News

: MVA IN OCTOBER: Strategic Report on Innovation and the UK-MVA Initiative
by Stina Gestrelius, Acting CEO, Medicon Valley Academy

 

 

BioTech Forum in Copenhagen in early October was not only the meeting place for excellent research and innovative biotech companies. It also witnessed the UK Minister for Science and Innovation, Lord Sainsbury, launch a new initiative for cooperation between UK and Medicon Valley, which he referred to as” the most attractive bioregion in Europe” (MVA’s vision for 2005). Only two weeks later, the British Embassy in Copenhagen held a meeting with ten Medicon Valley companies and as many UK companies, presenting “Oncology research in therapeutic drug development”. Much more will take place during 2005.

 

UK is also one of the role models in MVA’s strategic report on Innovation “From Bioscience to New Jobs in Medicon Valley”, which was also launched at the BioTech Forum. The five recommendations for improvements include:

 

- Recruitment of substantial commercial skills and business know-how into technology transfer organisations

- Consolidation of technology transfer offices in the region

- Funding for proof-of-concept studies, and SBIR grants

- Seed investments across Øresund (for governmental funds)

- Tax incentives for the young biotech industry

 

The media, especially in the region, has covered the report closely. The next step is to bring the report to the national level. In Sweden, this means to the two ministers who are changing places, Leif Pagrotsky - now Education and Research - and Thomas Östros - now Industry!

 

 

: NEWS INDEX

 

• MVA Drug Development meeting: How is new medicine approved in the EU?
• Drug Delivery - New Routes to Innovative Formulations - one-day symposium
• New MVA report: From Bioscience to New Jobs
• Successful biotech meeting in Copenhagen
• Young Swedish researcher wins Medicon Valley poster award
• The future health system in Denmark and Sweden - new food vs drugs collaboration
• Lord Sainsbury, UK Minister for Science and Innovation, announces UK/MVA collaboration programme
• MVA Biostatistics Network Course: Modern case-control methods 
• Conference: Career Options in Bioscience
• First UK/Medicon Valley seminar focusing on novel oncology therapies
• Ludesi and Alphalyse form strategic environment
• Combio aquired by Arpida, a Swiss anti-infectives company
• BioInvent and Lund University present result on antibody based treatment of atherosclerosis
• BioGaia's health bacteria reduce number of sick days

• Tetra Chemicals move European HQ to Helsingborg

• Prostalund reports new treatment results

 

: MVA NEWS

 

MVA Drug Development meeting: How is new medicine approved in the EU?

27 October 2004 / Malmö / Sweden

Read more here (in Swedish) www.mva.org/composite-1182.htm

 

Drug Delivery - new routes to innovative formulations - one-day symposium

30 November 2004 / Medeon / Malmö / Sweden

A one-day symposium - arranged by MVA and Institute for Surface Chemistry (YKI) - which aims to highlight the results of the ELF project (Explorative Pharmaceutical Formulations), as well as to put these into a broader context of new strategies of innovative drug formulations.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1184.htm

 

New MVA report: From Bioscience to New Jobs

A strategic report presenting the innovation performance and needs in Medicon Valley, including five key national and regional political recommendations.

The report can be downloaded here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-142.htm

 

Successful biotech meeting in Copenhagen

BioTech Forum + Scanlab 2004 drew to a close after three days of high level biotech business and science in an environment of intense networking, company showcasing and collaboration.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1177.htm

 

Young Swedish researcher wins Medicon Valley poster award

Åsa Håkansson from Lund University won the Medicon Valley Poster Award for best poster at the BioTech Forum Science Conference.

Read more here (in Swedish and Danish) www.mva.org/composite-1178.htm

 

The future health system in Denmark and Sweden - new food vs drugs collaboration

Two of Scandinavia's strongest research areas - medicine and food - are now launching a unique partnership which will focus on the use of food products in disease prevention and treatment. The background to this is the sky-high rise in society's health expenses and the need for new solution models for future health problems.

Read more here (in Swedish and Danish) www.mva.org/composite-1170.htm

 

Lord Sainsbury, UK Minister for Science and Innovation, announces UK/MVA collaboration programme

Lord Sainsbury gave a positive and upbeat description of the European Biotech sector, and particularly the Øresund region, in his opening speech at the BioTech Forum Science Conference in Copenhagen 5 October. He also announced a joint UK-MVA collaboration.

Read more and download the opening speech (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1166.htm

 

MVA Biostatistics Network Course: Modern case-control methods

1-3 December 2004 / IDEON / Lund / Sweden

The sophisticated use and understanding of case-control studies is considered as the most outstanding methodological development of modern epidemiology. A population-based case-control study can be regarded as a cohort study with many non-diseased subjects missing at random. The course resolves important conceptual issues and will consist of lectures with several examples, practical exercises, and discussion sessions.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1134.htm

 

Conference: Career options in Bioscience

8 February 2004 / Lund / Sweden

Future Faculty at the Medical Faculty of Lund University and Medicon Valley Academy hereby invite young researchers and research group leaders to participate in a half-day conference focusing on the career options in the Øresund region.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1173.htm

 

 

: MEDICON VALLEY NEWS

First UK/Medicon Valley seminar focusing on novel oncology therapies
Only two weeks after the UK's Minister of Science and Innovation, Lord Sainsbury, announced the news of a collaboration agreement between the UK government and Medicon Valley, the first arrangement was in place. Last week, UK Trade & Investment together with the London Biotechnology Network hosted a Novel Oncology Therapies Seminar at the British Embassy in Copenhagen. A delegation of prestigious UK organisations met with their Medicon Valley counterparts.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1192.htm

 

Ludesi and Alphalyse form strategic environment
Swedish bioinformatics company Ludesi, a leading software firm in the rapidly growing proteomics sector, and Danish proteomics company Alphalyse, an international Contract Research Organization (CRO) with a unique protein identification and characterization platform, recently announced an agreement to offer integrated proteomics services to the global pharmaceutical market.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1193.htm

 

Combio aquired by Arpida, a Swiss anti-infectives company
Arpida Ltd., a Swiss anti-infectives company, recently announced the acquisition of 100% of Combio A/S, a Danish company with innovative chemistry technologies.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1195.htm

 

BioInvent and Lund University present result on antibody based treatment of atherosclerosis

The scientific journal Circulation, edited by the American Heart Association, presents in their latest issue a report on antibody-based treatment of atherosclerosis. The report describes the research performed by a research team lead by Professor Jan Nilsson at the University Hospital MAS in Malmö in collaboration with BioInvent International AB in Lund.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1172.htm

 

BioGaia's health bacteria reduce number of sick days

The number of sick days caused by gastrointestinal illnesses or colds is reduced if employees are given daily supplements containing BioGaia´s health bacteria L. reuteri protectis. These findings were made in a study performed at two workplaces in Sweden. L. reuteri protectis is a bacterium that is naturally found in the human intestine, where it strengthens immune defences. Due to our modern lifestyle, L. reuteri bacteria are found in too low amounts in many people. BioGaia have shown in several clinical studies that supplementation with L. reuteri bacteria promotes health and improves defences against illness.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1188.htm

 

Tetra Chemicals move European HQ to Helsingborg

Tetra Chemicals, based in Texas, will move its European HQ to Finland. This follows the purchase of Finnish company Kemira.

Tetra is acquiring Kemira's calcium chloride production plants in Kokkola, Finland, and Delfzijl in the Netherlands and is also planning close co-operation with Kemira's sole remaining calcium chloride factory in Helsingborg.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1167.htm

 

Prostalund reports new treatment results

A clinical study now shows that microwave treatment (PLFT = ProstaLund Feedback Treatment) is just as good as open surgery even for patients with severely enlarged prostate who are forced to have indwelling catheters.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1162.htm

 

 

: FUTURE EVENTS - see all events

 

BioBusiness Seminar - Building a sustainable business: modelling for an exit

4 November 2004 / Copenhagen / Denmark

Biotechnology Investment Today bring their latest successful BioBusiness seminar to Copenhagen, Denmark. This seminar will allow you to get close and personal with senior executives from Pfizer, Copenhagen Stock Exchange, Danske Bank, Vaekstfonden, Bird&Bird, Capital MS&L, Paul Capital, Alfred Berg, Bioscience Managers Ltd and other top industry stakeholders.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1183.htm

 

Clinical trials of medicotech products

16 November 2004 / Lund /Sweden

One-day seminar focusing on clinical trials of medicotech products. NB! Reduced registration fee for MVA members.

Read more here (in Swedish) www.mva.org/composite-1133.htm

 

5th Swedish Bioinformatics Workshop

26-27 November 2004 / Lund / Sweden

This two day event is for Phd students and Postdocs, with invited speakers from the Sanger Institute, Uppsala University and Lund University.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1109.htm

 

HIV/Aids Conference

8 December 2004 / Copenhagen / Denmark

This international one-day conference will examine the latest drug discovery and drug development discoveries within potential HIV vaccines and the prevention of Aids related diseases in the human body.

Read more here (in English) www.mva.org/composite-1096.htm

 

 

: NEW MVA MEMBERS - see complete membership list

 

tebu-bio - www.tebu-bio.com - aims to help life scientists succeed in their work by supplying the most comprehensive range of innovative and convenient products and services suited to their needs.

 

Carlsberg Research Center - www.crc.dk - is part of Carlsberg A/S and has for more than a century provided remarkable scientific achievements within malting, brewing and fermentation through strong emphasis on biotechnology and chemistry. This broad scientific expertise is today applied to a wider strategic scope.

 

DanDrit Biotech - www.dandrit.com - is a Danish biotech company incorporated in april 2001, whose purpose is to develop, manufacture and market cancer vaccines. Such vaccines will be aimed at improving the patients’ immune response against solid tumours and their metastases and be based on dendritic cells and will be administered both as mono theraphy and as adjuvant to other cancer treatments.

 

Umetrics - www.umetrics.se - produces software for Multivariate Data Analysis and modeling (MVDA) and Design of Experiments (DOE). The software family includes MODDE, SIMCA-P, SIMCA-4000, SIMCA-P+ and SIMCA Batch On-Line, as well as predictor engines for embedded use. In addition, Umetrics offers a great selection of training courses to meet the demand from their customers around the world. They also provide a full consultancy service where their experienced consultants apply their expertise to customer’s data either on or off site.

 

Venaticus - www.venaticus.com - is a provider of international high level, independent advice and hands-on senior management to firms in the life science sector. Venaticus provides expert advice on commercialisation of technology bases such as: inventions, platform technologies and in/out licensing of product rights.