Nordic Life Science  is attending the NLSDays 2017, come by our booth A07 or grap a copy of our most recent issue!

“Everything is set up to facilitate networking. We are making it easy for people to meet face-to-face in a secure environment. There is an online platform, EBD Group partnering system PartneringONE, to help people set up meetings. The purpose is to create or follow-up on relationships. You can meet with investors, public agencies, or a big pharmaceutical company looking for new drugs Last year, there were 2 200 face-to-face meetings. There also will be informal networking receptions on- and off-site,” says NLSDays Managing Director Olivier Duchamp.

Super sessions

The event will of course also tackle the issues facing the sector and the Super Sessions in particular spark lively debate.

“We’ve canvassed our members and networks extensively and this year I believe come up with an unmissable programme. In particular, I would recommend three of the Super Sessions – Diabetes Game Changers, Funding Excess Trials and Tapping the Potential of De Novo Service Provider Research,” says Jonas Ekstrand, Director General of SwedenBIO, the Swedish life science industry organization which founded the event five years ago with Bionordic.

Startup challenge

On Tuesday evening, sixteen Nordic companies on the rise showcased their innovations for an international audience at Nordic Life Science Days (NLSDays). The CEO and founder of Saga Diagnostics, Lao Saal delivered the sharpest pitch and took home the win for the company’s advancements within precision cancer medicine.

The Startup Challenge NLSDays 2017 gave the audience a taste of different research and development projects within therapeutics, medical technology and platform solutions. The contestants were given only three minutes to pitch, after which they were challenged by a seasoned jury: three life science experts and an investor.

“It is great to see high quality new start-ups in the Nordics. This is really increasing the interest for us to look for deal flow from this territory,” says jury member Seppo Mäkinen, investor and partner in Portugal-born Pathena Group.

“Transformational potential” was the key word when, among other, projects about artifical intelligence, out-of-the-box digital and technological solutions, and precision medicine were presented. All projects were early-stage innovations, focusing their development towards a clinical proof-of-concept.

“We were impressed by the diversity and level of innovation presented at the Startup Challenge @ NLSDays tonight. A pitching competition organized in collaboration with key Nordic life science incubators and clusters is an excellent way to give fresh innovations and newly established companies time in the spotlight in front of a variety of life science investors and potential future collaboration partners,” says jury member Rosemary Liu, New Ventures and Transactions Lead at Johnson & Johnson Innovation.