New member: PharmaRelations

Image of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

In this series, we will be introducing the new members that have joined our oncology ecosystem in the last six months. Follow us for a new article next week!

Have you heard of PharmaRelations? One of our newest members works with recruiting talents to the Life Sciences.

A cornerstone in the development of cancer treatments is to secure talented professionals to the right jobs. That is why recruitment companies are one of the essential parts of our membership organisation. PharmaRelations is one of the latest additions.

PharmaRelations was founded in Sweden in 1997 and started their recruitment services in 2004. The Oslo office opened in 2018 and their mission is to grow people and companies in Life Science with their portfolio of Talent Services. We talked with Sverre Slaastad, Head of Recruitment and Talent Specialist at PharmaRelations, about why they are involved in Oslo Cancer Cluster.

Could you briefly describe your company and the role it is taking in cancer/health?

“With our extensive network and candidate database, we are the market leader in Life Science recruitment in the Nordic countries. The Life Sciences is our area of expertise, including pharmaceuticals, MedTech, Biotech, Labtech, Animal Health and Dental care,” said Sverre Slaastad.

Why did you join Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“We want to help Oslo Cancer Cluster by recruiting the best people for their members and thereby improving health in society overall,” said Sverre Slaastad.

Pharma relations logo

 

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Ketil Widerberg, general manager, Oslo Cancer Cluster, supports Abelias proposal to mobilise the health industry in the fight against corona. Photo: Stig Jarnes

Health clusters to help against corona pandemic

Ketil Widerberg, general manager, Oslo Cancer Cluster

Let the health industry contribute to the fight against COVID-19!

This week, Abelia wrote a letter to the Minister of Health and Care Services and the Minister of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, appealing that they use the Norwegian health industry against the corona pandemic.

The corona pandemic has put Norway and its health services in an extraordinary situation. The health industry will play a central role in how this pandemic is handled. There will be a need to think of new ways to deliver health services, in order to alleviate the health sector in the long and short term.

Health tech companies can meet this need by delivering innovative solutions, but we need to utilise this potential quickly and efficiently. A strategic collaboration between the public health services and the up-and-coming health tech companies can achieve this.

Abelia, Oslo Cancer Cluster and the other Norwegian health clusters are uniquely positioned to connect and mobilise members of the health industry. A fast-working advisory council could help to look at the needs the corona crisis creates, to discover innovative solutions, and to identify relevant market opportunities for Norway.

“The corona pandemic has shown the important role the health industry has. Now more than ever, it is crucial to use and understand health data, to implement novel digital solutions in our health services and to speed up drug development times,” said Ketil Widerberg, general manager, Oslo Cancer Cluster.

The proposal in the letter is to assemble an advisory council consisting of representatives from the Norwegian health clusters (Oslo Cancer Cluster, Norway Health Tech, The Life Science Cluster and Norwegian Smart Care Cluster) in close collaboration with the governmental funding bodies (Innovation Norway, the Research Council of Norway and SIVA).

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NLSInvest & NLSDays: Investors’ Advice to Life Science Start-ups

Some of the leading Nordic investors offer their advice to life science start-ups regarding Nordic Life Science Days 2020 (NLSDays, 9-10 September).

NLSDays 2020 has many new things in store, including the launch of the first-ever Nordic Life Science Investment Day (NLSInvest).

NLSInvest is a new pre-event (8 September) to the annual NLSDays conference. This is an opportunity for start-up companies – ‘Rising Stars’ in our life science community – to pitch to a range of national and international investors, including pharmaceutical venture arms.

“I spent months gathering feedback from investors and companies across our ecosystem, and one thing has been consistently clear: investors want to meet start-ups at earlier stages, while these companies often struggle to afford large partnering meetings. NLSInvest was created to bridge that gap: to give investors and ‘Rising Stars’ an intimate pre-event, while offering small companies the opportunity to stay for the full NLSDays at no cost,” said Chelsea Ranger, NLSDays Program Director & NLSInvest Program Committee Chair.

We spoke with two investors from Industrifonden and Hadean Ventures to find out what start-ups should focus on when preparing to present their companies to investors:

What are you looking for when investing in life science ‘Rising Stars’?

“We invest broadly in the life science space and we have a particular focus on the Nordic region. We are looking for start-ups that develop products with high potential, both from a market and medical impact perspective. We also look for a strong team with high ambitions,” said Ingrid Teigland Akay, Managing Partner, Hadean Ventures.

“In general, I would say that there are three components: assets-plan, financing, and management. The company should have a protected asset with a plan that can provide sufficient return on investment, a trustworthy and reliable way to finance the plan, and a management team that can do it. Quality of data is of course also a key component. We need to believe that the data we invest in are true and that they belong to the company,” said Jonas Brambeck, Investment Director, Industrifonden.

What are some of the most exciting developments in Nordic life sciences?

“The life science ecosystem is maturing and, increasingly, we see start-ups with world-class science attracting both international capital and talent. We are on a very good path,” said Teigland Akay.

“When it comes to certain areas, we like therapeutics, oncology, rare diseases, and digital health, but we could also consider opportunistic cases. We also want to be actively involved with Board participation,” said Brambeck.

Why would you encourage Nordic life science companies to join NLSDays?

“NLSDays is the largest life science conference in the Nordics and a must-attend event for everyone who wants to understand the dynamics in the Nordics and meet high quality start-ups. I highly recommend it,” said Teigland Akay.

“NLSDays is the glue that binds our ecosystem. It bridges our countries, sectors, therapeutic and scientific areas, large and small companies into one place and frame-of-mind: learning, networking, and growing business ideas. It is a large industry event, yet an intimate and welcoming setting in which the Nordics collaborate to share our best,” said Ranger.

Do you believe you are a ‘Rising Star’ in the Nordic life science community – and are you looking to meet relevant investors?

Then apply now to be one of the 60+ selected companies to pitches investors during NLSInvest!

For more information, please contact Chelsea Ranger, NLSDays Program Director & NLSInvest Program Committee Chair.

FAQs

What is the different between NLSDays and NLSInvest?

NLSDays is the largest partnering and investor conference for the Nordic life science community. Last year, over 1 300 delegates attended NLSDays from over 40 countries and participated in over 3 000 partnering meetings.

Register now for NLSDays with Spring rates until 31 May 2020!

NLSInvest will launch on 8 September as a new pre-event to the annual NLSDays conference. Over 60 ‘Rising Stars’ within the Nordic life science community will be selected from a pool of applications and invited to pitch before a range of relevant, global investors.

NLSInvest is Open for Applications until 31 May 2020!

What are the selection criteria for companies wishing to apply to NLSInvest?

Please view this PDF with information about the selection criteria.

What happens if my NLSInvest application is selected?

You will receive a confirmation email from the selection committee and a complimentary registration code for NLSDays 2020. Practicalities related to your company presentation will be confirmed later by the organizers.

What if my application is not selected?

You’ll receive a notification email from the selection committee and a discount code for NLSDays 2020 registration.

How many / who attended NLSDays in 2019?

Over 1 300 delegates attended NLSDays 2019 from over 40 countries and participated in over 3 000 partnering meetings. Read more about who attended the conference.

Have any 2020 names been released for NLSInvest or NLSDays?

Read more in the NLSDays 2020 Program.

View the speakers at NLSDays 2020.

What happens if the conference has to be delayed due to COVID-19?

The same venue in Malmö is already booked for April 2021 so, in the event of delay, you will be able to choose between a full refund or 2021 participation.

NLS Invest

New member: Ledidi

Image of Oslo Cancer Cluster Innovation Park

In this article series, we will introduce the new members that have joined our oncology ecosystem in the last six months. Follow us for a new article next week!

One of the latest additions to our cluster organisation is Ledidi, a Norwegian technology start-up that wants to revolutionize how data is processed in clinical research.

Ledidi was founded in 2016 by three software engineers and two academic clinicians in cancer research. The company has since then developed a software solution that will help hospital personnel and medical researchers to sort, organise and analyse real-time data.

We talked to Jakob Markussen, VP Business Development and Sales at Ledidi, to learn more about how they are changing the field of cancer and why they wanted to belong to Oslo Cancer Cluster.

Could you briefly describe Ledidi and the role it is taking in cancer?

“Ledidi AS has developed and is marketing Prjcts, which is an end-to-end software solution designed for clinical research. Ledidi was founded in 2016 by three software engineers and two academic clinicians with long track-record within cancer research, cellular immunology and cancer surgery. Prjcts is a cloud-based solution that integrates data registry with statistical analyses and table and graph production in one package with a user-friendly interface. Pjrcts is an ideal cloud solution for all kinds of collaborative research projects from small internal quality registries to multicenter international studies. By integrating the complete workflow, Prjcts provide a platform that enables all project members to take part in the data analysis and presentation, and not only data acquisition,” said Markussen.

Why did Ledidi join Oslo Cancer Cluster?

“Oslo Cancer Cluster represents a unique partner for an exchange of expertise, partnership and networking. The spectrum of companies, institutions and organizations that Oslo Cancer Cluster brings together gives Ledidi a valuable opportunity to contribute to cancer research and stimulate research collaborations,” said Markussen.

 

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