To round off this year’s Nordic Life Science Days, we asked Jonas Ekstrand, Director General at SwedenBIO, the founder of the event, a few questions.
What’s your impressions of this year’s event?
“Mainly positive. I have received both positive and constructive feedback from participants, they have for example enjoyed meeting companies they otherwise would not have met, and they have liked the size of the event, the Nordic focus and the atmosphere, which has opened up for interesting discussions. I also had the privilege to take part in some of the partnering meetings, which was interesting and the processes turned out very well. The company presentations were also very popular. We have also had several authorities present, who has brought up policy issues on the agenda, and key opinion builders have had the ability to network with each other. The number of participants was almost the same as last year, but the numbers of one-on-one meetings and licensing opportunities continues to grow year by year.”
What’s on the agenda for 2019?
“It will take place at Malmö-mässan i Malmö and we aim to have a broad Nordic participation, where all countries are well represented. I will be Program Director, and I hope the program will meet the needs of the future and reflect the different areas of strengths in the Nordic region. We will continue to develop the event in a reasonable and sustainable way and also to develop parallel activities in Europe and the U.S. For this reason, we have also appointed Olivier Duchamp, Director General of NLSDays, as SwedenBIO’s Vice President for International Business Development and Promotion.”
In your opinion, what’s the status on Nordic collaborations within life sciences?
“It is good, but of course we want to see more collaborations and a stronger presence from all Nordic countries at the event. This year, for example, it was really nice to see a large Finnish delegation, showcasing the country’s multiple strengths and regions, and Norway has also been very committed to the event. For next year’s event we are working closely with Medicon Valley Alliance (MVA), and I hope that the number of Danish participants will increase. Our aim is that this event will be a platform for the Nordic life science region.”
Approximately 1,280 delegates representing almost 800 companies from 40 countries joined the conference, reports SwedenBIO.
Photo of Nikolaj Sorensen, CEO of Orexo, speaking at a super session on Financing: Anniki Skeidsvoll Edén
Photo of the winners of the Start-up Challenge at NLSDays: Camille Sonally
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