LSX Nordic Congress Agenda

An openness and willingness to collaborate and innovate is a major factor in what makes launching, building and growing biotechs in the Nordics a success.

But, as with anywhere, raising capital, finding partners, and growing and building a successful business comes with challenges.

Are there local dynamics and issues which can hamper establishing dynamic and global companies?

What is the arc and journey of growing Nordic biotech?

A panel of growing private biotechs discuss their growth trajectories, war stories and the KSFs.

Moderator:

Mintoi Chessa-Florea, Healthcare Editor, Mergermarket

Speakers:

Rita Balice Gordon, CEO, Muna Therapeutics
Thomas Holm Pedersen, CEO, NMD Pharma
Jan Alan Alfheim, CEO, Oncoinvent
Christer Ahlberg, CEO, Cinclus Pharma
Sören Moller, Managing Partner, Novo Seeds

Whether preparing for investment, licensing or acquisition, valuations are critical. While any financial model will be inherently imprecise, a valuation must be based on logical and data-driven assumptions. It is important for biotechs to create a financial model to guide business planning, portfolio management and negotiation.

A multi-stakeholder panel of investors, pharma and companies discuss how to get the calculations right in investment and deal-making.

• Exploring all sides of the question - “What is your valuation based on?”
• How and in what way are valuation changing due to evolving industry dynamics, increases in private capital and volatile public markets?
• Illustrating best practice and identifying common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)
• How do expectations on valuations (methodology and assumptions) differ depending on the development stage of an asset?

Presenter and moderator:
Julia Fransson, CEO, MSC Nordics

Speakers:
Ingrid Teigland Akay, Managing Partner, Hadean Ventures
Max Klement, Principal, Novo Ventures 
Diana Torgersen, Executive Director, External Innovation and Emerging Science, Organon

While private growth funding into biotech continues to grow globally, financing of Nordic biotech innovation has seen a particularly big increase driven by strong local investment expertise, increasing syndication in larger rounds and ever-more international interest.

A panel of international investors and syndication discuss the growth of the Nordic innovation landscape.

• Perspectives and perceptions on biotech in the Nordics, the rest of Europe and the US 
• Drivers and trends in pan-European and US syndication across Europe
• Cultural difference - could, and maybe should, companies be more gregarious in their outreach and conversations?

Moderator:
Nina Haldipur, Senior Investment Manager, Vækstfonden

Speakers:
Giovanni Rizzo, Partner Biotech Fund, Indaco Venture Partners
Anta Gkelou, Principal, Capital Strategy, Sofinnova Partners 
Bonnie van Wilgenburg, Principal, Monograph Capital
Andreas Wallnoefer, Partner, Jeito Capital
Sally Wang Liang, Venture Partner, Viva Bioinnovator

Sooner rather than later, any biotech will be looking Nordic companies are increasingly delivering success in passing financial, clinical and company development milestones as well as market approvals and, in 2022, now navigating a public markets storm.

A panel of companies at different points of the journey discuss their stories, the challenges, benefits and decisions on timing of their growth in the US and outline how they think more local success stories can be created.

• Challenges in operational scale-up and moving to a global and commercialised company with Nordic roots 
• Building and nurturing an ecosystem to result in more success stories from the region
• How are public companies navigating fundraising given current market conditions?

Moderator:
Thomas Lönngren, Strategic Advisor, NDA Group 

Speakers:
Hans Schambye, President & CEO, Galecto
Fredrik Johansson, CFO, Calliditas Therapeutics
Niels Iversen Møller, Board Member and Co-Founder, Evaxion

The world faces a daunting number of health and societal related challenges. Many of these have significant investments poured in by VCs and institutional investors, but others have become ‘ugly ducklings’ as investment opportunities.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), malaria and other huge global health issues are often underfunded suffering from difficulties in identifying viable business models, effective reimbursement pathways, leading companies in the space not performing well and investors withdrawing. As a result, limited innovation and drug development occur in these areas? How can this be addressed? Where can this funding come from?

• How do you support innovation with risk-willing capital in these areas?
• Can and should it really be left predominantly to philanthropic organisations to fund innovation in such important areas?
• Much like green investments, can and should these areas be treated as ESG investments?

Moderator:
Jacob Falck Hansen, Partner, Lundbeckfonden BioCapital

Speakers:
Bita Sehat, Investment Director, Trill Impact Ventures
Jyothi Devakumar, Group CSO and Partner, Longevity Tech Fund
Viktor Drvota, CEO, Karolinska Development
Claudio Costa, Operational Investor, Jeito Capital

• The evolution of Longevity over the last 10 years – from the ‘holy grail’ to serious science
• Why is Longevity a new mega trend
• Why and how is this sector attracting people in
• What are the gaps in the science and investments and how can they be filled?

Jyothi Devakumar, Group CSO and Partner, Longevity Tech Fund

One thing the last two years made many realise is that it’s, at least in theory, now easier than ever to get the right talent in without physical barriers. However, while attracting, recruiting and retaining talent is a challenge across the industry, this is particularly true in the Nordic countries - theory does not always work in practice. Discussing unique local

• How can companies best operate more with recruitment of nonNordics into Nordic companies?
• How can companies accelerate and grow in a more virtual setting?
• How do you fix talent and global talent and team structure issues to access and attract the right talent?
• Overcoming the challenges of international working laws, currency and salaries

Moderator:
Nanna Soni, Director, Coulter Partners

Speakers:
Pernille Aasholm, Head of People, Galecto
Søren Bregenholt, CEO, Alligator Bioscience Sofie Lorentzen, Senior P&O Lead, Novo Nordisk Fonden
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While healthcare systems work to overcome backlogs and improve efficiencies, big medtech are looking to supplement and source external innovation to supplement and further develop alongside their own products. A panel of leaders from big medtech discuss the partnering and deal-making landscape across medtech and healthtech innovation.

• How do you identify and access early stage technology start-ups?
• What are the BD and partnering strategies of the industry’s leading medtech companies? 
• Which areas of medtech and healthtech innovation are causing the most excitement?
• How are local and international medtech looking at acquisition opportunities in the current environment?
• How does the Nordics compare globally in terms of medtech and healthtech innovation?

Speakers:
Lars Nilaus, VP Group Development & Strategy, Coloplast
Alex Ignatius Costa, Director, GN BrainWorks, GN Group
 

Data science is not only transforming drug development, but also changing the way we can understand, diagnose, track and treat diseases with therapeutics, diagnostics and devices.

Large and small companies alike in the Nordics and globally are now implementing revolutionary data science solutions to help drive efficiencies and improve patient treatment and care.

A panel of experts discuss how companies of all sizes can look to take advantage of the huge benefits that AI, ML and data analytics can provide.

Moderator:

Troels Bierman Mortensen, CEO, DataFair

Speakers:

Tuomo Pentikainen, CEO, Veil AI
Robert Lauritzen, CEO, Cerebriu 
Casper Wilstrup, CEO, Abzu
Mads Jarner Brevadt, CEO, Radiobiotics 
Kenneth Forsstrøm Jensen, Health Data Lead, Roche

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Innovative new digital therapeutics have been building momentum for years, but the wider boom in all things digital during the pandemic, coupled with an ever-increasing from Big Pharma in exploring digital solutions has seen them now at the forefront of future health and care. Nordic companies are among those leading the way at the intersection of traditional biopharma and digital health to help improve outcomes for patients alongside pharma products. However, the DTx space still faces challenges that could slow its widespread adoption.

A panel of leading DTx innovators discuss their growth stories and challenges this growing sector faces and how they are overcoming them.

• Routes to market in DTx
• Clinician and patient trust and engagement with digital tools in healthcare
• What creates win/win biopharma-DTx partnerships?
• Lost in translation – scaling across borders and in different languages

Moderator:
Malin Johansson, Director Digital Health Partnerships, Novo Nordisk


Speakers:
John Drakenberg Renander, CEO, Alex Therapeutics
Jonas Hjortshøj, CCO, Liva 
Daniel Gewecke Daugaard, CEO, Dawn Health
Sam Oddsson, Co-founder & Chief Clinical Officer, Sidekick Health

While certainly boasting some big success stories, both medtech, and to a lesser extent healthtech, investment has lagged a little behind biotech in the region. Fewer local dedicated funds in device, diagnostic and digital exist, international syndication has not been as high as seen in therapeutic biotech and the might of foundations has not traditionally been put to work in the space. However, with huge amounts of new innovative companies now growing, is now the time to start levelling up?

A panel of local and international investors discuss the funding environment, syndication and greater international participation in funding the growing numbers of SMEs in the space.

• Is traditional medtech being left behind? Is the influx of risk-ready capital directed towards advanced technology with a smart or digital component?
• With the Nordics long-term leaders in digital innovation, can further investment help further fuel the next wave of digital healthcare innovators?
• As technology advances so quickly, how do investors identify, assess and back the innovations that can drive the best patient outcomes in the future?
  
  

Moderator:

Benjamin Hoffmann, Partner, Potter Clarkson

Jonathan Gertler, Managing Director, BioVentures MedTech Funds
Mads Lacoppidan, Investment Director, Vækstfonden
Claudia Colciago, Investment Director, Takeda Digital Ventures
Jessica McCreadie, Principal, Octopus Ventures

Digital disruption in the healthcare space spans the value chain. But perhaps where it is most important is where it matters most – within with healthcare providers and for patient care. Health systems need to innovate internally, and bring innovation from externally, to continue to improve efficiencies, meet the expectations of an increasingly digital patient population and all while managing budgets.

A group of experts discuss their vision for the future of digital hospitals, the road to get there the role of innovators in this transformation.

• How are providers working to streamline patient care and implement technology solutions?
• What sort of external innovations are healthcare providers in the Nordics focussed on?
• Unleashing the power of modern analytical tools and solutions

Moderator:
Jesper Juel-Helwig, CEO, Nordic Health Lab

Speakers:
Linn Christensson, General Manager Nordics and Benelux, Zimmer Biomet
Jeanette Tuval, Head of Innovation, Karolinska University Hospital
Britt-Marie Zaman, Director Development Digital Health, Sahlgrenska University Hospital

Moderator:

Jesper Grønbæk, Founder & CEO, Health Tech Hub Copenhagen

Speaker:

Valentin Lubbe, COO, Hedia

For many healthtech businesses, while global ambition may certainly be the end goal, an initial focus on the home market and healthcare system is common as is building networks and a local ecosystem.

The next step of scaling across borders and internationalising into new markets then comes with its own set of challenges which can be difficult waters to navigate.

A panel of some of the most successful Nordic healthtech companies discuss how they 

• Key success factors in building, scaling and business building for digital health and healthtech businesses
• Challenges, roadblocks and major pitfalls in scaling across borders 
• How have companies balanced funding, deal-making, company growth and market entry?

Moderator:

Valentin Bejan, Co-Founder & Chief Innovation Officer, Health Tech Hub Copenhagen

Speakers:
Anna-Karin Edstedt Bonamy, CEO, Doctrin
Andreas Cleve, CEO, Corti
Matt Fujisawa, Global Head of Corporate Development, KRY