EDITORIAL

Medicon Valley Academy has a vision for the Life Science cooperation in the Oresund region – Medicon Valley shall be among the five most attractive bioregions in the world.

The goal is ambitious, but not unrealistic. The Medicon Valley region already has a strong brand and we have the potential to be in top five. To reach our goal we need to be world class in everything we do – in research and education, in innovation and business and in our ability to attract the best talents.

Medicon Valley Academy goals for 2007
This vision for Medicon Valley is defining the daily work of Medicon Valley Academy (MVA). Everything we do must support this vision. Thus, all our projects are aiming towards a stronger Life Science collaboration, network building and knowledge sharing in the region. In MVA project news below you will find the status for 2006 on some of these projects. MVA will continue this work in 2007, focusing on the following three areas.

Firstly, MVA is working to prepare the region to participate in the EU research programme Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI). The programme gives Life Science players the possibility of participating in cutting-edge research programmes and establishing contacts with top scientists from around Europe. Aside from the preparatory work, initiatives are being carried out to increase the chances of a Medicon Valley location for the central IMI secretary. See MVA project news below for more information on this.

Secondly, MVA has taken the first steps together with Copenhagen Capacity and Region Skåne in developing a Medicon Valley information portal. When international players seek new partnerships in Medicon Valley industry and science, they look for benchmark information and data: Industry pipelines, clinical trials, research networks, international science groups etc. With an information portal we can gather all of this information and make it accessible for any regional and international players. In this way we secure an efficient and strong point-of-entry for your potential partners and investors.

Thirdly, MVA is developing a global network programme - the Medicon Valley Ambassador Programme - through the exchange of Life Science ’Ambassadors’ between Medicon Valley and other bioregions. For a period of 2-3 years the Life Science ambassadors will exchange location and position within the partner region, creating new networks and collaboration between the two regions. The first deal has just been signed with the Japanese Life Science cluster of Kobe. This deal will be launched at a meeting in Copenhagen on 12 February with participation of the Japanese ambassador in Denmark and the managing director of the Kobe Life Science cluster. The goal for 2007 is to reach similar agreements with Shanghai, Korea and Singapore. The Medicon Valley Ambassador Programme is all yours – the greater use of the network, the greater results for the region.

These are the headlines for 2007. Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information on the above mentioned projects or on any other pending project. As always we appreciate your input on how to further develop Medicon Valley into a world class bio region.

Best regards,
Stig Jørgensen, Managing Director
sj@mva.org