No 03 2015

With a new EUR 61 million facility in Vilnius, Northway Biotech becomes the first dedicated cell therapy and personalized medicine CDMO in the Baltics – a development that also expands manufacturing capacity within reach of the Nordic biotech sector.

The company has completed a directed share issue as it approaches proof-of-concept data from its Phase IIa study in chronic kidney disease with anemia, expected around the turn of the year.

The BioInnovation Institute (BII) and GU Ventures (GUV) are collaborating to strengthen the regions' competitiveness in life science, a project funded by Interreg Öresund-Kattegat-Skagerrak and Region Västra Götaland.

AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo's Enhertu (trastuzumab deruxtecan) in combination with pertuzumab has been approved in the European Union for the first-line treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer — the first new regimen in more than ten years for this patient group.

The company has completed the eight-week treatment period for all patients in its pivotal Phase III HEEALING1 study of linaprazan glurate in erosive gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), with topline results now expected in the fourth quarter of 2026.

Europe has the science. What it doesn't have is the capital, and industry leaders warn that gap is pushing the region's most promising biotechs to scale up in the US instead.

The story of Finnish biotechnology is not a straightforward success story. It is a story of an ambitious start, of setbacks, and of stubborn rebuilding – and of what happens when a field that demands patience meets short-term expectations. As Finnish Bioindustries turns 20, it is a good moment to look back.