NLS Opinion and Debate

When people think of life science innovation, they often think of new medicines. Yet many of the innovations transforming healthcare today – from AI-powered diagnostics to robotic surgery and remote patient monitoring – are driven by medtech companies. With my own multiyear background in the medtech industry, this section of life science has a special place in my heart.

SwedenBIO’s International Director, Marjo Puumalainen, shares her insights on emerging life science trends based on her many interactions from across the industry, including at JPM. The Nordic life science industry, she notes, is well positioned to take full advantage of several of these trends.  

SwedenBIO recently released our new Swedish Drug Discovery and Development Pipeline Report 2026 at NLSDays in Gothenburg. This fourteenth edition once again shows that Swedish drug development remains on a stable trajectory. Fluctuations in the number of drug-developing companies and in the number or type of projects are minimal compared to our report from three years ago.

Every successful region has a place where collaboration is allowed to take root and grow. A place that protects early ideas, carries learning forward, and helps people work together across borders even when the systems around them are not built for it. In Medicon Valley, many now share a simple vision: to create a kind of greenhouse for Nordic life science cooperation.

To succeed as a life science cluster in a medium-sized region, you need to prioritize and pick your battles.

If we look at the existing life science hot spots mentioned in the Draghi report, including Medicon Valley, it is obvious that the likelihood of success will increase dramatically, if we embrace the Golden Triangle in the UK (London- Oxford-Cambridge).

Geopolitics is no longer background noise, but an obvious risk factor shaping strategy and timelines. In this new reality, investors and clusters can help entrepreneurs build resilience. Not just by supplying capital, but by strengthening decision-making under uncertainty.

Norway can deliver on the EU’s ambitious life science strategy and contribute to health preparedness by building national capacity for RNA formulation and scale-up. 

When the next pandemic, climate-driven health crisis, or antimicrobial threat strikes will we be ready? True preparedness is not measured in stockpiles or contingency plans alone. It lies in our ability to harness life science as a cornerstone of resilience – connecting human, animal, and environmental health to build societies that can withstand the crises of tomorrow.

Finland may be modest in population, but it has built one of the world’s most connected and capable cancer research ecosystems. Hospitals, universities, startups, and national initiatives work together in a culture that values trust, openness, and shared purpose. 

The Finnish economy has had difficulties achieving robust growth following the financial crisis. The number of startups in the life science sector is declining and existing companies are struggling to secure funding.

The competitiveness of the EU is waning. In his speech in Berlin on May 22, 2023 the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said, “The question ahead of us is: how do we continue to grow our European industry? The answer is: with a European Industrial Deal at the same level of a European Green […]