EDITORIAL: News update from summer in Medicon Valley 2007

The rain in June and July has not prevented interesting news from steadily dripping in, some of it worth repeating now as vacationers make their way back to labs, clinics and offices.

Academia In late June, the Swedish government asked Lund University to form a secretariat for planning and construction of the European Spallation Source. If ESS is established in Lund, Medicon Valley will have access to the world's most advanced facility for materials research in 2017, and offering new possibilities for understanding protein structure even inside a cell membrane. Lund now needs support (incl. financial) for the final round. In Copenhagen the NNF Centre for Protein Research will start its activities at the Panum Institute from late 2008, led by a Swede, Michael Sundström, recruited from Oxford. And to facilitate such mobility, the Lundbeck fund has dedicated DKK 35 million to attract (Danish) researchers from abroad.

Industry Several companies have raised money, e.g. BioInvent, ViroGates and AnaMar, while EURIS sold shares to acquire a property for a private incubator in Lund. Pipeline status was strengthened after Active Biotech and Astion Pharma received orphan drug status by EMEA for drug candidates, and Zymenex started Phase II trials with their orphan drug candidate. In addition, Neurosearch, Rheoscience and Genzyme have reported on clinical studies.

General The recent Biopolis report rated Denmark and Sweden, together with Finland and Switzerland, among the top of the class in biotech output, thanks to "smart policies and good coordination". Denmark was also ranked by a new OECD report as the most cost-efficient European country in performing certain hospital treatments. Finally, important information for clinics and companies working with gene, cellular and tissue-based therapies: the EU has approved the proposed framework for Advanced Therapies with tailor-made technical requirements and new standards for clinical trials.

The news is maybe not making up for the rain, but at least it sets the stage for a promising autumn in Medicon Valley. Welcome back everyone! And don't forget to book 30 October for the 10 year Jubilee of Medicon Valley Alliance.

Kind regards,

Stina Gestrelius
Deputy Managing Director