Medicon Valley biopharma activity
The analysis is based on data from Citeline’s Pharmaprojects obtained in August 2023 and from annual snapshots taken in May each year. Pharmaprojects tracks industry-sponsored development only. Active development includes pre- and post-launch products. Only companies with their headquarters the Medicon Valley have been included in this analysis. A product may be developed by more than one company and in both Denmark and Sweden. Subsidiaries are not counted as separate companies but are captured under the parent company.
There are fewer drugs in Preclinical and Phase 1 development now than the peak in 2020 (225 Preclinical and Phase 1 drugs in 2023 vs 278 in 2020). Yet, the number of drugs in Phase 2 and 3 development is the highest it has ever been (81 in Phase 2 and 22 in Phase 3).
84% of Danish biopharma companies are located in the Medicon Valley, whereas only 29% of Swedish companies are. Stockholm and Gothenburg are also centers of R&D activity. 63% of biopharma companies in the Medicon Valley are Danish and these companies are developing 79% of the drugs.
Copenhagen is renowned for its heavyweights including Novo Nordisk and Lundbeck, but the city is also home to an increasing number of start-ups, which include recently established Breye Therapeutics, Ousia Pharma, Zyneyro, Stimuliver and Cytoki Pharma to name but a few.
The most popular way to deliver a drug is still by the traditional chemical synthetic route, but the percentage of the pipeline which can be apportioned to biologics is continuing to creep up. It’s now at 40%, up an additional 1.8% from last year.
At this rate, we might reach the tipping point where biologics become the majority towards the end of the current decade.
The number of cell and gene therapies in development continues to increase. As of 2023, 18 cell therapies and eight gene therapies are in active development. This is an increasingly important area of research, and the Swedish government, in particular, has taken a forward-looking approach and is aiming to create of position of strength here. Swedish companies active in the cell and gene therapy space include Amniotics, Idogen and Asgard Therapeutics.
The Medicon Valley has a balanced pipeline, with all disease areas well represented. Following the global trend, cancer is the most researched area with 113 active programs.
There are 95 active Alimentary/Metabolic programs reflecting strong investment in diabetes and obesity research. Novo Nordisk is well known to be very active in this area, but other players include Zealand Pharma, Gubra and Pila Pharma.
The analysis is based on data from Citeline’s Pharmaprojects obtained in August 2023 and from annual snapshots taken in May each year. Pharmaprojects tracks industry-sponsored development only. Active development includes pre- and post-launch products. Only companies with their headquarters the Medicon Valley have been included in this analysis. A product may be in development in more than one disease area. ATMP Sweden (here)
While there has been an increase in the number of drugs being developed by companies headquartered in the Medicon Valley, the number of trials sponsored by organizations located here has remained relatively stable.
Currently there are 422 ongoing and planned trials sponsored by organizations headquartered in the Medicon Valley. 70 are in Phase 1, 148 in Phase 2, 115 in Phase 3 and 89 in Phase 4.
The analysis is based on data from Citeline’s Trialtrove obtained in August 2023. A product may be tested in more than one disease area in a single trial and a trial may have more than one sponsor. Phase 2 includes Phase 1/2 and Phase 2 trials; Phase 3 includes Phase 2/3 and Phase 3 trials; Phase 4 includes Phase 3/4 and Phase 4 trials. Trialtrove captures data as it becomes available in the public domain. As such, the number of trials in Trialtrove with a start date of 2022, for instance, are likely to increase over time as more data is made available.
Novo Nordisk is a behemoth in the Medicon Valley, sponsoring a whopping 161 trials, but it is by no means the only player and many other organizations contribute to this dynamic ecosystem.
Unusually, Metabolic/Endocrino-logy pushes aside oncology as the dominant disease area with 166 ongoing and planned trials.
The analysis is based on data from Citeline’s Trialtrove obtained in August 2023. Please note, a product may be tested in more than one disease area in a single trial. Phase 2 includes Phase 1/2 and Phase 2 trials; Phase 3 includes Phase 2/3 and Phase 3 trials; Phase 4 includes Phase 3/4 and Phase 4 trials. Trialtrove captures data as it becomes available in the public domain. As such, the number of trials in Trialtrove with a start date of 2022, for instance, are likely to increase over time as more data is made available.
Despite some fluctuations, the number of trials initiated at sites within the Medicon Valley has remained relatively constant. There has been a relatively low proportion of Phase 1 trials, and Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials dominate the landscape accounting for 74% of new trials in 2022.
In-line with global trends, oncology has been the dominant therapeutic area over the last 10 years for trials conducted at sites within the Medicon Valley. In 2022 27% of initiated trials targeted cancer and this trend is expected to continue with cancer accounting for 25% of planned trials.
The number of CNS trials has also remained consistently high, accounting for 13-24% of trials between 2013 and 2022.
The number of new Autoimmune/Inflammation trials, on the other hand, has dipped somewhat, dropping from a peak of 21% in 2019 to 12% in 2022.
2021, and in particular 2020, saw an increase in Infectious Disease trials, driven by repurposing efforts against COVID-19.
Investment in the Medicon Valley life sciences cluster has bounced back strongly in 2023, despite the continued global downturn within biotech. At current pace, 2023 will see total fundraising approach $1.5bn, just shy of the peaks of the pandemic.
Danish companies have the lion’s share of investor activity so far in 2023, although Swedish companies raised an impressive $160m in spite of challenging market conditions during 2022.
Medicon Valley attracts a range of private and public investment sources. Robust venture capital funding allows start-up creation, while public markets are on hand to support the maturation of companies through their lifecycle. In total, 43 discrete companies have raised capital since 2018.
LARGEST FINANCING: $655m FOPO in July 2020
LARGEST DEAL OF 2023: $236m private placement in February
LARGEST IPO: $550m on Nasdaq in July 2019
LARGEST VENTURE ROUND: $155m Series B in January 2021
The analysis is based on data from Citeline’s Biomedtracker obtained in August 2023.
It has been a busy start to 2023 in terms of alliances. Companies in the Medicon Valley signed 13 partnerships in the first six months, matching the pace of previous years. However, the values of these deals have been striking, representing a four-fold increase on 2021 and 2022 if the current rate is maintained. This includes larger upfront payments as well as potential milestones, as both the region’s technologies are in demand and its larger players are tapping into external innovation.
Highlight deals include a $1bn R&D alliance between Aqilion and Merck, the gene editing collaboration between Life Edit and Novo Nordisk, and Bavarian Nordic’s acquisition of a travel vaccine portfolio.
For Medicon Valley companies out-licensing technology to partners, total upfront payments since 2018 now exceed $1bn across 72 deals, providing important revenue stream to continue to fund R&D operations. Including milestones, this has the potential to rise to $10bn.
Companies in the region are even more active in acquiring capabilities from others, signing 78 such alliances since 2018. Novo Nordisk is by far the most active company (20 deals), ahead of Genmab (9).
Deal number
Upfront value ($m)
Total value ($m)
Out-licensing deals
72
1,069
10,153
North America
32
888
7,285
Europe
30
107
2,005
APAC
10
74
863
In-licensing deals
78
1,577
17,212
36
927
7,820
33
555
8
95
1,570
Undisclosed
1
0
2
Intra-Medicon Valley
11
494
Total
139
2,539
26,872