPharma.–Nodoubttopqualitymedicalresearchandclinical

experimentsareconductedinMediconValley.However,thereisaneedformoreopennessamongpoliticiansforcooperationwiththepharmaceuticalindustry.Itisalsonecessarytocreatetherightframeworkconditions.Amongothermattersinvestmentsinclinicaltrialsarenecessary, justasyouhavetolookintoregulatorybarri-ersandtheneedfortaxincentives,ErikvanSnippenbergsaid.HepointedoutthatinaglobalcontextMediconValley

isaminorplayer.ThereforeitisalsocrucialthattheDanishandSwedishpoliticianstoalargerextentareproactiveandtakecontacttotheindustry.

–DenmarkandSwedencompeteagainstotherlargeandfast-growingeconomies.AtGSKwereceivemanytelephonecallsfromChinaandIndia,butwedon’tgetthatmanyfromDenmarkandSweden.OnaregularbasiswearealsocontactedbyotherEuropeangovernmentswhoaremoreaggressiveintheireffortstoattractinvestments.This”scolding”wasfollowedupinahumouristicwayby

twotoppoliticiansattheworkshop,PiaKinhult,RegionalCommissionerfortheSkåneregion,andBertelHaarder,TheDanishMinisterofHealthandInterior.–IcanassureyouthatIwillcallyou,BertelHaarder

announced,andPiaKinhultaskedforErikvanSnippen-berg’sbusinesscard.MediconValleyAlliancewillnowinitiateabeaconpro-

cesswherethefirststepwillbefocusedongatheringinformation on strategic assets in the Medicon Valley, marketneeds,andfuturetrends.Thisactivitywillformthebasisforanewworkshopoutliningthefuturepoten-tialbeaconsinMediconValley.

Future challenges were top of the agenda at the workshop focus-

ing on Medicon Valley.

Networking: In the middle Erik van Snippenberg, SVP and

Area Director, North West Europe, from GlaxoSmithKline, who

gave his view on how Medicon Valley can become a more attractive

investment object for Big Pharma.

Pho

to: S

wed

ish

Min

istr

y fo

r Tr

ade

WHENTHEDANISH–SWEDISHlifesciencealliancewasfounded,thepotentialforgrowthwasomnipresent.Thefinancialcrisishassincedawned,butsohavenewdynamicandcompetentresearchenvironmentsacrosstheworld.Competitionisfierceandthe‘old’countriesnolonger

holdthemonopolyonbeingthebest.In justafewyears,theCopenhagen-Lundregionhasfallenfrom15thto22ndpositioninthelistoftheworld’smostimportantresearchcentres.“ThepresentchallengeforMediconValleyistocom-

petewithmorethan250otherclustersallovertheworld.Competitionisveryfiercebecausecompaniesnolongerlookatthelocationofapotentialpartner,onlyatthepartnershippotential.Previously,Europeancompaniesfo-cusedonotherEuropeanandNorthAmericancompanies;clusterslikeoursarenowwidespread,suchasinIndiaandChina.Anditisnotagiventhingthatwewillbenoticed,”saysSwedishMinisterforTradeEvaBjörling.

Good conditions for growthAlthoughitisobvioustotheSwedishMinisterforTradewhy business is currently a struggle for some of the lifesciencecompaniesintheOresundregion,shedoesnotseeanyreasonforthrowingthetowelin justyet.Insteadwewillneedtoworkevenharderiftheregionistoremaininthegame.“Therearemanyexcitingprojectsandcompaniesin

our cluster, but it is clear that we need to do more to getMediconValleyuptospeed.IthinktheconditionsforgrowthinMediconValleyarereallygood.Thereistherightcompositionofcompanies,therearealltypesoflifesciencecompanieshere,andallthequalifiedemployees

Better branding needed for

Medicon Valley

Wehavenotbeengoodenoughat

brandingMediconValley.

The Swedish Minister for Trade,

EvaBjörling,believesthatbyimproving

our branding, the Danish–Swedish life

science alliance will easily rank among

thebestintheworld.

50

By Marianne Barfod

“One of our biggest tasks is to ensure that more scientists are educated in business management and learn how to create a business and company based on their own research results”, says Eva Björling, Swedish Minister for Trade

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arebasedintheregion.Capitaliscurrentlyinshortsupplyduetothefinancial crisis, but it is the same the worldover.Itisclear,however,thatweneedtospeedupandcreatenewprojectsandcompanies,”saysEvaBjörling and continues:

Not innovative enough“Swedenisoneofthemostinno-vativecountriesintheworld,butunfortunatelynotinnovativeenoughwhen it comes to creating new com-paniesbasedonwhatwedevelop.Andthatisaproblemweneedtotacklemuchharder.Oneofourbiggesttasksisto

ensure that more scientists are educated in business management and learn how to create a business andcompanybasedontheirownresearchresults”,saysEvaBjörling.

Cheap patentsAnotherwayofcreatingmorere-sultsandnewcompaniesis,accord-ingtotheminister,byhelpingupand

comingcompaniesgainEuropeanpatentsfasterandmorecost-effectively.“Wemustmakescientificdiscov-

eryattractive.ItmustbeeasierandcheapertofindEuropeanpatents.Itiscurrentlyfartooexpensiveanddifficult.Wealsoneedtolookatthetaxsystemforsmallcompanies”,EvaBjörlingadds.

Nordic dynamoFor the Swedish Minister of Trade, focus on small to medium-sized businesses ready for growth is importantandshouldnotbedoneinisolationineachcountry.EvaBjörlingbelievesthetimehascomefortheNordicstostandunitedandpresenttheNordicregionasadynamicentity.“Ontheirownourcountriesare

small,butunitedwerepresentaverywell-developedsociety.WeshouldpresentourselvesasaunitedNordicsocietythathasplentytooffer.”“Whenitcomestoresearchthe

general trend is to look towards new areas, which is why we should presenttheNordicsasoneofthestrongestenvironmentsforre-searchanddevelopment.Weenjoyahighpositiononsomanylevels,including the forthcoming major EuropeanSpallationSourceinLund,which will attract scientists from all overtheworld,”saysEvaBjörling.

Branding neglected“WehaveneglectedtheNordicbrand.ThereareprobablymanyinAsiawhohavenoideaofwhatgoesonhere.They must learn to look in our direc-tion.Wethereforehaveamajortaskahead of us, of branding our coun-tries,ourcapacityandourcompe-tences.Weareamongthemostinno-vativecountriesintheworld.Wearebrilliant within medical science and lifescience.Wealsoprovideagoodwork/lifebalance,weliveinamazingcountries,butwehavenotspreadthewordwellenough.Thisisourtasknow”,saysEvaBjörling.

InAsgerAamund’sview,theDanish-Swedish life science collaboration of MediconValleyisaniceconcept.TheproblemisthattheriskofMediconValleyneveramountingtomorethanaworthlessconceptisincreasing,be-causethefundamentalprerequisitesforgrowtharesimplynonexistent.”EveryoneknowsthatMedicon

Valleyhastocompetewithsimilarcentres elsewhere in the world, includingthenewboomcentres.Geographyisnolongerrelevant.SingaporeliesinMalmö–thereisnogeographicprotectionagainstcompetition,soitisallthemoreimportantforthesynergybetweensociety,universitiesandindustrytowork–withoutthiswewillnothavethedynamicgrowthwesodespe-ratelyneed,”saysAsgerAamund.

Triple helixFor growth to succeed, there are threemainplayersthatmustbeabletodelivertheirbest–andtheymust do this both on their own and together.Likethethreemusketeers,thepoliticians,universitiesandin-dustryneedtoformaspiraltodrivegrowth.

Set universities free“Itisthepoliticians’ jobtogivetheuniversitiesthemaximumroomtomanoeuvre.Theycanachievethisbyliberatingtheuniversitiesandthus

breaktheirdependenceonthefi-nancelaw.Wealsoneedtaxreform,”saysAsgerAamundandcontinues:“Wecan’thavehighmarginaltax

ratesandstillbelievewecanat-tractresearchersfrome.g.theUS,wheretaxishalfwhatitishere”.

Elitism and growth funds“Thepoliticiansmustalsohavethecourage to make our education system more elitist – and this should applyallthewayfromsecondaryschoolandupwards.Wemustraisethelevelofeducationandourambi-tions.Itisnotenoughtobecon-tentwithsmallimprovements.Andpoliticiansmustensurethatprivateequityfundsarecreated,whichcancontribute robust funding for the newgrowthcompaniesthatarethefoundationofourfutureprosperity.”Herepeats:“Weneedpolitical

purposeandcouragetoliberatetheuniversities,weneedtaxreform,sothatwecanalignourtaxlevelswiththoseoftheEUandrestoftheworld,andpoliticiansmustbebraveenough to make education more elitist.”

Universities’ contributionAccordingtoAsgerAamund,theuniversitiesneed,asindepend-entinstitutions,toprovideworldclassteachingandresearch.Theyhavetobeabletocompeteonan

equalfootingwiththeworld’selite,Princeton,Harvardetc.Thentheywill start to attract the best lectur-ers.“Theuniversitiesmustalsoprovide

projectsthatcanbeconnectedtothegrowthcompanies.Theuni-versitiesmustbeabletodescribeandpatenttheirprojectssothatthoseofusinresearchingcompa-nies are able to connect with the projectsandhelptakeadvantageofandcommercialisetheuniversities’knowledgeanddiscoveries,”headdsand continues:

Together with industry”Industrymustalsobeinvolvedofcourse.Wemustgivetheuniversi-tiesprojectssothatwecanworktogetheronshareddevelopment.Industry also has to ensure finance and management of our shared projects;andwemustfindmarketswherewecanselloursharedpro-ductsandmakeaprofit,sothatwehavesomethingtocontinueworkingon.”“Ifthesethreeplayers:thepoliti-

cians,universitiesandindustryalldeliverandcollaborate,thetriplehelix will succeed - and Medicon Valleycanbeapartofit.Ifnot,thennothingwillbecomeoftheproject.AndMediconValleywillremainawonderfulbutworthlessconcept,”saysAsgerAamund.

A great opportunity

MediconValleyrepresentsanenormousopportu-

nityforlifesciencecompaniesanduniversitiesinthe

Oresundregion,butaccordingtoAsgerAamund,the

projecthasnottakenoffbecausethepoliticianswho

shouldhavecreatedthenecessaryconditionsfor

growthanddrivedidnotspottheopportunity,andit

wasconsequentlymissed.

By Marianne Barfod

52

Chairman of Bavarian Nordic, Asger Aamund

EntomoPharmwww.entomopharm.comEntomoPharmisaDanishBiotechthatdevelopsinsectmodelstopredictADMETpropertiesofchemicalagents.Insectmodelsmergethebestofinvitroandinvivomodelsprovidingfast,consistentandcost-efficientinvivodata.Theinsectscreateaplatformonwhichmanydrugscreen-ingmodelscanbedeveloped.EntomoPharmscreenscus-tomercompoundswithitspatentedinsectADMETmodelsorhelpscustomerssettingupandruntheinsectmodelsin-houseforanannuallicensefee.

Qualiancewww.qualiance.dkQualianceprovidesstatisticalprogrammingservicesfortheLifeScienceindustry.FromsmallBiotechstolargePharmaceuticalcompanies,Qualiancehelpstheircustom-ers to bring their ideas into user-friendly, well documented andcompliantsolutions.Webringourexperiencetomeetourcustomers’needsinsoftwaredevelopmenttomoretraditionalstatisticalprogrammingtasksforclinicaltrialanalysis.Qualianceprovidesexpertiseintrialprogramming,projectmanagement,standardsdevelopmentandimple-mentation,qualitysystemupdates,datawarehousingandsoftwaredevelopment.

Expand your network:

Latest members of Medicon Valley Alliance

May 18, 2011webinar: raising Capital in the US from BioPharma Investors in today’s Market – Opportunities and Strategies for Off shore InvestorsLearn about current market trends, investors’ prefer-red investment structures, common misperceptions by off shore fi rms as to U.S. venture capital and private equity investment, and how to avoid common pitfalls to get your ”house in order” before approaching inve-stors.Speakers are experienced US investors and attorneys.Venue: Your personal computertime: 16.00 hrsMore information: www.mva.org/calendar

May 25, 2011Medicon Valley Golf Championship 2011Medicon Valley Alliance presents the Medicon Valley Golf Championship 2011 for CEO’s and Executives in Medicon Valley. This year’s event will take place at PGA of Sweden National Golf Club in Skåne, Sweden.Venue: PGA of Sweden National, 230 40 Bara, Sverigetime: 07.30-16.00More information: www.mva.org/golf

28 September, 2011Medicon Valley Outsourcing workshop 2011The Medicon Valley Outsourcing Workshop is a one day work-shop with focus on learning, networking and competition. Participants will use and share own experiences and through discussions learn from each other and improve the knowled-ge and understanding between sponsors and providers. The workshop will focus on fi ctive cases related to outsourcing in the pharmaceutical industry and on optimizing the partners-hip between sponsors and services providers for the benefi t of all stakeholders.Venue: Arne Jacobsens Allé 15, Ørestad time: 09.00-18.00More information: www.mva.org/calendar

4 October, 2011Introductory Meeting Do you want to know more about MVA’s initiatives and ser-vices? Do you know how to make use of out international network? Do you know of the opportunities we off er for news coverage and sponsorships? This meeting is open for mem-bers and non-members who want to know how to benefi t from a membership of MVA.Venue: Arne Jacobsens Allé 15, Ørestadtime: 15.00-18.00More information: www.mva.org/calendar

EVENtS BY MEDICON VALLEY ALLIANCE

Upcoming Life Science Events

53

MAY 2011

May 11 - 12, 2011 ChinaBio Partnering Forum 2011With550participantsfrom300companiesand23countries(60%fromChina,14%fromEurope)thisisthelargestpart-neringconferenceinChina.Venue: Beij ing, ChinaMore information:www.ebdgroup.com

May 23 - 24, 2011 Bio Equity Europe 2011BioEquityisanindependentvenueforthebiotechcorporateandinvestmentcommunities.Venue:Paris,FranceMore information:www.biocentury.com

May 23 - 25, 2011 18th Euro-Biotech ForumBiopharmafinancing,M&Aandalliances:whatarethetrends?Venue:Paris,FranceMore information: www.eurobiotechforum.com


May 23 – 25, 2011

International Symposium on Protein ChemistryThree Nobel Laureates speak of “Proteins, from creation to destruction – and what lies in between”.Venue: Copenhagen, DenmarkMore information: www.biopeople.dk

May 23 – 25, 2011

ILSI BioMed 2011An effi cient way to partnering within pharma, biotechnology and medical devices

Venue: Tel Aviv, Israel

More information: www.ambtelaviv.um.dk

JUNE 2011June7-9,2011world Pharmaceutical CongressThiscongressencompassesabroadspectrumoftopicsim-portantandrelevanttoscientistsinacademiaaswellinthepharmaceuticalandbiotechnologyindustrythatcoverstheverylatest,bothonthescientificandthetechnicalside.Venue:Philadelphia,USMore information:www.worldpharmacongress.com

June 13 - 17, 2011 PharmSciFair 2011PharmaceuticalSciencesfortheFutureofMedicinesVenue:Prague,CzechRepublicMore information:www.efb-central.org

June 26 - 28, 2011 BIO human ressource ConferenceHumanressourcesprofessionalsinthebiotechnologyindustryfromaroundtheglobefocusesonhowtoattract,motivateandretainthemostqualifiedemployees.Venue:Washington,USMore information:www.bio.org

June 27 - 30, 2011 BIO 2011Thisconventionwillgatherprofessionalsfrommorethan60countries,publicofficialsandpolicymakersandapproximately2,100companiesandglobalbiotechleadersforinvestinginin-novationstoproducethenextgenerationof,medical,solutions.Venue:Washington,USMore information:www.convention.bio.org

SEPtEMBErSeptember6-9,2011ADAPt 2011AcceleratingDevelopment&AdvancingPersonalisedTherapy(ADAPT)congressbringstogetherseniorexecutivesandkeystrategicplayersfromacrosspharma,diagnostic,clinicalandinformaticstoshapethefutureofpersonalisedmedicine.Venue:Philadelphia,USMore information:www.healthtech.com

September12-15,2011Pharma ChemOutsourcing 2011 Apharmaceuticalindustry-specificmeetingthatattractssmallpharmaceuticalandbiotechcompanysourcingmanagementplusalargeassemblyofsuppliersfromaroundtheworld.

MAJOr INtErNAtIONAL EVENtS

Tectra has three main functions:1. Business-related utilisation of inven-

tions, including patenting and com--mercialisation as well as establishing companies.

2. Consulting in the areas of research and development agreements.

3. Strategic and support initiatives aimed at improving conditions for commercialisation and collaboration with business and industry.

Tectra covers the followingmain focus areas:· Evaluation of new inventions, inclu-

ding preparation of market analyses.

· Involvement in the establishment of new start-up companies.

· Assisting Hospital Executives with bases for decisions concerning inventions and, research and development agreements.

·

Negotiating agreements with poten-tial corporate licensees.

· Drafting of license agreements, shareholders’ agreements etc. as well as research and development agree-ments.

· Boosting the general knowledge level regarding utilisation of research in the region’s hospitals and building networks with and between the hospitals.

· Building networks with the regional biotech industry and other rele-vant parties, such as innovation incubators, the venture capital sector, the business community etc.

with competencies within the natu-ral sciences, business development, patents, legal counselling and start-up of biotech companies, as well as a comprehensive international network in the venture capital sector and the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Tectra is the interdisciplinary unit for technology transfer established by the Capital Region of Denmark. It serves all the hospitals and psychiatry units in the region and is located in Copenhagen Bio Science Park (COBIS). Tectra represents the connecting link between the inventors, on the one hand, and the collaborative partners, the companies, on the other.

Read more about Tectra’s services at www.regionh.dk/tectra

Tectra • COBIS • Ole Maaløes Vej 3 • DK-2200 Copenhagen N

Contact • Jens Kindtler, CEO • Tel.: +45 38 66 69 29 • e-mail: [email protected]

5454


Stay connected across the NordicsWith 8 hotels across the Nordic region, in city centre locations or close to airport hubs, Hilton Worldwide hotels ensure you are never far from the action in these locations: Copenhagen, Helsinki, Malmö, Oslo*, Reykjavik and Stockholm.

Enjoy the benefits of Hilton HHonors® - our unique guest reward programme that lets you earn both Points & Miles® or take advantage of Hilton Meetings® and we will guarantee the success of your meetings from 5 to 500.

Locations may change but one thing remains the same – a warm welcome!

Find out more Hilton.com/nordic

*Double Tree Oslo City Centre newly opened - since May 2010

An. Medicon 210x148,5 140411.indd 1 19/04/11 21:26

Venue:NewJersey,USMore information: www.chemoutsourcing.com

September14-16,2011BioPharm America 2011BioPharmAmerica™iswheremorethan2,550one-to-onemeetingsbetween900delegatesfrom570companiestakesplace.Venue:Boston,MA,USMore information:www.edb.group.com

September 14 – 16, 2011

European Cancer Cluster PartneringAn oncology-partnering meeting for biotech, pharma, inves-tors, clinicians and academia.

Venue: Toulouse, France

More information: www.mva.org

OCtOBErOctober5-7,2011BioJapan 2011BioJapanisthelongest-runninginternationaleventinAsiainthefieldoffundamentalandappliedbiotechnologyresearch.TheaimofBioJapanistoprovideaplatformfortherapidlychangingenvironmentsurroundingbiotechnologyandfornet-workingbetweenglobalkeyplayersofthebioindustry.Venue:Yokohama,JapanMore information:www.osec.ch

October11-13,2011BIOtEChNICA 2011Thiseventforbiotechnologyandlifesciencesprovidesaplat-formfordialogueonappliedbiotechnology,laboratoryequipment,servicesandtechnologytransfer.Venue:Hannover,DeutschlandMore information:www.biotechnica.de

October12-13,2011BIO China International ConferenceExecutivesfrombiotechnology,pharmaceuticalcompaniesandinvestmentfirmsfromNorthAmerica,EuropeandAsiaexplorebusinessopportunitieswithChina’sbiotechsector.Venue: Shanghai, ChinaMore information:www.bio.org

October31-November2,201117th Annual BIO Europe 2011Europe’slargestpartneringconference,servingtheglobalbio-technologyindustry.Venue: Duesseldorf, GermanyMore information:www.ebdgroup.com

NOVEMBErNovember30-December2,2011ChPI India 2011CPhIIndiaanditsco-locatedeventsarethelargestandmostcomprehensivepharmaceuticalindustryeventsinSouthAsia.Venue: Mumbai, IndiaMore information: www.ubmindia.in

We have received a new shipment of Werkswagen cars fromthe star dome in Stuttgart. We’ll be the fi rst to admit theseare not cars for everyone. But then again, the fi ner thingsin life rarely are. In case you’ve been too busy to be familiarwith the Werkswagen concept, here’s the executive summary:Werkswagen cars are used company cars, driven by the toplevel management of the Daimler corporation. These cars leavenothing to be desired in terms of equipment, yet they have onlybeen in use for a very short time.

A Werkswagen car comes with a complete service history, andit’s been tended to by staff from the factory. Also, these cars arerare models, where the fi rst, large write-off is already accountedfor. However, they are also sold by Starmark. So we’ve giventhem an overhaul of our own as well. Just to make sure they’reas immaculate as you’d expect them to be.See the available cars on www.starmark.dk, or swing by the dealership nearest to you.

Vejle tlf. 7211 6000 Hørsholm tlf. 4516 5959 Ishøj tlf. 4012 8918 Aalborg tlf. 7211 5200

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An executive privilege

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lifesciences insight no 2 - 2011

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