10 highlights from Oslo Cancer Cluster 2022

Scroll down to see our 10 highlights of the year.

2022 has been a year of post-pandemic growth for us, where we have revitalised the team, made new collaborations across borders and raised our voice on political issues. We have also started new initiatives, created more meeting places and welcomed new members to our community. Find out how you can engage with us in the snippets below.

 

Growing our community

We are nothing without our members. This year, we welcomed 10 new members to our cluster, strengthening our position as one of Norway’s leading health clusters.

The membership base spans different sectors of society, including: academia, drug development, technology, human resources and recruitment, legal firms, clinical service providers, investment funds, and more. The size of our members ranges from one-person companies to multi-national corporations. The one thing all members have in common is the motivation to work together to accelerate the development of cancer treatments and diagnostics.

Make some new connections! Please visit our Member Overview to see who else is part of our cluster.

 

Arranging popular meeting places

Meeting places are the heart and soul of our organisation. This is where people meet to discuss how to accelerate the development of cancer treatments and diagnostics. Whether your interest lies in educational forums, political debate, partnering opportunities, networking with colleagues or meetings with investors, we have a tailored event for you. Here are a few from the year gone-by:

• Cancer Crosslinks, an annual event with talks from some of the most renowned cancer researchers in the world, accompanied by lively interactions between the participants, took place in January.
• Fremtidens kreftbehandling was arranged in April and August, offering vibrant political discussions between patients, politicians, clinicians, and industry representatives.
• The Summer and December Gatherings, two networking events for our members and stakeholders to get to know one another in an informal setting, were organised in June and December.
• NLSDays brought us to Malmö (Sweden) in the end of September. We promoted Norwegian life science in a joint booth and helped our members achieve the most from their partnering.
• DNB Nordic Healthcare Conference, a unique place for investors to meet with start-ups in the Norwegian healthcare sector, takes place in December.

Did these teasers spark your interest? Please visit our Event Calendar to register for events.

 

Building successful companies

Similar to how an incubator provides a warm, nurturing growth environment for babies, Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator helps early-stage cancer start-ups develop into successful businesses.

This year, five companies from our Incubator (DoMore Diagnostics, Thelper, Adjutec Pharma, Kongsberg Beam Technology and OncoSyne) were selected for the DNB Nordic Healthcare Conference’s Venture Session. Several companies pitched at NLSInvest, at BioStock Life Science Summit and were also featured in the International Cancer Cluster Showcase digital brochure.

As a recognition of the Incubator’s accomplishments, SIVA extended their financing for another year with NOK 3,5 million. This means we can continue to help cancer start-ups grow and develop life-saving treatments.

Interested in the services and facilities at Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator? Visit their website or contact Janne Nestvold, COO of Oslo Cancer Cluster Incubator, to schedule a visit.

 

Connecting public with private

There is a wave of promising cancer treatments coming in the field of precision medicine. Still, questions remain about how to quickly get these implemented in the Norwegian healthcare system.

The public-private consortium CONNECT was set up in 2021 by 22 founding partners to drive the implementation of precision cancer medicine in Norway, with Oslo Cancer Cluster as project manager.

During 2022, CONNECT has held a long line of educational seminars, grown to include 30 partners, created a positive climate for public-private collaborations in cancer, and put Norway on the map for precision cancer medicine internationally, most notably in a Letter to the Editor in Nature Medicine.

Get engaged in CONNECT! Please visit the CONNECT website or contact Jutta Heix, Project Lead in CONNECT and Head of International Affairs in Oslo Cancer Cluster.

 

Making our voice heard

We fight for political change, so cancer innovation in Norway can thrive. One way of doing this is by affecting the framework conditions, such as national policies, governmental strategies and state budgets.

That is why we had an active presence at Arendalsuka 2022, where we held meetings together with our partners, talked to politicians and promoted topics that are important for our members.

We also had a record number of on-site visits by curious politicians that want to learn more about our cancer eco-system.

Help us affect political change! Read all our input or get in touch with Wenche Gerhardsen, Head of Communications at Oslo Cancer Cluster.

 

Inspiring homegrown talent

We want to raise the next generation of cancer researchers. That is why we have a collaboration with Ullern Upper Secondary School, where we take students out of the traditional classroom setting and give them a taste of what life as a researcher or health professional is like.

During 2022, we arranged work placements for the students and a thematic day together with clinicians from the Radium Hospital. We also had good news from several Ullern alumni, including Simone Mester becoming CEO of start-up Authera and Ullern students winning EU Science Competition.

We know these students can become the entrepreneurs, inventors, researchers and talents that the Norwegian life science environment needs. We are proud to help inspire them.

How can you help inspire the young? Read more on the website or get in touch with Bente Prestegård, Project Manager in Oslo Cancer Cluster.

 

Joining the European efforts

The European Union has launched a Cancer Mission with the goal to improve the lives of 3 million people living with cancer by 2030. We want to position Norway to help this ambitious endeavour.

In 2022, we launched a national Cancer Mission Hub together with key players in the Norwegian cancer field. The hub will inform about EU opportunities, mobilise the Norwegian stakeholders and foster collaboration between all participants.

Get engaged with the hub! Read more on the Cancer Mission Hub website or get in touch with Marine Jeanmougin, EU Advisor in Oslo Cancer Cluster.

 

Strengthening the team

We employed two new team members to meet the demands of all ongoing activities.

Marine Jeanmougin, our new EU advisor, brings aboard scientific expertise and has unique perspectives into European affairs. You can contact Marine for help with applications to EU funding and for information on upcoming EU calls.

Dave Tippett, our new Membership advisor, is an administration wizard that helps the team, our members and everyone in the office become more efficient. Dave splits his time between Oslo Cancer Cluster and the Incubator to ensure that things are running smoothly, so the researchers have time to focus on what they do best.

For general queries, please visit our Team page to find out who to contact.

 

 

Click here to read selected milestones from our biotech members in 2022

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