Faces behind the innovation in Medicon Valley
Cantargia is a Swedish biotechnology company with an established platform based on the protein IL1RAP. Its main asset, the antibody nadunolimab, is being studied clinically in combination with chemotherapy or immune therapy with a primary focus on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer.
Cantargia, which started as a university spin-out, has succeeded where many have failed and has taken preliminary research findings all the way to Phase 2 clinical development.
SECURING EARLY INVESTMENTThere was a discovery at Lund University around a new target in cancer and they got some seed financing to take this finding forward in a company structure. They filed some early IP which generated lots of interest from investors, then 2-3 years down the track they realized this could be a really big commercial opportunity and they managed to get some funding through Sunstone in Copenhagen.
IPO ON NASDAQ FIRST NORTH"We became listed in 2015, so we raised capital over the stock exchange, and as of today we’ve raised €150M, so quite a lot of money and predominantly from institutional investors. Most of them have been Swedish, but there are a number of US funds and some European funds that have stepped in."
CHALLENGING CLIMATE FOR INVESTMENT, BUT FUTURE OPPORTUNITIES EXPECTEDIt’s a really tough market right now and very complex to get fresh money unless you have good clinical results. I think we’re very lucky not to be at an earlier stage. Many companies that have become listed are worth below the cash they have on hand, which is a major problem. However, these low valuations also create tremendous opportunities, therefore I am convinced there will a change in the not-too-distant future.
The global tech-house Sigma Connectivity established a Medtech-focused subsidiary in 2022 to meet the growing needs of Medtech customers within the region. With one of Europe’s most advanced design, test and verification labs, the team can meet the specific needs of bringing advanced medical devices to market. The company offers varying levels of support from proof-of-concept testing to full project execution.
COALA HEART MONITORSigma Connectivity turned Coala Life’s concept of a digital stethoscope into a fully functioning product. Since launching, the heart monitor has received numerous awards, and has been talked about around the world, but most importantly, it is fulfilling Coala Life’s mission to allow monitoring and analysis of heart activity, anywhere, at any time, by anyone.
People who didn’t know that they had heart problems could be detected early because of this solution.”
AMBUAmbu, the leading provider of single-use endoscopes, has maintained a long-standing strategic partnership with Sigma Connectivity for innovation and development of its products.
TENDOSigma Connectivity developed a medical aid for people with gripping limitations enabling them to grip, hold and release objects by pulling an artificial tendon. It’s made for people who struggle with everyday activities due to a stroke, spinal cord injury or arthritis for example.
Medeon, Sweden’s oldest life science park, provides a creative environment for new and established companies. Medeon’s networks promote collaboration and exchange between researchers, healthcare professionals and entrepreneurs. Their popular networking events provide opportunities for valuable research and business connections.
DIABETES ALLIANCE SWEDEN“We are running Diabetes Alliance Sweden which has 380 members including companies, researchers, academics and clinicians and all the patient organizations are included. We are travelling the country giving seminars.”
DENT2HEALTHThis is an initiative managed by Medeon Science Park, the goal of which is to develop a screening tool for Type 2 diabetes. By taking a sample in the mouth during a dental care visit, the aim is to identify at risk individuals.
We have attracted not only the universities of Lund and Malmö and TePe, but also the Steno Diabetes Center in Copenhagen, The University of Copenhagen, The Danish Technical University etc.”
PHARMA DEVELOPMENT GROUPA regional group with 65 members, largely young biopharma companies, meets 4 times each year to enable effective knowledge exchange. Meetings take place in a round table format and discussion topics include financing, due diligence processes, IP issues and how to approach larger companies etc.
Bioneer, a specialty CRO, helps its customers develop and produce promising early drug candidates. The not-for-profit is supported by the Danish Ministry of Research and Education to promote Danish research. A team of 80 highly skilled scientists and technicians is based across two sites in the Copenhagen area.
Bioneer has been a trusted strategic R&D partner to biotech and pharmaceutical companies since 1982 and has maintained this position by driving internal excellence and leveraging external collaborations.
Lars believes the high concentration of biotech, pharma and medtech companies in the region enables fruitful collaborations which fuels success.
We have close collaborations in Denmark, but also outside of Denmark with research partners such as universities, hospitals and so on, in order to be able to create complex models. An organization of 80 people cannot develop all these services themselves; we have to rely on collaboration.”
Within the vicinity of the Medicon Valley area there’s lots of companies, but there’s also lots of networking opportunities. It’s a large ecosystem with a lot of smaller ecosystems.”
Our clients sometimes need services that we don’t offer and so we buy these services on behalf of our clients. We often buy locally because the service portfolio offered by the region is quite high.”
Novo Nordisk, the Danish-based global pharmaceutical company, is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year, it has been 100 years since the founding fathers took insulin to Europe, and the company is currently riding high, due a surge in demand for GLP-1 in diabetes and obesity. VP Niels Abel Bonde discusses the importance of being part of a life science ecosystem and how this ecosystem is evolving.
IMPORTANCE OF STRONG ECOSYSTEM“The main strength of having a cluster around life sciences is that it attracts a lot of competencies. It’s very important to have an ecosystem around you and not just have one big employer in the region. The whole ecosystem supports attraction of talent, which is a scarce resource these days. We have very strong universities both in Denmark and the southern part of Sweden and the government and the regions on both sides also supports a strong vibrant and integrated life science ecosystem.”
“There’s a strong base for diabetes research here. We have DiaUnion which is an important project around mapping and research within type 1 diabetes and there’s also some very strong research units at hospitals and universities, both in Sweden and the Steno Diabetes Center in Denmark.”
EVOLVING ECOSYSTEM“One important development in the Medicon Valley is that we’re seeing more precision medicine, more advanced medicines, particularly on the Swedish side. Lund University is one of the leading universities in the world in this area.”
“The second trend is that there’s more globalization, Historically Novo were more based in-house and in Demark, but now we’re expanding globally.”
Alligator Bioscience, a biotechnology company developing antibody-based drugs for cancer treatment, believes diversity and inclusion are fundamental in building an innovative and thriving workplace. For the second year in a row, Alligator has been ranked as one of the top 10 organizations for diversity in Sweden by AllBright.
STRONG R&D TALENT POOL LOCALLY“We have access to a significant amount of talent across the entire value chain. Most of the research and discovery personnel we recruit locally in the Lund-Malmö area.”
PROXIMITY TO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ADVANTAGEOUS“For project leadership, regulatory and clinical development we need to cast the net somewhat broader. We have a number of Danes, including myself, that commute on a daily or weekly basis and the proximity to Copenhagen airport that allows us to grab a much broader European talent base. Our CMO is working out of Munich and commutes on a weekly or biweekly basis. We have medical staff in Stockholm and our Head of BD is situated in the UK.”
STRENGTH FROM CULTURAL SYNERGY“We’ve managed to find a balance where we integrate the best from the Danish and the Swedish way of approaching science, problem solving, and
leadership – adding a global perspective we have build a very powerful and innovative approach and organization.”
The SmiLe Incubator celebrated its 15-year anniversary last year and since joining 8 years ago Ebba has been instrumental in growing the organization. The SmiLe community now includes 100+ incubator and alumni companies which have raised >€750m. What’s more, 21 companies have launched an IPO, including Acrivon which launched on NASDAQ for $99m in 2022.
COMMERCIAL FOCUS“Everything we do is focused on ensuring successful business transactions for the companies.”
INCLUSIVITY“50% of the money has been raised by women and 39% of our CEOs are female. There are 40 different nationalities working within our community of companies.”
DIVERSIFICATION“We're not just an incubator anymore. We also run bootcamps, an eCampus, investor networks and an alumni program. We’ve also recently created a fund called SmiLe Inject with SEK 40m from the Swedish government vehicle Saminvest and 11 angel investors.”
CONCENTRATION OF LOCAL TALENT“People can dare to take the jump to a startup and if it doesn’t work out, if it’s not for them, there is still a lot of places to go back to.”