Jari Närhi, CEO of NADMED, describes the life science environment in Helsinki and shares his favorite spots.
Describe the vibe in Helsinki for a company like yours!
“Helsinki has wonderful tightly-knit startup and deep scientific communities that provide a great environment to develop novel, cutting-edge technologies and applications in biotech and medtech. The city is large enough to have just about anything you need close by, and small enough for you to be able to reach anyone quickly and with ease.”
What are Helsinki’s greatest challenges when it comes to developing a life science company, and how can these be improved?
“The flip side of the convenient size is the small home market that comes with it. Therefore, any company aiming to make a difference must enter the international market at a very early stage.”
When you recruit new staff, is it easy to find the right competencies in Helsinki?
“The wide and deep life science industry provides a rich pool of talent to tap into. However, the supply of experienced professionals in international business is more limited.”
What’s next in NADMED’s journey?
“At NADMED, while we already serve customers in more than 20 countries, we are looking forward to a significant expansion of our business. Besides widening our geographical footprint, we expect to open new clinical applications for redox metabolite measurement.”
Besides your company, what’s your favorite spot in Helsinki?
“The archipelago, hands down! During the summer months, it offers fantastic expedition opportunities with essentially anything that floats, and in the winter, it can be fabulously explored on skis or skates.”
Facts: 5 X NADMED
– NADMED has developed a technology for extracting and measuring all four NADs and two glutathiones.
– The technology is based on an accurate colorimetric quantification that can be performed even from a minuscule amount of blood.
– The NADMED method’s key advantage is that it can measure metabolites individually.
– The company is based on research at Anu Suomalainen Wartiovaara’s Laboratory at the University of Helsinki, Finland.
– The first promising results of using NAD boosters as therapy for Parkinson’s disease and mitochondrial myopathy have been recently published.
Featured photo of the archipelago outside Helsinki and Jari Närhi, CEO, NADMED
