Company creation, metabolic diseases, and AI-powered drug discovery are amongst the hottest trends in 2024.

Life science executives have gathered to discuss current matters in the industry several times during this spring, starting with J.P. Morgan’s Annual Healthcare week and followed by Bio-Europe Spring. SwedenBIO was there to connect Swedish life sciences with our international peers and scout for the hottest trends. Among the many interesting discussions held, three topics stand out as particularly worth keeping an eye on.

Investor-driven company creation

Typically, life science startups are founded by inventors of scientific findings. After launching the company, the founders approach early investors and subsequently venture capitalists (VCs) to finance the development of their product. The investors are typically given seats on the board besides a stake in the company. However, running a startup that aims to commercialize a product and conducting research to deliver new scientific findings requires a different set of skills and experience. A limited commercial mindset among founders can slow down the development of a commercially viable product and hamper the success of a company.

As a solution, many investors are looking into a business model where VCs are part of the company creation process from an early stage.”

As a solution, many investors are looking into a business model where VCs are part of the company creation process from an early stage. The idea is that investor companies scout innovation already in academia to found a company based on an innovation, not on an existing startup. The management teams of such newly created companies are then typically populated from the investor companies’ large network of people with a background in product development and commercialization.

Given the high-quality research in Nordic universities, there is extensive investor interest in Nordic innovation. The challenge is to find interesting innovation before it is published. To support this kind of matchmaking between Nordic innovators and international investors, SwedenBIO is inviting Nordic researchers to present their findings at Nordic Life Science Days’ Innovation Poster Session.

Interest in metabolic diseases sky-rocketing

Obesity or being overweight affects approximately 70% of American adults, causing serious health problems, including heart attack and stroke. Meanwhile, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is estimated to affect around 25% of the global population causing severe liver damage. These and other metabolic diseases have proven hard to tackle with pharmaceuticals, decreasing the interest of big pharma and investors in this space.

These and other metabolic diseases have proven hard to tackle with pharmaceuticals, decreasing the interest of big pharma and investors in this space.”

Just a few years ago obesity was not considered an attractive area to invest in, but now many pharma companies want a GLP-1 agonist in their portfolio. Similarly, the recent approval of Rezdiffra for NASH and several ongoing late-stage clinical trials for NAFLD are making this space more attractive. It is obvious that metabolic diseases are on the rise within big pharma and with investors, and the Nordics are well positioned in this space with Novo Nordisk leading the way. The latest developments in the field will be discussed at a Super Session during Nordic Life Science Days.

AI-powered drug discovery on the rise

Artificial intelligence (AI) is having an impact on most areas – and the life science industry is no exception. AI-powered drug discovery has the potential to reduce costs and save time. Many pharma companies are gearing up their AI and data science departments to exploit AI for the design of molecules, experiments, and clinical trials. For example, the US-based biotech company Insilico Medicine has five clinical stage assets in development and more to come.

The Nordic region is well equipped for AI-driven life science with its legacy in health data records and high number of startups in this space.”

The Nordic region is well equipped for AI-driven life science with its legacy in health data records and high number of startups in this space. This year’s program at Nordic Life Science Days highlights the ongoing transformation of the industry through AI tools by diving into AI-driven drug discovery during Super Session 1, into generative AI in interactive workshop 2, and the Nordic health tech arena in Super Session 4.

About the author

This column was written by Marjo Puumalainen, International Director, SwedenBIO, for NLS magazine No 02 2024.
Photo: Eva Garmendia