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.

Rita Balice Gordon, CEO, Muna Therapeutics
Thomas Holm Pedersen, CEO, NMD Pharma
Jan Alan Alfheim, CEO, Oncoinvent

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 

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 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, Venture Partner, Indaco Venture Partners
Anta Gkelou, Principal, Capital Strategy, Sofinnova Partners 

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?

Hans Schambye, President & CEO, Galecto

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

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

• Investment, deal-making and M&A in the US 
• The innovation under greatest focus for healthcare systems and corporate partners 
• Value centricity for the US healthcare system

Frank Jaskulke, VP Intelligence, Head of Medical Alley Starts, Medical Alley

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.

• 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?

Frank Jaskulke, VP Intelligence, Head of Medical Alley Starts, Medical Alley

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

John Drakenberg Renander, CEO, Alex Therapeutics
Jonas Hjortshøj, CCO, Liva 

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?

Jonathan Gertler, Managing Director, BioVentures MedTech Funds
Mads Lacoppidan, Investment Director, Vækstfonden 

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

While scientific breakthroughs and innovation continues apace, this innovation then needs translating to industry – and these companies need leaders. With both local and global talent pool challenges and increased competition as the industry matures, what are the most successful routes and support models for bringing through, training and nurturing the next generation of biotech industry leaders?

• The potential of academic founders in building out successful companies
• The increasing trend of new CEOs transitioning in from big pharma
• Will investors always prefer an experienced CEO in new ventures and company creation? How does this play into the talent pool debate?
• Brain drain - are universities concerned with academics leaving us to join start-ups?

Moderator:
Bobby Soni, CBO, BII 

Speakers:
Don Debethizy, Director, Argenx
Cristiana Pires, CEO, Asgard Therapeutics 

Reserved for Willis Towers Watson

With the public markets struggling and with the huge boom in private investment over the last couple few years showing signs of potentially slowing, what does this mean for pharma deal-makers and biotechs looking at their next stage of growth? While the pace of innovation seems ever-increasing, and there is arguably more competition than ever before from established and emerging players, understanding how big companies operate and how to best approach deals is ever-important. S&E and BD leaders discuss how they are finding new models and ways of sourcing and supporting startups and working to build win-win deals. 

• What does the less favourable capital markets environment mean for both public and private deal-making?
• In which areas of science and innovation do Pharma see the Nordics competing strongly?
• Are more big biotechs competing with traditional big pharma players in deal, partnerships and co-developments? 
• Understanding how Pharma works” including major partnership priorities and how biotechs should approach pharma partnerships

Hiroyuki Usuda, Senior Manager S&E Business Development, Astellas Europe

The age of digital has truly now reached healthcare and the largest commercial healthcare companies are finding the most effective ways to work with new technologies to transform internally, improve patient care, and supplement traditional therapeutics. As well as developing their own solutions, partnerships and deals with healthtech players is also critical to success, with external innovation as key in digital as it is in traditional pharma. 

• Which areas of healthtech innovation most excite commercial leaders?
• In which ways are new innovations plugging into work working alongside existing products and pipelines?
• How are the relationships between commercial leaders, external innovation and the healthcare systems changing?