Residents in the Gothenburg area have very little knowledge of the life science sector, shows a new survey from Novus, an analysis and research company.

For this reason, six major life science players are marking the start of a joint communicative effort, with the goal of putting the West Swedish life science sector on the map.

“This survey shows that we have to get better at sharing our fantastic journey. That’s why we want to mark the start of this gathering of forces where together we in the life science sector gear up our work to communicate what we do,” says Matti Ahlqvist, Site manager at AstraZeneca in Gothenburg.

We want to promote good initiatives that lead to increased awareness, new collaborations and attract talent to life science.”

“We want to promote good initiatives that lead to increased awareness, new collaborations and attract talent to life science,” says Marie Uddenmyr, Director Corporate Relations at GoCo Health Innovation City.

Excerpt from the survey

The survey was carried out by Novus on behalf of the Västra Götaland Region, AstraZeneca, Chalmers University of Technology, Business Region Gothenburg, GoCo Health Innovation City and Sahlgrenska Science Park. The survey was carried out as a web-based survey in Novus Sweden panel, between 4-13 October 2023 with 600 people aged 18-84 in Gothenburg and neighboring municipalities.

“The survey shows the importance of communicating both the need and all the positive developments that take place within academia and industry. It affects us all, the future is our joint responsibility to enable healthcare at the forefront,” says Annica Grimberg Lignell, acting CEO of Sahlgrenska Science Park.

The survey shows for example that almost 4 out of 10 state that they hardly know anything about the life science sector in the Gothenburg area, or do not know it at all, and 13 percent have never heard of the sector.

It also shows that together with tech/IT/telecom, life science is the sector that western Swedes know the least about.

The vehicle industry has a figure almost three times as high at 42 percent.”

West Swedes who have deep knowledge of the life science sector, i.e. know it “quite well” or “very well”, make up only 16 percent, the survey shows. Here, too, life science is in the bottom layer. The vehicle industry has a figure almost three times as high at 42 percent.

 

There are also life science arenas in the region, such as Sahlgrenska Science Park and GoCo Health Innovation City. Photo: GoCo

 

The Life Science sector in Western Sweden

The life science sector in Western Sweden employs just over 10,000 people and the life science cluster in Gothenburg is one of the largest in the Nordic region. There are approximately 650 life science companies in the region. Ten of these companies have a turnover of more than one billion SEK.

The broad expertise gathered here creates synergies, and we have great potential to generate even more employment and export revenue.”

There are a large number of important actors in this region, for example on the private side, AstraZeneca, Getinge and Mölnlycke Healthcare, and on the public side, the Västra Götaland region including Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg University including Sahlgrenska Academy and Chalmers University of Technology. There are also life science arenas in the region, such as Sahlgrenska Science Park and GoCo Health Innovation City. Many actors are gathered in Health Innovation West, a collaborative organization to build and develop the life science cluster in Western Sweden.

“Gothenburg plays an extremely important role in the life science sector. The broad expertise gathered here creates synergies, and we have great potential to generate even more employment and export revenue. The environment here is fantastic to work in. More people need to know about it, both Gothenburgers and others,” says Patrik Andersson, CEO, Business Region Göteborg.

Read more: New innovation cluster for advanced therapies

Featured photo: GoCo