Column Iceland - November 24, 2025
Innovation island
Following in the footsteps of their predecessors, the new generation of Icelandic life science entrepreneurs are converting their old problems of isolation and a limited workforce into a model system for developing novel therapies and tools to streamline healthcare.
Column - October 20, 2025
Who should lead the transformation towards sustainable healthcare?
With healthcare systems under unsurmountable pressure and patient care at risk, embracing a holistic approach to sustainable healthcare is critical to protecting the future of healthcare.
Column - September 24, 2025
Trump’s tariffs might be the push that helps us go from resilience to antifragility
Many times in life, as in politics and business, bad events lead to painful change and, eventually, a better situation. While the Trump administration’s erratic tariff war has rattled the European life science industry, it might ultimately be the calamity that brings about a more resilient industry in the end.
Column - June 11, 2025
Forever Young
Based on new geroscience findings, many of the diseases that emerge later on in life could be prevented if the aging process could be slowed down.
Column - May 21, 2025
The EU’s leading life science cluster started with a kiss on a bridge
Although the Danish-Swedish life science cluster organization Medicon Valley Alliance was established way back in 1997, the true momentum for Medicon Valley, essentially the EU’s leading life science cluster, started with a kiss.
Column - May 19, 2025
Actionable Insights – The New Currency of Innovation
One of the most compelling trends in the life science sector today is the evolving role of data in decision-making processes. Life science companies are harnessing big data in ways that were once unimaginable, driven by technological advancements like AI, machine learning, and digital transformation. But as we look beyond 2025, it’s crucial to ask: How can these vast data resources be used to create actionable insights that lead to real-world impact?
Commentaries
Commentary – June 21, 2026
Health and life sciences in the shadow of war
After 18 hours of traveling from Gothenburg I’m heading to the main hospital in Cherkasy, Ukraine, which is a reasonably-sized hospital with about 800 beds. Apart from their everyday business they have had an extra 30,000 or so soldiers to take care of since the war started. They are worn out. The staff members are really trying to hang in there. They’re running low on supplies but they’re not giving up.
Commentary – October 29, 2025
What is OMOP and how can it benefit the life science industry?
What if health data was stored in the exact same format, using the exact same coding and conventions at each university hospital in the Nordics? Then a researcher could write one analysis script and run it everywhere. Results can be compared or combined instantly, without moving sensitive data. Studies that once were impossible or took months to complete could be done in weeks, all while preserving privacy.
Commentary – September 16, 2025
There is no science without talent
Why the supply of skills and competence matters for Nordic global competitiveness.
Commentary – June 2, 2025
Preparedness for a new era – Clear roles and Nordic collaboration
In December last year, Sweden’s National Board of Health and Welfare and the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency concluded that the country’s pharmaceutical stockpiles are insufficient to cope with a crisis or war. That is a serious conclusion. Their report outlines 130 measures to address this, 40 of which are considered to be high priority. But the key question is: how will the stockpiling work in practice?
Commentary – December 11, 2024
AI and the 2024 Nobel Prizes: A Revolutionary Moment for Life Sciences
The 2024 Nobel Prizes in Chemistry and Physics reflect the revolutionary impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on life sciences. These awards, celebrating advancements in protein design and neural networks, demonstrate how AI is transforming how we approach drug discovery, personalized medicine, and healthcare management.
Commentary – July 3, 2024
Commentary: Navigating the Obesity Market
Challenges and Funding Dilemmas from an International and Nordic Perspective. It is no secret that obesity is one of the biggest public health challenges of the 21st century and is one of the leading causes of preventable death globally. It’s estimated that 18% of the global population is obese, with the prevalence of obesity in […]
Commentary – June 19, 2023
Pharmaceuticals in the Baltic Sea Environment
Pharmaceutical ingredients have been detected in the environment – on every continent. The same properties that make pharmaceuticals effective increase the risk of undesired effects in the environment.
Commentary – March 22, 2023
Oligos – The medicines of the future?
What if we could silence certain genes to treat a wide range of medical conditions, from genetic conditions to infectious diseases, and even cancer? It may sound like science fiction, but for some rare diseases it’s already a reality through the use of oligonucleotide therapeutics, sometimes referred to as the medicines of the future.
Commentary – October 31, 2022
Pandemic Preparedness
Staffan Svärd, Professor, Scientific Lead for SciLifeLab’s Pandemic Laboratory Preparedness Capability, writes about how lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic can increase our pandemic preparedness. Early in the pandemic, SciLifeLab, together with Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation, launched a major national COVID-19 research program. Today SciLifeLab has a government mandate to coordinate and expand the […]
Commentary – June 15, 2022
Health in the shadow of war
There is a massive need for medicines and medical care in war-torn Ukraine, but getting aid supplies through is virtually impossible. At the same time, the Swedish healthcare service faces medical challenges as Ukrainian refugee patients arrive in Sweden. Bengt Mattson, special adviser at the trade association for the research-based pharmaceutical industry in Sweden (Lif), […]